Two singles were released from the album. "Coming Down" was issued for streaming on July 19, 2011, and then a 7" was given away with pre-orders and first pressings of the album, on September 27.[2][3]
"Bedroom Eyes" was issued for streaming on August 30, 2011,[4][5] followed by a promo single distributed on September 26.
The album received generally positive reviews upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 74 based on 26 reviews, which indicates "Generally favorable reviews".[16]
Spin awarded the album a rating of 8 out of 10, writing, "Gundred's richer-than-you-expect voice is the key to these jagged little pillows, whether dryly noting that a guy's 'Just a Creep,' soaring on 'Coming Down,' or lacing her echoes with sorrow on 'Hold Your Hand,' a reflection on her mother's death."[15] In Lindsay Zoladz's 7.6-out-of-10 review, Pitchfork lauded the album's melodic risks within the genre of garage rock revival, "Only in Dreams isn't a perfect record, but a little while down the line it might end up looking like the beginning of something-- the first steps forward for the band, or perhaps a raising of the bar for this entire revival. I wouldn't put it past Dee Dee to be the leader of the pack."[12] The New York Times echoed this viewpoint in Jon Caramanica's positive review, which stated, "Only in Dreams ... seethes with a beautiful, raging confidence, louder and fuller than anything they’ve done before, and better than the onetime peers they’re leaving behind."[10]musicOMH's Gareth Ware's 4-out-of-5 review also agreed that "[Only in Dreams] showcases a remarkably assured collection of songs."[9]
AllMusic was more critical of the Dum Dum Girls' new direction: "All this realness could be a deal breaker especially since Only in Dreams isn’t a fun and immediately enjoyable album like I Will Be was."[6]PopMatters wasn't impressed with the overall sound of the album, saying, "Everything is layered and burnished into an eardrum-blasting sameness. There are no standouts or outright bombs, just 10 Dum Dum Girls songs; no more, no less.".[13] Joe Marvilli from Consequence of Sound, in a negative review, felt that Only in Dreams needed more variety, stating, "You can only take so many variations of the same theme."[7]
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