The Guardian reviews "Second Song," the second new album Neil Young has released in 2026, recorded with his backing band the Chrome Hearts, noting his prolific but uneven output at 80. The review is broadly mixed, finding much of the record slight or recycled, but singles out two lengthy new compositions as genuine high points that justify the album's existence.

Of the seven tracks, several lean on Young's past: two are re-recordings of early-1960s songs from his first band, the Squires, while others feel underwritten or familiar, echoing melodies and themes from his earlier work. The review reserves its strongest praise for two extended songs that occupy nearly half the album's running time, including "Soon I Might Be Going," a reflective, mortality-tinged piece touching on subjects ranging from Donald Trump to Young's estrangement from his daughter Amber Jean, drawing comparison to his 1974 track "Ambulance Blues."