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."[3]
The album's lead single "American Country Love Song" topped the Billboard Country Airplay chart on September 17, 2016. 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. American Love debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200 with 35,000 units, Owen highest charting album on that chart.[4] It also debuted at number one on the Top Country Albums chart, selling 29,400 albums in its first week.[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.
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