Devils Country Music Thread

[TLO]

2016 is a great song tbh

[Slinky]

I had high hope for Kacey Musgraves when she came out. Then she had to go all pop on us. Same will likely be the case with Kelsea Ballerini. Can't blame them, I suppose. Go where the money is and stations will actually play you. 

[devils1854]

This pandemic has given me time to work on my favorite albums of the 2010s. Going to be doing a Top 50 starting with 25 honorable mentions.

BEST ALBUMS OF THE 2010s

Honorable Mentions Part 1

FAVORITE SONG- LAWN CHAIR DONT CARE

FAVORITE SONG- STRANGERS IN A BAR

FAVORITE SONG- HALF MILE HILL

FAVORITE SONG- HIGH SCHOOL

FAVORITE SONG- WEST COAST TOWN

FAVORITE SONG- WHEN SHE'S ON

FAVORITE SONG- SWINGIN' DOOR

FAVORITE SONG- HERO

FAVORITE SONG- GO TO HELL

 

 

 

[devils1854]

HONORABLE MENTIONS PART 2

 

FAVORITE SONG- THE SNAKE

FAVORITE SONG- TACOMA

FAVORITE SONG- SO YOU CAN'T HURT ME ANYMORE

FAVORITE SONG- LOUD AND HEAVY

FAVORITE SONG- WALK ME DOWN THE MIDDLE

FAVORITE SONG- STUCK ON YOU W/DARIUS RUCKER

FAVORITE SONG- KEEP A COUPLE BEERS COLD

FAVORITE SONG- PARKING LOT PIROUETTE

 

 

 

Edited May 9, 2020 by devils1854

[devils1854]

HONORABLE MENTIONS PART 3

FAVORITE SONG- KNIVES OF NEW ORLEANS

FAVORITE SONG- WEST TEXAS RAIN

FAVORITE SONG- BEST YEARS OF MY LIFE

FAVORITE SONG- RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW

FAVORITE SONG- OLD FASHIONED

FAVORITE SONG- FIND ME

FAVORITE SONG- SILVERADO BENCH SEAT

FAVORITE SONG- IF YOU WERE A COWBOY

 

 

 

[devils1854]

50.

FAVORITE SONGS- VANDALIZER//SPEAKERS//COME OVER

FAVORITE LYRICS- GIRL, I GUESS I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN//YOU LOOK LIKE A LITTLE HOODLUM WITH MY HOODIE ON//DANCIN' ON MY BED TO A FUGEE SONG//JUST KILLING ME SOFTLY. -VANDALIZER

Even before signing a record deal, Sam Hunt's name was hot. Off the mixtape, Cop Car became a hit for Keith Urban. Come over was one for Kenny Chesney. We Are Tonight went #1 for Billy Currington. Finally, William Michael Morgan had his first hit with I Met a Girl. Hunt is a gifted writer that can write songs and hooks that stay in a listeners head. It might not be He Stopped Lovin' Her Today, but its still impressive, and good. On this introductory mixtape, Hunt is at his best, and he hasnt reached this level since signing a deal. You can hear the instruments. The beats arent overpowering. They actually help the songs. You can hear country music. Its still pop country, but pop country is good when it is done well, and not many people did it as good as Sam Hunt did in the decade, and on this album.

 

 

49.

FAVORITE SONGS-LILY//HOME//MOUNTAIN PARKWAY

FAVORITE LYRICS-IVE BEEN TO NASHVILLE//THROUGH BOWLING GREEN//THERES NOTHING LIKE THE LINE THAT RUNS//FROM HERE TO 114//IF THE ROAD WAS A SONG//THIS IS WHAT IT'D SAY//WHEN YOU DRIVE THE MOUNTAIN PARKWAY. -MOUNTAIN PARKWAY

This album is a gorgeous love letter to the state of Kentucky from the boys of Sundy Best. These guys are proud of their home and you get a lot of John Denver vibes on the album. There is so much enthusiasm for a place and a feeling. It rubs off you as a listener, and you might start thinking about visiting Kentucky after listening to the album. Its a very well written album that is helped by these guys love for their subject. It really is a fun album to listen to. Its very bluegrass at times. Its very back porch picking. Its a lot of things. Its 100% authentic, and thats why I still listen to this album seven years after its first release. If you listen to the album, I guarantee you will come away thinking a cajon drum should be used more in country music.

 

 

48.

