"[1] In an interview with Clash magazine, the vocalist added that the tracks eventually featured on the release were not written at the same time as one another, which he claimed made it feel "odd and difficult to lay them next to each other".

[2] Initially, the moniker was to be used for the 2020 album as it "fits the theme of the dark America that inspired the record", however Gould explained prior to its release that "It felt like it was too simple for people, so we decided to go for the more interesting one.

[9] A second video from the album, for closing song "Damned and Doomed", was released on 2 August, which depicts Greenwood in the role as Annabelle "softly floating in and out of focus as she sings the despondent and devastating track," which was described by Rock Sound writer Jack Rogers as "a beautiful interpretation of the haziness and heaviness of grief".

[17] Line of Best Fit writer Marie Oleinik describes the EP's focus further, writing that "Roe's death incites Annabelle's rage, sharply delivered by [Greenwood] in "Ghosts Over Calvary", then mournful defeat in "Damned and Doomed".

[19] "Midnight", which he dubbed a "massive rock and roll power ballad of sorts" in the style of Jim Steinman and Bruce Springsteen, served as the catalyst for the creation of the EP, due to the positive reaction of people outside the band when listening to it prior to release.

[19] During the week of its release, American Noir was initially on track to debut at number 5 on the UK Albums Chart, the same position as Sex, Death & the Infinite Void.

Greer praised the "theatricality" and "dark tone" of the release, proposing that "Creeper took on a Herculean task following up on the near-perfect Sex, Death & the Infinite Void and somehow, they've made an even better record than they did last summer.

"[17] Ben Tipple of DIY also gave the EP a perfect score, comparing it stylistically to Meat Loaf's 1977 debut album Bat Out of Hell and describing it as "a vibrant and fitting homage to the recently departed Jim Steinman".

[15] Reviewing the EP for Dork magazine, Dillon Eastoe wrote that "Creeper are at their best when [Gould] and [Greenwood] share out the vocal duties, and this is where they find space to delve further on American Noir.

"[13] Marie Oleinik of The Line of Best Fit noted that Greenwood "confidently takes the central stage" on the release, suggesting that her increased presence should continue on future releases by the band: "Some of Creeper's tricks may have become repetitive and predictable, but whichever direction they take after the [Sex, Death & the Infinite Void] cycle, they probably can't go wrong as long as there are plenty of Greenwood's vocal contributions.