[5] Neil Z. Yeung from AllMusic gave the album a positive four-star review, writing: "The Afterlove is a brave bid for contemporary relevance in 2017, a wonderful step outside his [Blunt's] comfort zone that is more memorable and exciting than much of his output this decade.

"[6] Ludovic Hunter-Tilney from the Financial Times gave a positive three-star review and called the songs "carefully structured", with "appealing melodies, on-trend chart pop production and A-list collaborators (including Sheeran) [that] attest to Blunt's musical staying power.

"[7] Richard Godwin of the London Evening Standard gave a mixed two-star review, summarising that "[t]he self-deprecating singer songwriter has not lost his way with sentiment" and that the album "finds the former soldier renovating his balladry by means of an R'n'B filter and a few tricks learned from his label-mate: judicious use of auto-tune, choppy guitar grooves and disarming honesty."

"[10] Rachel Aroesti of The Guardian gave a negative two-star review, calling the album "[s]lightly desperate and actively risible."

Although labelling the lyrics "inoffensive", Aroesti went on to write: "with Blunt having adopted a watered-down version of Justin Bieber's asinine tropical house it smacks of a desire to edge on to Radio 1 playlists and into student nights incognito, but only serves to highlight how irritating the sound has become.