Rolling Stone (p.74) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Beck produces with a light touch, and Malkmus spools out well-crafted folk tunes, loopy wit, finely wrought prog fantasias and laser-show axmanship."

Rolling Stone (p.72) - Ranked #36 in Rolling Stone's '50 Best Albums Of 2011' -- "The elegiac guitars and wry vocals sum up the shaggy beauty..."

Spin (p.70) - "[A] patient, inviting album that feels like a fresh start....The band have the punchy, relaxed assurance of a group of pros..."

Spin (p.50) - Ranked #11 in Spin's 'The Top 40 Albums Of 2011' -- "He scales back the sprawling Allmans jams in favor of direct tunes, with none of the effect, or affect, lost."

Alternative Press (p.112) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[With] simple multi-guitar attacks recast as miniature orchestras, deliriously clever quips, absurd statements, and a melodic intuition..."

Magnet (p.44) - Ranked #4 in Magnet's '20 Best Albums Of 2011' -- "TRAFFIC feels invitingly relaxed, cozy and slept in thrice, as if the Jicks invited us into their practice space for a live run-through record preview..."

Q (Magazine) (p.116) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Lyrically, where Malkmus may have previously been oblique, here he's refreshingly blunt."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.100) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Malkmus returns to the kind of submerged beauty that redeemed his old band and graces such early solo/Jicks peaks as 'Church On White' and 'Animal Midnight.'"

Record Collector (magazine) (p.97) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Malkmus' voice sounds more human, and the band's performances have a 'live' feel more than ever before."

Uncut (magazine) (p.92) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[C]onsistently entertaining, beautifully recorded, enough lyrical Malkmusings to occupy a generation of decoders, plus it rocks."