Clean (Shane and Shane album)

Music and lyrics

Kevan Breitinger of About.com told that the duo "have found a niche with their pitch-perfect blend of dueling acoustic guitars and impassioned vocals, and made it very much their own," which he proclaimed that "nobody does it better." At Christianity Today, Russ Breimeier said that the album "seems to continue a pattern of alternating between rough-around-the-edges acoustic indie pop and a more polished radio-friendly sound", which it "leans toward the latter." This leads to the duo getting "bogged down in boring acoustic balladry." At Cross Rhythms, Tim Holden highlighted that the songs "are delivered with a pleasant acoustic guitar-lead rock feel that occasionally has a bit of a kick to it." Jesus Freak Hideout's Jessica Vander Loop vowed that this is an "arousing worship album."

Critical

Clean has received mostly positive reviews from the music critics. About.com's Kevan Breitinger found that "there's a whole lot to like here if you're ready to worship." At Christianity Today, Russ Breimeier told that "perhaps Clean is a little too clean." Tim Holden of Cross Rhythms evoked that "'Clean' is a very good introduction and it will not upset their existing fans either", and it is "worth getting hold of for its lack of trite lyrics and polished sound!" At Jesus Freak Hideout, Jessica Vander Loop highlighted that "duo is growing in more ways than one."

Commercial

For the Billboard charts of October 30, 2004 week, Clean was the No. 123 album sold in the entire United States by the Billboard 200, which it was on the breaking and entering chart selling at the third place on the Heatseekers Albums, and it was on the genre charting Christian Albums in the fifth slot.