Love on the Inside has a score of 83 out of 100 from
Metacritic based on "universal acclaim" from many critics, with many reviews focusing on the song selection and Nettles' vocal performance, as well as the production of
Byron Gallimore, who also produced the duo's 2006 album
Enjoy the Ride. Thom Jurek of
AllMusic gave the album four stars out of five, commends the use of minimal
overdubs in the production. Of the song choices, he said, "While this set is saturated with hunger and ambition, it's also confident and sophisticated — the album sounds as if they meant every word but had a great time making it." He cited "We Run", "Joey" and "Love" as standout tracks. Chris Willman of
Entertainment Weekly gave it an A− rating, saying that the album's ballads recalled
Mary Chapin Carpenter and
Rodney Crowell, while other tracks such as "All I Want to Do" were "goofy, arena-ready crowd-pleasers".
Billboard critic Ken Tucker also gave a positive review, saying that Gallimore's production was "finely crafted" and that "All I Want to Do" was a "tantalizing tease" of the album's breadth. Chuck Eddy of
Blender magazine gave it three-and-a-half stars out of five, saying that the album recalled 1980s rock bands such as
The Bangles, and that by doing so, it kept "their more tepid tendencies in check." The album received a three-star rating (out of five) from
Slant Magazine reviewer Jonathan Keefe, who said that the songs recalled
rock acts such as
Def Leppard,
R.E.M. and
Concrete Blonde, and called "All I Want to Do" the "most grotesque thing shipped to radio since
Jessica Simpson's cover of '
These Boots Are Made for Walkin''." He also said that "Genevieve", "Keep You" and "Already Gone" were the best songs of the duo's career and described the "Life in a Northern Town" cover favorably. Matt C. was less favorable in his review for Engine 145, giving
Love on the Inside a two-and-a-half star rating out of five. He considered the album's melodies, themes and instrumentations to be largely homogeneous, and criticized the ballads for containing underdeveloped choruses, but cited "Steve Earle" and "Very Last Country Song" as standout tracks. ==Track listing==