 Critical response to "Modern" was mostly positive.Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic was favourable and rated the album three stars out of five, saying that although "Diggle's songs sound a little weaker than Pete Shelley's" due to their electronic influence, "Modern" is a "minor triumph" that proves that "the Buzzcocks not only sound better than any of their punk peers on "Modern", they sound better than most of the young punk revivalists.And at the very least, that's somewhat noteworthy."