Street Light Shine

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[8]
Alternative Rock	7/10[9]
Robert Christgau	B−[10]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[11]
The Great Indie Discography	4/10[12]
The Muncie Star	B−[13]
Omaha World-Herald	[14]
The New Rolling Stone Record Guide	[15]

The Globe and Mail stated that "there are traces of the New Wave freneticism here, but once past the opening cut, 'Laugh and Walk Away', this outfit settles comfortably into a ballad groove."^[16] The Omaha World-Herald noted the "distinctive, varied sound marked by a minimum of anger and negativism."^[14] The Spokane Daily Chronicle said that the Shirts' style "is too nebulous, too undefined to be distinctive."^[17] Hit Parader dismissed the Shirts as "quite possibly the worst band in New York City."^[18]

The Gazette concluded that, "without losing a cutting edge, the sextet shows a penchant for hooks, unusual chord changes, and eminently commercial ditties".^[19] The Pittsburgh Press said that the band "deal in arty rock and deliver it in above-average performances."^[20] The Daily Breeze called the album "a platter full of overly-sophisticated cabaret-style mish-mash".^[7] Robert Christgau stated that the band's "sincerity can be infectious."^[10]