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Embryonic received general acclaim from critics upon release, garnering a 81/100 critic score on Metacritic.[19] The New Musical Express noted that "ten years after their last masterpiece, The Flaming Lips have finally produced another one,"[20] while Paste Magazine described the record as "a wonderfully weird parade of sonic delights: an arresting consummation of the Lips' two-and-a-half decade career."[21] Other critics praised the album but were also quick to note its dramatically different sound in comparison to previous releases. Mojo Magazine remarked that "(Embryonic's) themes may be familiar, but its fine, dazzlingly outlandish music is fresh and utterly fearless,"[19] while The Record Review noted that with the album, The Flaming Lips show that they are "one of the few acts left that stills dares to be original, inspired and off-center in such a mainstream musical climate."[22] The album has sold 103,000 copies so far in the United States.[23]

[edit] Sound and influence
The style of the tracks on Embryonic differs from the styles of previous albums, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and At War with the Mystics, and has been reported to be similar to the style of Joy Division, Miles Davis, and John Lennon.[2]

Wayne Coyne says the new record solves their perpetual "dilemma" of what to include on each album, by dumping all their ideas on the follow-up to 2006's At War with the Mystics. Coyne had this to say about the double-LP decision to Billboard: "Some of my favorite records – thinking Beatles' White Album, Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti and even some of the longer things that The Clash have done – part of the reason I like them is that they're not focused. They're kind of like a free-for-all and go everywhere. It's not necessarily because we're prolific, I think we always stay in a sort of perpetual panic of like we never have more songs than we need and we always wonder if any of them are any good to begin with." Coyne notes that Embryonic is less polished than Mystics or 2002's Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and has a "freak-out vibe". The frontman also notes the influence of Miles Davis's group and slow-burn songs like John Lennon's "Instant Karma!".