Church started his songwriting of the album on his guitar, nicknamed "Butter Bean" by his son, in the latter part of the summer.

[17] Awarding the album five stars out of five, AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine stated "Mr. Misunderstood is built for the long haul: it settles into the soul, its pleasures immediate but also sustained.

[14] Rating the album a seven out of ten from Spin, Jonathan Bernstein said that it is a "small shame, then, that he chose what might have been the safest move: making what is sure to become the most agreeable, least controversial record of his career.

"[13] Jon Caramanica, writing a review at The New York Times, said: "The album, a love letter to his influences, is the gentlest of Mr. Church's releases, the one that least wears his rowdy tendencies on its sleeve.

"[10] Reviewing the album for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Erik Ernst felt that "Church is country music's weird kid, who bucked the industry's expectations to chase cookie-cutter radio hits and defiantly forged his voice as an innovative, authentic songwriter.

"[11] Assigning the album an A-grade from Nash Country Weekly, Bob Paxman opined that "Mr. Misunderstood is more of the stripped-down, heart-in-the-heartland version of Eric that won fans over in the beginning, without the overproduction that sometimes plagued The Outsiders.

'"[18] Anthony Easton, signaling in a seven out of ten review from PopMatters, remarked that "it includes excellent vocals, sophisticated musical choices, and strong storytelling chops.