We review the sophomore album from Dustin Lynch ‘Tullahoma’ ahead of its release this Friday 17th January.
On this his sophomore album, Lynch has clearly found his groove, grounded in his ‘Tullahoma’ Southern roots, while casting his net wide and imbibing pop anthemic sounds that bring this record to the next level.
This is one of those albums where there does not appear a stand-out single, for the simple fact that every single track on the album could be a single and there is no ‘filler.’ You would think that this would result in an album without balance or different levels, however Crowell has mastered the ability to create a record where even the quieter ballads on the album are still huge tunes. This is an album built, moreover, for live performance, and will clearly ricochet Lynch’s career on the live circuit. My only wish would have been that Lynch had not employed the same tactic as Runaway June and others last year and released so many of the tracks before the release of the album in its entirety. Releasing so many tracks so early does not do the album any service, this is a record that smacks you in the face with its bombastic sounds and immense production and by having fewer ‘new’ tracks, the audience can not fully appreciate the largesse of Lynch’s sound and what he has produced here. More than anything, they can not appreciate the shrewd ordering and creation of the album as a single entity – I, for one, often skip the old tracks on a first listen in my quest to listen straightaway to the new material, detracting from the effort put into the formation of a ‘record.’
The album’s opener ‘Momma’s House’ reads as a manifesto of the record’s sound, firmly based in his Southern ‘Tullahoma’ sound from the outset combined with Lynch’s signature vocal. The track is as catchy as they come, telling Lynch’s story of the girl that broke his heart and with it tarnished the memories he had of his hometown. It’s a relatable feeling, couched in a different method of expression. ‘I’d burn this whole town down if it wasn’t for my Momma’s House.’ Penned by Dylan Schneider, Michael Lotten, Rodney Clawson and Justin Wilson, it’s a huge opener and sets the tone for the record, stories about where Lynch is from and his artistic roots delivered with panache and style.
‘Dirt Road’ is the first ‘new’ track on the record and is another masterpiece in production. What Crowell has done so well is nod to Lynch’s Southern roots and manage to utterly modernise that sound without managing to lose these vitally important ‘country’ elements. The song is all about Lynch’s roots and reminiscing about a ‘small town girl and Momma’s fried chicken,’ growing up on a ‘dirt road’ even while ‘chasing those stars.’ His love for his hometown is self-evident, creating a surprisingly poignant and tender song. Surprisingly tender is the succeeding track, ‘Thinking ‘Bout You.’ This song notches up the tenor of the album – thanks in part to the huge vocal chops of Lauren Alaina – singing of all the times when he was just ‘thinking ’bout you.’ Lynch’s vocal range is extraordinary here, somehow managing to match Alaina’s in the chorus, yet returning to his swaggering staccato verses, dripping off the tongue with apparent ease. Alaina’s vocal on the album is, as always, sublime reaching heights that seem inhuman.
‘Ridin’ Roads’ recently earned Lynch another number one – his second as a co-writer. This slower, rolling track details Lynch’s formative years driving the backroads of Tullahoma with his girlfriend beside him. Though the track has a significant amount of electro-sounding beats, the track manages to imbibe a certain amount of Southern charm through the use of Dobro and strings throughout – a masterful achievement in production, making the number one clearly deserved.
The middle part of the album is where Lynch excels. ‘Old Country Song’ is a humongous, anthemic, stadium-ready song that audiences are bound to belt along to. It is a love song to country music itself, even managing to squeeze in the old classic ‘three chords and the truth.’ As every good love song to country, it’s rammed with instrumentation, lap steel and references to the greats ‘I’m going to love you like George Strait loves to drink… like cowboy hats loved Hank.’ Next up, ‘The World Ain’t Yours and Mine’ is without a doubt the strongest point in Tullahoma. It is masterfully delivered – what Lynch has done here that many find so hard to do is deliver an anthemic but also tender and heart-felt track. The true stroke of genius here is in the contrasting tempo, use of pause and moments of stripped-back instrumentation, while managing to stay seamless in its delivery. It is a marker of a great – in comparison to a good – artist, when they put as much thought into the ebb of an album as the high points and this is what Lynch has delivered here, seemingly effortlessly.
The opening bars of ‘Country Star’ provide a reflective moment, creating a sense of Side A and B on the album, another ode to ‘Tullahoma’ and a country night – it’s a mystery as to whether Lynch intended for the double-edged meaning and whether this offers a potential comment on the stars of the industry and their approach. Regardless, this is probably as close to a ‘filler’ track as you’ll get from ‘Tullahoma’ and is an important breathing space in a record packed with huge hitters.
Reverting back to the bigger, pacier sound, ‘Workin’ on You’ dives straight back in with heavy guitar sliding, drum beats and Lynch’s swaggering vocal. This is a sexier, more mature track both in its content and sound and an important marker of this new, bigger album. This more mature sound is followed through in ‘Little Town Livin’.’ Here Lynch appears to push his sound yet further in a more experimental take on ‘country’, with the inclusion of more staccato-sounding rap bars that sound somewhat Aldean-esque. The track swells with huge drum beats and singing guitar solos and is another huge high point in the record.
The hits keep coming in Tullahoma. ‘Red Dirt, Blue Eyes’ is a stadium-ready track with its heavy almost electro-sounding drum beat. On its release, it was a clear, signifying mark for Lynch, finding his sound in a movement away from his roots on ‘Cowboys and Angels,’ yet retaining all those elements that gave him his initial success. This track, complete with sliding guitars, describes Lynch’s own quest to escape his small town.
The record rounds out, somewhat curiously, with huge hit ‘Good Girl.’ This is a huge live moment for Lynch and it feels somewhat incongruous to plonk this at the end of the album, rather than in the meat of the record. Though it is a mark of just how rammed the record is with huge hits, still there seems something odd about the layout of the album that ‘Good Girl’ is the final note.
Tullahoma is a powerful statement on the state of country music. Lynch and his producer have pulled off a masterpiece in the retention of the signature charming Southern sound that made ‘Cowboys and Angels’ such a success, while managing to infuse that sound with something wholly modern, yet miraculous avoiding the ‘pop’ connotations that so many artists have fallen prey to. This is a huge album, packed full of hits and we wouldn’t be surprised if Lynch picked up several more number ones before Tullahoma has run its course. As far as 2020 albums go, Lynch has set the standard.
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Follow Dustin Lynch on his Website / Instagram / Twitter / Facebook
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Editor’s Picks:
The World Ain’t Yours and Mine
Old Country Song
Momma’s House
