The album received mostly positive reviews. Jim Derogatis and Wilson Neate, writing in Trouser Press, called the album "an attractive, subtle hybrid of melodic electronica and rock". John Bush, writing for AllMusic, called Bastard "a mighty progression" from the previous album It Seems, "with no concessions to song-based forms, but instead a willingness to use those styles to create diverting music." Franklin Bruno, in CMJ New Music Monthly, noted that the album reiterates Newman's longstanding interest in musical repetition and found the approach "intriguing", but also said that the music "doesn't exactly invite the listener in", likening the album to "a party after everyone's left".
