"Hopeful Monster is all about the Zombies, Rundgren, Lilys, Love, Wilson and Parsons ... It’s full to the very last note, and hard to imagine a better Elephant 6 record not made by those Athens/Denver collective."
— Bees Knees
"With one foot in the ‘60s Space Age and the other in a desert sand dune, Ball has created a beguiling sound for his Hopeful Monster."
— Amplifier
"Some recording projects just seem to have a miraculous touch to them, and JBall’s debut as Hopeful Monster is one of those."
— Exclaim!
"Imagine the Banana Splits taking over from Brian Wilson after his late-’60s meltdown, but fronted by the Zombies’ Colin Blundstone."