“Turn Up”
Easton Corbin
Written by Easton Corbin, Jessi Alexander and Wade Kirby
I can’t blame Easton Corbin for wanting to get in on the current nihilistic party song trend in mainstream country music, especially when he’s still without a major label deal and hasn’t had a legitimate hit in years. I guess I’m just confused as to why his take on it sounds more like it’s speaking to 2014 than 2020.
The thing is, Corbin has a balladeer’s voice, and while he doesn’t lack charisma per se, he’s often stiff on tracks that require a bit more force. He can handle lightweight, breezy material well, but “Turn Up” is no “Roll With It.” The drum machine clashes with the weightless electric guitar play, and though the steel guitar and dobro accent marks help the track go down smoother, they don’t make it the least bit interesting.
Then, of course, there’s the lyrics that try (and fail) to play to an “aw, shucks, I’m just a good ol’ country boy” attitude, making a moment of escapism turn to something slightly more creepy with lines like “give me that green light look” and “maybe you’ll turn up in my arms.” Otherwise, given how this current trend of providing levity in our current situation is little more than reviving uninteresting lyrical ideas from the bro-country era, this is nothing you haven’t heard before – even when judged against Corbin’s own “Baby Be My Love Song” and “Yup.”
For something truly moving, I’d suggest Corbin’s own “Raising Humans” from last year. It’s far better than this.
Grade: C
You missed Jessi Alexander as a writer for this song.
Sunny,
Fixed! Thanks. The article where I read about this song didn’t credit her, so that’s weird.
Concur with your C