FAVORITE SONGS-TEXAS RAIN//I'M NOT ALRIGHT//ME AND A MEMORY

FAVORITE LYRICS-PICTURES LIKE PORTRAITS IN MY MIND//I WANNA SEE THEM//YOUR VOICE YOUR BREATH YOUR LAUGH YOUR CRY//I WANNA HEAR THEM//SO I LAY MY GLASS DOWN AND DROWN OUT ALL THIS WOLD//THREE DAYS AND COUNTING//DON'T YOU DOUBT ME GIRL. -STEADY AS SHE GOES

I was very excited when I found these guys around the end of 2017. It was just in time for their first full length album. What really draws me into this album is the use of the steel guitar and electric guitar. Its woven together so beautifully throughout the album, giving us a sweeping sound of the West Texas Plains. The music really sets the mood. The album isnt about the area of Palo Duro, where the guys are from, its more of the backdrop. The sound even reminds me of Quintin Tarentino at times. Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon from Urge Overkill in Pulp Fiction is that dirty western type sound. Don't love this album too much. The duo broke up in 2019.

 

 

Edited May 10, 2020 by devils1854

[devils1854]

47.

FAVORITE SONGS-THAT LOOK//FENCE POST//FREIGHT TRAIN

FAVORITE LYRICS-I'D RATHER BE AN OLD FENCE POST IN TEXAS//THAN THE KING OF TENNESSEE. -FENCE POST

The Underdog was Aaron Watson's introduction for many people, including me. I was still not fully seeing Texas Country as a viable alternative to the Nashville scene when I heard That Look for the first time. I was instantly a fan, and so was many. The Underdog went number one on the Billboard Country Albums chart during its debut week in 2015. An independent artist with no big Nashville ties. That speaks to Aaron's songs, and The Underdog is the perfect Aaron Watson album. The formula Aaron uses is the same in all his albums. Loving his wife, being a family man, being the underdog, loving God, and loving cowboys and cowboy life. Its no different here, but The Underdog is the best written album in Watson's catalogue, and that's why it finds a spot here.

 

 

46.

FAVORITE SONGS-WHISKEY//NEVER ALONE ALWAYS LONELY//IT DON'T RAIN IN CALIFORNIA

FAVORITE LYRICS-I AM THE HUNTED AND I AM THE HUNTER//I AM THE FEAST AND THE FAMINE, THE HUNGER//AND I AM THE EAGLE SCREAMING FOR PEACE//WHILE THE BEASTS ON THE INSIDE SHARPEN THEIR TEETH. -WHICH ONE I FEED

The Wanting is the second album released in back to back weeks in 2019, following After the Fire. Cody is such an open person when he writes, it creates dark, yet poetic songs about the struggles that he goes through daily. Struggles that everyone goes through. It really helps to bring the listener closer to Cody, almost forming a bond. The Wanting in more introspective than any previous album. He talks about both the good and evil inside him on two songs on the album(Which One I Feed/The Raven and the Dove). Its even the cover of the album. There is darkness, doubt, and fear in all of us, and as long as Jinks continues to touch on these issues that affect us, he's going to continue to give us all time great albums because he is one of the absolute best at getting his feelings on a piece of paper.

 

 

45.

FAVORITE SONGS-GOOD LORD LORRIE//GIN, SMOKE, LIES//EMPTY AS A DRUM

FAVORITE LYRICS-WHEN YOU DARKENED UP THE DOORWAY, I STOOD UP FROM THE BAR//WELL I SAID HEY NOW HERE YOU ARE, DAMNIT DARLIN, HOW ARE YOU?//AND YOU KISSED ME//SAID I CAN'T SAY THAT I'M GREAT OH LORD I HATE THAT I'M LATE//OH WHAT A MESS WE GOT INT0. -EMPTY AS A DRUM

I love the opening of the album with Gin, Smoke, Lies. Its fun, uptempo, and we get to hear some great banjo and fiddle playing. Turnpike keeps the fun going next with Before The Devil Knows Your Dead. Another fun song about the frailness of life. Its not really until the album closer, Quit While I'm Ahead, do you get another fast paced song. In between, you hear about love and life in small town America. Good Lord Lorrie is the signature song here. If you are a fan of Turnpike Troubadours, you know there are certain themes and characters that are present throughout their music, and Lorrie is one of the central figures, and the song Good Lord Lorrie is a song about how its like to be in a relationship with her. Its one of the best, and most loved songs in the bands discography. I don't think any other Turnpike album has the highs that Goodbye Normal Street has, but the lows are a little bit lower than what you expect from the band.

 

 

[devils1854]

44.

