Amongst retrospective reviews, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic felt that on Swoon, Paddy McAloon had not yet achieved the distinctiveness of Prefab Sprout's subsequent works, writing that "the problem is that he does too many things at once — the lyrics are overstuffed, and the music has too many chord changes and weird juxtapositions, as he tries to put white-funk beats to carefully crafted melodies" and as a result the album is "primarily of interest as a historical item, since it only suggests the promise the band later filled." A review by Q was more positive, calling the album "one of the decade's great debuts" thanks to McAloon's "ingenuity and lyrical flight", while PopMatters retrospectively deemed it "great indie-pop". Trouser Press, meanwhile, highlighted the record's mellifluous, refined sound. Reviewing the album upon its reissue in 1993, Selects Stuart Maconie considered the album the band's weakest, deeming it "full of entertaining ideas but more than a little tricksy and smart Alec", but felt "Cruel" and "Elegance" made the album "well worth owning". Writing for Rockdelux in 1997, David S. Mordoh named "Cue Fanfare", "Cruel", "Elegance" and "Technique" as highlights. "I Never Play Basketball Now" and "Elegance" were among the ten tracks listed in NME's "Alternative Best of Prefab Sprout" in 1992.
