The Spade

The album received a score of 78 on the Metacritic aggregate review site, indicating a generally favorable reception. Andrew Leahey of Allmusic noted that the album "explores the seedy side of Hollywood with equal parts power pop and heartland rock & roll", and that the lyrics of the songs in the album "focus on Walker’s own little world -- the girls he’s known, the drugs he’s done, the trouble he got into as an ‘80s wild child -- but Spade feels broader, fuller, more collective than those words suggest."[2]

Evan Sawdey of Pop Matters was very positive about the album; even though he thought the album "doesn’t do anything new or particularly innovative", he found that "it's just a damn good rock album through and through" and that Walker had "finally wrote an album that is entirely in his own voice."[4] On the other hand, Andy Gill of The Independent wrote that the album is "mainly brusque and strident raunch-rock, with an unappealing cajoling tone that virtually dares you not to find the songs clever and the hooks contagious. Which they aren't, particularly."[6]

The album hit number one on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart on its first week of release and peaked at number 105 on the Billboard 200,[7] selling 5,000 copies in its debut week. The album has sold 18,000 copies in the US as of February 2015.[8]