FAVORITE SONGS-RORY'S RADIO//WHERE COUNTRY GROWS//I'M JUST A WOMAN

FAVORITE LYRICS-WE'D SIT UNDERNEATH TOM BIGBEE BRIDGE//EATIN' ON A BAG OF CRAWFISH//WE WOULD DRAG RACE DOWN STRAIGHAWAYS ON WEST BEND ROAD//WE'D LAUGH AND JOKE LIVIN' OUR LIVES SLOW//LISTENING TO RORY'S RADIO-RORY'S RADIO

Ashton Shepherd has one of my favorite voices in country music. She has a very pronounced drawl, that gets even more pronounced in parts of her music. It's not unlike Gretchen Wilson, but Ashton knows her voice, and does a great job manipulating it depending on the subject of the song. The sass she puts in her voice on songs like Look it Up and Tryin' To Go To Church brings up thoughts of Loretta Lynn. The album is a good example of a classic country album with modern tendencies that we heard a lot of throughout the 80s and 90s. Unfortunately, her highest charting single from the album only reached #19, and in 2012 Shepherd parted ways with her label, and has not had a song reach since.

 

 

43.

FAVORITE SONGS-WHEN I GET TO HEAVEN//SUMMER'S END//THE LONESOME FRIENDS OF SCIENCE

FAVORITE LYRICS-AND I ALWAYS WILL REMEMBER THESE WORDS MY DADDY SAID//HE SAID, "BUDDY WHEN YOU'RE DEAD, YOU'RE A DEAD PECKER-HEAD."//I HOPE TO PROVE HIM WRONG..THAT IS, WHEN I GET TO HEAVEN.-WHEN I GET TO HEAVEN

The Tree of Forgiveness was really my first introduction to John Prine, and it was a good one. He is such a unique songwriter. He has a way of telling a story by using irregular words in a way that everyone can understand. This album is whimsical. Its reflective. It's heartbreaking. When I Get To Heaven is the last song on the album, and it tells of what John is going to do once he gets to heaven. He is going to smoke. He is going to start a band. He is going to see his family. It's a song that someone will hear and not realize the beauty of the song because it's given to us in such a offbeat way. It also hits a lot harder now that we lost John about a month ago after many health battles.

 

 

42.

FAVORITE SONGS-THAT AIN'T GONNA FLY//WE FLY BY NIGHT//TODAY

FAVORITE LYRICS-FROM THE DAY WE MET//TO THE NIGHT SHE LEFT//I LOVED HER, NO REGRETS. -NO REGRETS

The sound of Get Off On The Pain is the best thing about the album. Allan seemlessly goes from a blues sound to a west coast country sound to a more classical sound with the piano and violin. It all works, and it blends well together from song to song. It goes well with the theme of the album too....and that is pain, like in the title. Its abundantly clear that he is still dealing with the death of his wife towards the beginning of the century, and just coming to terms with her suicide. It's a very emotional album. The album ends with a song called No Regrets. Its co-written by Allan, and it sounds like he is letting go and trying to take the next step in life.

 

 

[devils1854]

41.

FAVORITE SONGS-FARAWAY LOOK//LONELY THE NIGHT//RIDE OUT IN THE COUNTRY

FAVORITE LYRICS-ALL THE STARS ARE CRYING//THEY KNOW THEY BROKE THEIR PROMISE TO ME//ONCE UPON A TIME, I WISHED FOR A LOVE LIKE YOU//BUT I GUESS SOMETIMES WHISHES DON'T COME TRUCE.-LONELY THE NIGHT

This album was one of my obsessions in 2019. Yola has an amazing and powerful voice, and she knows how to control it, manipulate it. I do wish she would just let it rip a little more. She shows off a little in Faraway Look and Lonely The Night, but even then, it feels like she has another level that she hasnt even played with yet. Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys produced the album, and he;s quickly becoming one of my favorites. The album is clean. I love the many different sounds that are incorporated into making the album. Pop sounds from her native England, old school country, even some 70s disco sounds. Its just a joy to listen to, and there is a lot of great music in this lady's future.

 

 

40.

