The River & the Thread garnered critical acclaim by music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a mean score from selected critics' ratings and reviews, the album holds a score of 87 (based on 19 reviews), which indicates "universal acclaim".[1] At Los Angeles Times, Randy Lewis rated the album a perfect four stars, proclaiming that "It's an album we'll be looking at in December when it's time to single out the most powerful works of 2014.[6] Holly Gleason of Paste rated the album an eight point eight, noting that "With
The River & The Thread, she comes home with the warmth reserved for knowing where we're from."[9] At The New Zealand Herald, Graham Reid rated the album four-and-a-half stars, saying that on this album "Cash proves again she does the darkly philosophical, ruminative stuff better and more convincingly than most."[8] Jerry Shriver of USA Today rated the album a perfect four stars, calling it "a captivating and sometimes haunting album that's among the finest of her career."[11] At Record Collector, Terry Stauton rated the album a perfect five stars, exclaiming that "It's a record that her late father would have been enormously proud of, and the first essential country album of 2014."[10]
At Country Weekly, Tammy Ragusa graded the album a B+, indicating this album "will require multiple listens to truly appreciate, so set aside some time to soak in this one."[5] Tony Hardy of Consequence of Sound graded the album a B, writing that the album is "a consummate piece of work, and an evocative way to honor both personal and public history."[4] At Allmusic, stating that the artist "learned to make every word and every note count, and this album confirms once again that she's matured into a singular artist with the talent and the vision to make these stories of her travels in the South come to vivid and affecting life."[2] Jim Farber of the New York Daily News rated the album four stars, affirming that "As always, Cash's vocals aren't brimming with character, but their tidiness suits her observational lyrics and considered personality. Together, they lead her home by a route laid out clearly enough to show just how far she strayed."[7] At Blurt, Lee Zimmerman rated the album four stars, alluding to how the album "manages to surge and sway all at the same time", and noting that "Indeed, it doesn't get much better than this."[3]
The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 11 with 19,000 copies sold for the week.[14] The album has sold 94,000 copies in the US as of February 2015.[15]
