AllMusic (Andy Hinds) - "Seemingly a musical omnivore, [Foetus] devours everything and spits it back out in a scrap heap of sonic chaos, twisted beyond recognition. His oblique yet subversive lyrical themes don't make Ache any more palatable for the faint of heart. This is the sound of unfiltered imagination, absolutely unencumbered by notions of commerce or accessibility. Brilliant."
NME - "Ache is possessed by a bristling, maniacal intelligence which spews out a jostling, surreal collage of subverted musical and verbal cliches, wired word associations, epigrams and sheer invictive with frantic urgency and gleefully black humor. Ache is one of the most violently original and compelling records I've heard in ages. It would make an ideal Christmas present."[4]
^"JG Thirlwell Interview". Two Gun Mathilda. Archived from the original on 10 February 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
^Hinds, Andy. "Ache". Allmusic. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
^Schreiber, Ryan. "You've Got Foetus On Your Breath: Ache". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 23 December 2001. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
^Snow, Mat. New Musical Express. November 12, 1982. text at foetus.org, added on July 4, 1996