The song was described as "blues punk"[1] and "one of the blues-tinged numbers" off the record.[4] The guitar riff of the song was interpreted as an homage to The Stooges song "No Fun" and was compared to those of The Heartbreakers song "Chinese Rocks."[5] According to Amy Britton, the author of Revolution Rock: The Albums Which Defined Two Ages, lyrically the song "places sex as a priority over the anomalies of the world."[6] Also on the lyrics of the song, Jason Heller of The A.V. Club wrote: "PJ doesn’t bring her love to anyone, nor does she ponder whether her font of conflicted emotions and biological requirements amount to desire. She just states, “This is love / This is love / That I’m feeling.” Period. No searching of the soul needed."[5]
Andrew Mueller of Spin stated that the song "flirts with a hitherto uncharacteristic Liz Phair-ish playfullness" and described it as "exuberant".[7] Christian David Hoard, one of the authors of The New Rolling Stone Album Guide praised the song, writing: "on the bombastic and awesomely raunchy "This Is Love," arguably her best song ever, she says a big fuck-you to psychosis and sadness as guitars crunch and garments hit the floor."[8]
The music video for the song was directed by Sophie Muller, who also collaborated with Harvey on the music videos of "Good Fortune" and "A Place Called Home."[9] It features Harvey, who is wearing a fringe-sleeved white suit and red lipstick, performing the song on the guitar at a studio and whipping her hair around.[10]
