Brett Eldredge - Brett Eldredge

Brett Eldredge
Brett Eldredge
2017
Spotify

I have never been shy about calling out shitty music and the mainstream Country Music of today sure has plenty of turds. Chasing mainstream ideas and delivery seems to be the new norm in Nashville with Hip Hop even being blended in to popular songs. I hate this, it bugs me and it takes a genre steeped in history and waters it down to almost nothing. Brett Eldredge on this self titled record tries to buck that trend delivery 12 tracks of pretty solid music with huge pop potential. The thing that really stands out is the earnestness of the record. Songs like "Love Someone" sound so personal and connected to real things, real emotions, and it works. 'Superhero" does fall kind of flat and sounds extremely generic but for every track that misses there are two or three more that work. There are times where the electronic drums and tones can sound a bit off, but the rarely are the focus of the entire song, more just flourishes. At heart Eldredge is a crooner, just with some Country flare as evidenced by "The Reason". He worms his way through the track with plenty of swagger as a stand up piano bangs away and it's so much fun to listen to. It is so refreshing to hear a pop country album that is not 100% contrived and focus grouped to death. There are also sweet ballads like "Haven't Met You Yet" about the person He is going to end up with but... well you get it from the title. It's a sweet and honest sentiment, the same way when He says he might steal your pretty girl "Somethin' I'm Good At", it works because it's him.

"No Stopping You" is drenched in 80s sheen and sort of has this bumbling quality to it. The problem is Eldredge's voice doesn't mesh with the music, in fact they kind of clash. This is not the music for someone with a twang to sing. However these missteps show that he is willing to try something different rather than just follow a trend. There are also times where songs feel to on the nose like "Brother". When you look at the titles you almost instantly know what the song is about and how it is going to go. "Heartbreaker" is a song where Eldredge lands firmly in the pocket, uses old school country instrumentation and shocker the song song really works. Eldredge wisely keeps the vibe light for the most part allowing the album to just sail by far quicker than it's 41 minute runtime would have you believe. I'm happy to blast Country Music when they get it wrong, but Brett Eldredge is doing it right even if Country is not your jam. A solid album and hopefully a step in the right direction for the man.

7.8 out of 10