 In "The Wire", Tom Ridge called the album a "radical departure in its scope and overall sound" from Unwound's previous works.According to Ridge, "the hardcore scene has spat out such individual classics at infrequent intervals, and "Leaves" sits comfortably alongside Hüsker Dü's "Zen Arcade", The Minutemen's "Double Nickels on the Dime" and Sonic Youth's "Daydream Nation".