The reviews for Lights and Sounds were mostly mixed upon release, particularly from mainstream media, but some critics have stated that the album had fallen well short of the standards of Ocean Avenue, the album's predecessor. Kelefa Sanneh of the New York Times, in review of the album, wrote: "To listeners on either side of rock's latest generational divide, there's a big difference -- the difference of a decade -- between being a loser and being a twerp ... Lights and Sounds is Yellowcard's attempt to split that difference." Sanneh reports that the song "Two Weeks from Twenty", one of the band's anti-war song, "sounds suspiciously like Green Day; the lyrics echo the plot of the video for Green Day's 'Wake Me Up When September Ends'." Despite this, Sanneh goes on to say that Yellowcard is still "pretty good" at "writing sweeping, upbeat punk-rock love songs". Ben Breier of Kent News wrote: "One thing is certain: The Yellowcard you grew to know and love circa Ocean Avenue is no longer with us. The band has vastly matured when compared to past records, but it comes at a price – members forgot what made them occasionally catchy and addictive in the first place. It's clearly the right direction for the band, but Yellowcard needs to further refine its new style before it can come up with something above average." Mike Schiller of PopMatters, who was somewhat displeased with the album, wrote that the album does not "make up for the overabundance of flaccid mediocrity on display throughout most of the album". Schiller went on to say, "Lights and Sounds may be Yellowcard’s attempt at a big, serious album, but the band doesn’t sound even remotely ready." Nick Cowen from Drowned in Sound wrote: "Those who register for Pop-Punk 101 will receive Yellowcard’s Lights And Sounds as their first set-work; the Jacksonville quintet's new album would be the perfect teaching aid, as it's technically proficient while being boring and forgettable enough not to inspire the temptation to plagiarise." Cowen concluded that the album "is a substandard, second-tier album with some strings thrown in for good measure. It's really not worth the money in your wallet – even if that wallet is attached to a very long chain." Now magazine claimed that the band "may be in the right place, it's clear they're simply incapable of realizing this clumsy faux magnum opus."
