Album Rating: 4.0
Care to elaborate? I won’t claim that Stapleton is more than a very solid songwriter for the most part (certainly he sticks to pretty tried and true themes for the genre and does little to put his own spin on them), but I feel his voice is pretty undeniable, and I appreciate the relative rootsy rawness he brings to a pretty modern/commercial style and production. The new album is certainly but this album and Starting Over are about as good this relatively straightforward modern approach to country can get imo.
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Album Rating: 1.5
I’m inclined to point to one of his peers, Tyler Childers. Where Stapleton leans heavily on his strong voice to sell his songs, Childers leans on relatability through lyrical mastery and a great sense of songwriting. Stapleton, in my view and experience, makes very digestible country music meant to be played at karaoke nights and family barbecues. It lacks a sense of lived experience, of true struggle. An incredible voice, sure, but it wears thin when it sings the same song over and over.
If you’re gonna play country music, put your fuckin back into it. Make me feel something, make it political, do it a little different than anyone else has. This guy just strikes me as someone trying to cut a check. No originality, no grit, no worldliness, no risks. Lame.
Worth noting I’m Appalachian and have been overexposed to country music my entire life, especially when I was growing up. Absolutely a snob when it comes to the genre, I cannot help it.
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