 Jim Patterson wrote that Richard Dodd's production helped to elevate "Hey Y'all" from being just "the perfect-yet-boring Nashville norm".Some reviewers highlighted Cook's songwriting, including "Dayton Daily News"'s Lawrence Budd who said the album showed her as a "singer-songwriter with stories to share".Doerschuk remarked that Cook's writing had prevented "contemporary distractions in order to connect directly to a more conservative aesthetic".