Single Reviews – Page 52 – Country Universe

Single Review: Luke Bryan, “Drink a Beer”

November 20, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 26

Judge by the title, and you’ll think you’re getting just another mindless rave-up. Sure, it will be catchier than most of them because of Luke Bryan’s irrepressible vocal charm, but a mindless rave-up is a mindless rave-up.

It’s tempting to make the jump and think Bryan is deliberately playing against expectations here, recording a song with a predictable title that leads to the completely unexpected territory of grief and loss. But maybe it’s just that if drinking a beer is the way you celebrate with friends and loved ones, it’s the logical thing to do when you’re trying to cope with their unexpected departure.

Single Review: Thompson Square, “Everything I Shouldn’t Be Thinking About”

October 29, 2013 Ben Foster 10

Thompson Square opts for form over content with their new single “Everything I Shouldn’t Be Thinking About.” The song’s verses function only a vehicle to get to the earworm chorus, with the lyrical concept never quite reaching the third dimension.

Single Review: Eric Church, “The Outsiders”

October 26, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 20

A fun and catchy anthem for rebels who aren’t rebelling against anything in particular.

If Eric Church is anyone’s successor these days, it’s probably Hank Williams, Jr. There’s no specific ideology or established enemy in Church’s latest single, but it’s such a barn raiser that it’s very easy to side with him anyway. “The Outsiders” taps into that quintessentially American desire to champion for the underdog, and it does it quite well.

Single Review: Jake Owen, “Days of Gold”

October 26, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 4

It sounds like even Jake Owen got bored singing songs about girls and trucks and summer days and nights.

How else to explain the rapid fire delivery and fierce banjo and guitar on “Days of Gold”, which has him spitting out every country summer song cliché as quickly as he can get them out of his mouth?

Single Review: Little Big Town, “Sober”

October 24, 2013 Ben Foster 9

The “Pontoon” phenomenon may have been primarily responsible for putting Little Big Town back on the map in such a big way, but it’s their new single “Sober” that deserves to be a career hit for the talented country quartet.

Single Review: Zac Brown Band, “Sweet Annie”

September 30, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 17

Zac Brown Band’s laid back approach can make it easy to miss when they are actually digging deeper with their lyrics.

Their music often sounds designed to fade into the background, particularly on their radio singles, which usually land somewhere between faceless and mildly interesting, but rarely compelling in any meaningful way.

Single Review: Ty Herndon, “Lies I Told Myself”

September 29, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 5

I’d imagine that to young fans who have discovered country music in the last couple of years, the new Ty Herndon single will sound remarkably dated.

Single Review: Florida Georgia Line, “Round Here”

September 21, 2013 Ben Foster 12

I smell a holding pattern.

Single Review: Luke Bryan, “That’s My Kind of Night”

September 19, 2013 Ben Foster 33

Let’s start with the positives.

It has a banjo. I like banjo.

Single Review: American Young, “Love is War”

September 8, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 8

There’s a country radio station in NYC proper for the first time in nearly twenty years. The last one went off the air before I was old enough to drive, so when I found out it existed, I immediately checked it out.

Then I immediately checked out. It’s not listenable to me. It’s playing all of today’s hits and those from the past couple of years, and sometimes a song that I like will come on, but it’s always sandwiched between filler that hurts my ears.