FAVORITE SONGS-TORPEDO//WAY OUT WEST//TIME DON'T WAIT

FAVORITE LYRICS-HAD POISONOUS SNAKES ALL OVER MY SKIN//BIG CHIEF SAID COME AND BE MY GUEST//STEP ACROSS THE LINE THEN YOU'RE WAY OUT WEST.-WAY OUT WEST

Marty Stuart has built this living, breathing world in the album Way Out West, and its all based on sound. The music is the star of the album. Remember that dirty Western sound I liked in the album from Shotgun Rider? Take that sound, add in 60s western music, some psychedelics, and maybe a little California country sound. You probably need some drugs too, but its not necessary. The songs that have words(about half of the 15 tracks), really take a backseat here. Don't get me wrong, they are good, but the music on this album is just so extraordinary, everything else pales in comparison. I would love another album like this from Mr. Stuart.

 

 

39.

FAVORITE SONGS-BAKERSFIELD//I HOPE YOU GET WHAT YOU DESERVE//WHAT DO YOU WANT

FAVORITE LYRICS-I CALLED HER BAKERSFIELD AND IT WOULD ALWAYS MAKE HER SMILE//DON'T KNOW WHERE SHE IS TODAY BUT SHE WAS MINE FOR AWHILE//EVERY TIME I DRIVE THROUGH THE CALIFORNIA HILLS//I FIND MY MIND IS ON BAKERSFIELD.-BAKERSFIELD

When record labels get out of the way, Jerrod Niemann can give you a very interesting, and often well done album. Its like that on his major label debut, Judge Jerrod & The Hung Jury. It only takes one listen to the album to realize that Niemann loves music. He incorporates so much in his sound, and he doesnt just stick to a sound. One song might be a classic country song, the next might be a fun drinking song, the next might be a piano heavy ballad. I think in the country genre, Garth is a huge influence of Niemann. This album is like an experimental Garth album(not Chris Gaines). The song Bakersfield is one of my favorite summertime love songs to ever be released. Niemann's delivery and the harmonica is just perfect.

 

 

[devils1854]

38.

FAVORITE SONGS-LAST OF MY KIND//IF WE WERE VAMPIRES//TUPELO

FAVORITE LYRICS-MAYBE TIME RUNNING OUT IS A GIFT//I'LL WORK HARD TIL THE END OF MY SHIFT//AND GIVE YOU EVERY SECOND I CAN FIND//AND HOPE IT ISNT ME WHO'S LEFT BEHIND.-IF WE WERE VAMPIRES

Songwriting is a gift, and there might not be a better writer in country music in the 21st century than Jason Isbell. On The Nashville Sound, the masterclass is If We Were Vampires. The song is about cherishing every moment you have with that special one, and that maybe it's a good thing that our time will run out one day, because it makes the love even more sweeter. It's simple, yet brilliant, and that's what makes Isbell the best. He can take small moments and make them grand. He can make the mundane seem relevant. Nashville Sound is probably his best written album since Southeastern.

 

 

37.

FAVORITE SONGS-LIVING FOR A SONG W/HANK COCHRAN, KRIS KRISTOFFERSON, WILLIE NELSON, MERLE HAGGARD//WOULD THESE ARMS BE IN YOUR WAY W/RED LANE//THE EAGLE W/GEORGE STRAIT

FAVORITE LYRICS-LIFES SO FULL OF MELODIES//WITH WORDS THAT RHYME AND HARMONIES//TIL I WRITE MINE ILL ALWAYS BE//LIVING FOR A SONG.-LIVING FOR A SONG

It's not very often a tribute album comes and really makes me notice. It's either thrown together by a label trying to make a dollar and they throw current relevant artists on it that make it sound bad, or the style of the original work is changed so much by artists that it sounds like a bastardization. This doesnt happen here. James Johnson is a professional, and does things up to his standards, and this album sounds like he really cares for the music, and wants listeners to really fall in love with the work of Hank Cochran. Jamey also brings in artists suited for the music, and former friends and colleagues of Cochran. This album was releases eight years ago, and its the last release that we have gotten from Jamey Johnson.

 

 

36.

FAVORITE SONGS-MOCKINGBIRD//BLACKOUT//FACEPLANT

FAVORITE LYRICS-PRETTY WINGS, YOU'RE THE PRETTIEST THING//YOU'RE LIKE PARKER POSEY IN A MAGAZINE//WITH FITTED JEANS AND A CROP TOP BACK IN NINETY-THREE.-MOCKINGBIRD

Ruston Kelly is a recovering addict. His album Dying Star feels like Kelly's way of going through the twelve steps. The pain he went through. The pain he caused others. Relationships. The addiction. Writing is his therapy. Thats what it feels like in Dying Star. Kelly bares his soul throughout the fourteen songs, and is wordsmanship is exquisite. If you get the chance to see Kelly live, you must do it. The one time I saw him was in support for this album. I think it was right before it came out. Definitely one of the best concerts of the decade for me.

