AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated the album 3.5 out of 5 stars, noting the "bittersweet streak" in some of the song's themes, as well as Owen "modulating his delivery, choosing to lie back instead of lean into the songs, a tactic that gives the lighter moments a melancholy pull and the ballads a bit of grace.

"[2] Daniel Patrin of Renowned for Sound rated the record 3 out of 5 stars, noting that it reverts to Owen's "deeper, ancestral country roots" and away from Days of Gold's "contemporary concoction of electronic pop-country mixtures", concluding that "American Love is the resulted work of a beholden musician, content and satisfied – rolling through songwriting without a shroud of guilt and a wealth of glittering pride.

The second single "If He Ain't Gonna Love You" stalled on the charts at its peak of #37 for several weeks, and became Owen's lowest charting single of his career.

[5] The album has sold 53,800 copies in the United States as of November 2016.

[6] The album's third single, "Good Company" released to country radio on April 17, 2017.