Response
Vulture Street was generally received well by critics. Allmusic's Jason MacNeil gave the album four stars, stating the opening notes of the album had a "great rock flavor to them". He described "(Baby I've Got You) On My Mind" as reminiscent of "Stereophonics rehashing old-school rock for a contemporary feeling", and said "Since You've Been Gone" was an "uplifting gospel-tinged effort". MacNeil's main criticism was for "Roll Right By You", a song he described as "run-of-the-mill". However, MacNeil said that overall the album was "an outstanding piece of work".
The Sydney Morning Herald's Bernard Zuel approved of the album, giving it four stars, and calling Vulture Street a "rawer, louder, but by no means unrefined, album". He said that throughout the album, guitarists Darren Middleton and Ian Haug "dominated in a way they haven't since their 1994 debut, Parables for Wooden Ears". Zuel drew several connections to Powderfinger's early work, but noted "a superior intellect" in this album. Zuel summarised by saying it was easy to "just enjoy Vulture Street's power and passion. And the rock."
Ty Burr of Entertainment Weekly reviewed the album positively, writing of a return to Powderfinger's "bar-band roots", while still featuring some "sharp pop hooks under the riffs". He drew references to early Radiohead and Bad Company, whom he argued Fanning was inspired by on "(Baby I've Got You) On My Mind". The review was summarised by Burr describing Vulture Street as "good company".
MusicOMH reviewer Simon Evans said Powderfinger added "a real punch to songs...far removed from your standard rock and roll fare" in Vulture Street, praising the emotion and seriousness of "Since You've Been Gone" and "How Far Have We Really Come?", and the "fun" in "Don't Panic". Evans praised producer Nick DiDia for his work on the album, which he summarised as "a quantum leap from its rather passionless predecessor, Odyssey Number Five".
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