“Sangria”
Blake Shelton
Written by J.T. Harding, Josh Osborne, and Trevor Rosen
This is Shelton’s best single an a good long while.
It’s smooth and seductive, without sounding overly coy or even the least bit tacky. The Sangria angle is used well both literally and figuratively, and the lyrics are creative enough that they don’t run the concept into the ground.
The production is supportive without getting in the way of the song. The bridge picks up the pace unexpectedly, just as things are starting to get predictable. Shelton’s vocals are showcased, and they don’t get showy.
It’s a solid record that is worth checking out if you’ve ever been a casual fan of his work.
Grade: B+
This is…quite good?
I’m shocked, and I say this as someone who actually kinda likes Neon Light.
This is quite pleasant, which is better than I’ve expected from Shelton in quite awhile.
Eh I like the production and Blake sounds good but the lyrics to me feel really bland and vanilla I’m happy Blake is releasing the better songs off his otherwise mediocre album. Part of me likes it enough and want it to get number 1 but well Blake has had 14 in a row. I think this will help the streak continue but this just feels way too safe bland and well vanilla.
Grade Low B- to high C+. Great production and Blake sounds nice but the song comes off safe and vanilla.
I agree with Raymond, it’s good considering a lot of the trash Blake has been releasing in recent years (honestly, the last song I really enjoyed was “Honey Bee”) .
“Sangria” is also one of the only songs on Blake’s last album that is close to being listenable in my mind, but at least it’s not “Boys ‘Round Here” or some of the other crap Blake has been cutting. The production is good and lyrically it is not embarrassing, but it also feels like the kind of song that I will forget about 20 seconds after I listen to it, which is another way of saying it’s a pretty “fluff” song that doesnt offend anybody, but also doesnt blow anybody away with it.
Pretty boring, but at least he didn’t release that RaeLynn duet.
The last BS song I really liked was his cover of the Michael Buble song “Home”. This “Sangria” song is better than most of his recent efforts.
This was definitely the best track Shelton could have released from a below-average, forgettable album.
What I most appreciate about this track is the somewhat ambiguous production. This is obviously a track about a one-night stand, but I like how unlike most other recent tracks about casual encounters that approach the subject lightly without any nuance, the production has hints of semi-melancholic urgency.
It is also why I appreciated Jason Aldean’s “Night Train” more than I expected. That song on paper reads as just another instantly-forgettable fluffy dime-a-dozen love song, but Aldean’s vocals in that particular song elevates it somewhat because of the somewhat melancholic urgency to his vocal performance: as if in the back of his mind he knows this experience will ride off into the sunset just as quickly as that train.
And I get that same sort of vibe here. Though the lyrics read as predictable on paper, Shelton’s performance actually is laced with hints of ache, urgency and even possible remorse. The ambiguity of his vocals matched with the moody brand of middle-of-the-road production just makes for a somewhat more interesting read of a terribly worn-over theme in contemporary country music.
It’s still too lightweight to warrant a B+ in my opinion, but yeah………….I’m going to give this 6.5/10 and a modest recommendation.