 

 

[devils1854]

35.

FAVORITE SONGS-BLAINE'S FERRIS WHEEL//I'M DRINKING THROUGH IT//IT'S ALWAYS GONNA RAIN

FAVORITE LYRICS-THE KING OF THE WORLD'S ABOVE SAN ANGELO//TOP OF A FERRIS WHEEL//FOR 10 BUCKS A RIDE, YOU CAN SIT BY HIS SIDE//HE'LL SAY EVERYTHING'S NOTHING AND NOTHING IS REAL.-BLAINE'S FERRIS WHEEL

Jack Ingram put out his last album for Big Machine Records in Nashville in 2009. It took until 2016 for Ingram to release new music. Thankfully, Jack is back at home in Texas and is done with the Nashville thing. Midnight Motel is a very intimate album. Every song seems very personal. There's not a lot of production on the album as a whole, and Jack lets a lot of tracks run after songs are over. You can hear some back and forth talking. He intros into some songs this way. He even tells a whole story before Blaine's Ferris Wheel. I cant confirm this, but I feel that when the album was released in 2016, there were more stories in the album. If you go on Spotify, it says the album was released in 2017 when it was clearly released in 2016. I think maybe a different version is now on Spotify. Blaine's Ferris Wheel and I'm Drinking Through It are the two real standouts for me off the album. The album really feels like everything is tied together, and everything is better as a whole, than individually. That's not a bad thing at all. It's clear vision, and its just a excellent album.

 

 

34.

FAVORITE SONGS-NIGHT SHIFT//SHE AIN'T IN IT//COWBOY HAT

FAVORITE LYRICS-AND START DANCING AROUND THE BEDROOM//MOONLIGHT THROUGH THE WINDOW//COUNTRY ON THE RADIO, SILHOUETTE, BEAUTIFUL.-COWBOY HAT

California Sunrise came out during a time in Nashville when Bro-Country was dominating the charts. Its an album that allows Pardi to explore his more country sound with the steel guitar and fiddle playing prominent roles while still giving mainstream country audiences the electric guitar that was being heard on country radio. It blended together perfectly, and because of it, Pardi has become one of the faces of the more traditional sound on country radio. If there is one small issue with the album, its the writing. The songs aren't specific. Its the more paint by numbers Nashville style, but its still considerably better than the tan legged, cold beer, shotgun seat lyrics that were prevalent on radio at the time.

 

 

33.

FAVORITE SONGS-TURQUOISE//HERE I COME//LONELY IN BARS

FAVORITE LYRICS-MOONLIGHT ON THE BANKS OF THE RIVER//I WALK HER DOWN TO THE ALCOVE SLIVER//FIRST KISS I PLAN TO GIVE HER, SHE WON'T FORGET//MY HEART BEATS LIKE A LOVE DRUNK DRUMMER//MY BLOOD RUNS LIKE A SEMINOLE RUNNER//ON THE CRUX OF THE INDIAN SUMMER, MY TOES ARE WET.-TURQUOISE

My favorite song on Proving Grounds is Turquoise. My favorite lyrics from the album is the first verse from the song. It's above. Read that. Listen to the song. Tell me that's not one of the most beautiful lyrics written in a country love song. Its gorgeous. Its descriptive. I can feel it when I'm listening to it. That's what we want as listeners right? To be moved. To feel something from music. That's Baumann's writing to a T. I could have easily posted lyrics from another song, and it be just as brilliant. This is one of the absolute best written albums of the decade.

 

Edited May 24, 2020 by devils1854

[devils1854]

32.

FAVORITE SONGS-THE MERCURY//EASTON & MAIN//THE BIRD HUNTERS

FAVORITE LYRICS-LORRIE LAUGHS LIKE SHE JUST DON'T CARE//GOT A RED BANDANA AND RAVEN HAIR//SITTING IN THE CORNER AT THE MERCURY//COWBOY KILLERS IN A PLAIN WHITE TEE.-THE MERCURY

When I think of my favorite Turnpike songs, I think of Long Hot Summer Day and Shreveport off Diamonds & Gasoline, Good Lord Lorrie and Gin, Smoke, Lies off of Goodbye Normal Street, and A Tornado Warning off A Long Way from Your Heart. Nothing off their 2015 self titled album comes to mind, yet here it is on the list for the best albums of the decade. That speaks to how consistent this album is from beginning to the end. Their story telling might be at its peak on this album. It starts off with The Bird Hunters. A waltz about a couple of guys out bird hunting, talking about how the one guy just got back home from living in the big city with his ex-girlfriend. Its five minutes, four verses, one pre-chorus, and a chorus. Its just a great song from beginning to end, just like the whole album.

