It reflected the Stones' brief foray into psychedelia and baroque pop balladry during the era. The album continued the brothers' trademark of mixing uptempo funk numbers with softer soul balladry. The album incorporated multiple styles including Celtic rock, acoustic folk balladry and pop rock. Marc Hogan of "Pitchfork" enjoyed the album's "chiming indie pop balladry" and "muscular glam-rock". The song received acclaim by critics who praised Welch's vocals and its balladry nature. "Soul Sound" is a pop record that experiments with pop-rock balladry. AllMusic editor William Ruhlmann noted that the band pursued "acoustic balladry" on the song. Compared with her usual motor-powered balladry, this album is positively peppy. Kelly's crossover appeal was also sustained by his development of a flair for pop balladry. The song's introduction featured minor chord changes, and drew influence from fifties balladry. Kelefa Sanneh of "Blender" described the "soft-serve balladry" of the song as a "silk-sheets masterstroke". The track received mixed reviews from critics who were ambivalent towards its balladry. His piano balladry was particularly noted by "The Daily Dot" in August 2018. Once again, his style of sensitive balladry failed to achieve success on the U.S. charts.