 

 

31.

FAVORITE SONGS-MERRY GO 'ROUND//I MISS YOU//KEEP IT TO YOURSELF

FAVORITE LYRICS-WE THINK THE FIRST TIME'S GOOD ENOUGH//SO WE HOLD ONTO HIGH SCHOOL LOVE//SAW WE WON'T END UP LIKE OUR PARENTS//TINY LITTLE BOXES IN A ROW//AIN'T WHAT YOU WANT ITS WHAT YOU KNOW//JUST HAPPY IN THE SHOES YOUR WEARIN'//SAME CHECKS WE'RE ALWAYS CASHIN'//TO BUY A LITTLE MORE DISTRACTION.-MERRY GO 'ROUND

The perspective we get on Same Trailer Different Park is not one that we her a lot in mainstream country. Instead of singing about how happy you are living in the country, finding love, and settling down in a story book life, we hear that things aren't always like they seem. Maybe the way of life that has been passed down from parents to parents isn't the life for everyone. It's not reinventing the wheel, but it's something that country music needs if country music is supposed to be the music of the common man. It also kinda blows my mind that it took until 2013 for country to really accept a song like Follow Your Arrow.

 

30.

FAVORITE SONGS-HANDS ON YOU//WILD LOVE//HARD ON A HEART

FAVORITE LYRICS-I NEED A STRANGER TO PULL MY HAIR AND CALL MY NAME//TAKE ME HOME AND MAKE ME FEEL ALIVE AGAIN//LIGHTNING ROD, OH HELP ME GOD, IT'S COURSING THROUGH MY VEINS//I DON'T WANNA DENY MYSELF.-WILD LOVE

Sparrow is one of the most musically pleasing albums of the decade. It's partly a throwback to the 60s and early 70s when the stringed instruments ruled and there was a more polished, adult sound, and at points, this album is sexy as hell.  Monroe attacks a lot of subjects on the album from being a new mother to her father and his death to heartbreak, but those three or four sexy songs mixed in are the clear hits on the album. In country music, its not often you'll hear the lyrics that I posted above as my favorite on the album, but Monroe does it swimmingly. Monroe is a smart, talented, strong, and sexy woman, and she really celebrates it on Sparrow.

 

 

[Fl0nkerton]

@devils1854 what do you think of Shape & Destroy?

It's not Dying Star but it's growing on me a lot. Really liked the singles and snagged the vinyl when it went on pre-order.
The packaging is gorgeous & he autographed it which is cool.

[devils1854]

On 9/18/2020 at 10:33 AM, Fl0nkerton said:

@devils1854 what do you think of Shape & Destroy?

It's not Dying Star but it's growing on me a lot. Really liked the singles and snagged the vinyl when it went on pre-order.
The packaging is gorgeous & he autographed it which is cool.

Honestly, I havent given a listen yet. Ive been listing to a lot of old stuff for a few months now. Memories of better times have really helped to get me through all the covid crap. Ive been starting to get back into newer stuff the past week or so. There is a lot to catch up on. Ill probably get to Shape & Destroy next weekend. Saturday or Sunday morning, whenever I can make time, I love to put Spotify on the tv, smoke a couple bowls, and just immerse myself into some music. Its something Ive tried to make a habit, and I really look forward to it. Thats the perfect time for some Ruston Kelly.

I took the day off from work today. I have some stuff to do, but I think I will do a post of what Ive listened to recently.

[devils1854]

On 9/18/2020 at 10:33 AM, Fl0nkerton said:

@devils1854 what do you think of Shape & Destroy?

It's not Dying Star but it's growing on me a lot. Really liked the singles and snagged the vinyl when it went on pre-order.
The packaging is gorgeous & he autographed it which is cool.

Listened to it once yesterday and once just now. My first thoughts are that this is boring. Ruston is one of my favorite writers and I really didnt hear anything that caught my eye. I feel like he went from very personal on Halloween and Dying Star to mostly generalities in this album. It feels like he wrote this album for others so he took out personal experiences and put in general stuff. Its sounds like if a Music Row record label tried to recreate Ruston Kelly.

Its going to take a lot more listens for me to really form an opinion, but right now thats what Ive got because absolutely no song stood out in the first two spins.