Ryan Hurd has made a name for himself in Nashville as the songwriter behind some of the biggest hits, including Lady A‘s ‘What If I Never Get Over You.’ However, as a major artist in his own right, Ryan Hurd’s sound has gone from strength to strength in the past few years. Pre-save Pelago here.
Ryan Hurd can turn a lyric like no other. Having become an immensely respected name in Nashville as a songwriter, penning a plethora of No. 1 hits including ‘Lonely Tonight’ (Blake Shelton) and ‘What If I Never Get Over You’ (Lady A), Ryan Hurd has stepped out in the past few years with some thoughtfully crafted and poised projects, including his Platonic and EOM EPs. This Friday, Hurd will release his debut album Pelago that is a songwriter’s masterpiece – a masterfully created collection of songs that speak as much to Hurd as an artist and as a songwriter. Positioned as a love letter to Michigan, in a town where Southern values and tropes are often the mainstay for country music, Hurd offers a fresh perspective in his songwriting, allowing new and relatable reference points to permeate the record – brought to life by long-time creative partner Aaron Eshuis.
This is the kind of record that will be a treasure for lovers of lyrics and fresh songwriting, where even the ‘upbeat’ tracks on the record contain as many cleverly crafted puzzles of lyrics as the layered ballads as Pelago leads you along the relationship arc he narrates. So, the project opens on the laidback ‘Pass It On’ – a track about spreading positivity and happiness. ‘What good is your dollar, or your love or your bottle, if you keep it all to yourself? / There’s enough to go around, so send it on down.’ The song is resplendent with a groovy and full instrumentation that gives a rich, rounded tone to open up the first section of the record. Accompanied on backing vocals by wife Maren Morris, the pair seem to vocally be playing around with a free experimentation that is deliciously propulsive. As we say, these are no normal laid-back, good vibes tracks – there are puzzles within the lyrics and lush imagery as is clear in following track ‘Coast’ that continues to paint a vivid picture of the lakes of Michigan. ‘Laid out on the west one underneath the red sun / You and the sand getting hotter / We’ll make our own Pelago, Michigan, Chicago / Baby, dip your toes in the water.’ It’s a slow, lingering groove, brought to life in the masterful hands of Aaron Eshuis, where the detailed lyrics can not be overestimated (Hurd in a recent interview with us talked about the long journey to verse two). The final song on this part of the record comes with the top ten single ‘Chasing After You’ – a long overdue duet with his wife. It’s a swelling, mesmerising ballad that had been floating around Nashville for years, but found the perfect home this year with the couple – a quietly, understated ballad in the context of commercial country radio, with an enormous heart to the track that is magnetic, allowing the unique power of each individual’s vocals to breathe as they exchange lines about stepping into a relationship.
The next chapter of the relationship story opens with ‘June, July, August’ that sees Hurd get increasingly nostalgic and introspective, allowing traces of regret to creep into the songwriting. ‘June, July, August’ is a nostalgic look back on youth and first loves. ‘When we were young and drunk by the water / Kept that sunburned love gettin’ hotter / And that feelin’ never faded like the tan lines on your skin / I’d do June, July, and August / A thousand times again, eh, eh.’ It’s a swirling, soft and tender track that paints a real, heart-rending picture, with lines like ‘More like a real tattoo in a world of henna ink,‘ Hurd demonstrates again and again his power to evoke relatable and authentic feelings with astute detail. The idea of lingering feelings is hammered home on ‘Palm Trees in Ohio’ – an island vibes, sun-drenched track. ‘I’ll be yours and you’ll be mine / Til there’s palm trees in Ohio / No traffic in LA / No snow in Colorado.’ It’s a swaggering, deeply charming ballad that flows with the kind of ease of the love it describes, yet contains a note of pain in the context of where it is placed within the story painted on the record. Again, this is a song for lovers of lyricism and turns of phrase, continuing to fill out the picture of Pelago. The following three tracks ramp up the intensity of heartbreak – proper old-fashioned country heartache songs, with a twist. On ‘If I Had Two Hearts’, Hurd offers a swelling, considered ballad, singing about not regretting heartbreak for the love it gave him. ‘If I had one more to give you baby, I know what I’d do / Oh, I’d let you break that one too.’ It’s a surprise that this one has not been picked up in Nashville before, but it finds its worthy place in Pelago, brought to life by the emotive power of Hurd’s vocal. Following track, ‘Tab With My Name On It’ is without a doubt one of our favourite instrumental parts fo the record, kicked off with a stunning strings part that builds into a cinematic picture of a guy drinking away his sorrows at a bar. The production is a note of genius, changing up the pace on the record. Although the track could have fallen squarely into the country trope of a bar-drinking track, in Hurd’s hands it is elevated into a fully comprehensive and cinematic picture of heartbreak as he sings, ‘But around drink three, that’s when it hits me / That all I have without you with me / Is a tab with my name on it.’ If there’s any justice in country music right now, this track will achieve the same if not greater success than ‘Chasing After You.’ To close out this section of the record is the only other external cut on the record, ‘What Are You Drinking’ – an indulgent ballad ‘What Are You Drinking’ is a swelling ballad replete with a further rich instrumentation as Hurd questions where an ex-love is in life, by comparing it to what she might be drinking. ‘Are you sipping on red wine / Thinking about old times / Is it a straight tequila night or a beer with the girls in a downtown dive / Are you raising up champagne, or is there a tear in your Tanqueray? / Are you heartbroke? Are you doing fine? / I want to know what are you drinking tonight?’ It’s a lingering, pensive track questioning an ex-love’s status.
In the next chapter, Hurd begins the journey of moving on, in a gloriously funky, easy-grooving track about an inability to move on even when surrounded by a tropical island. ‘Thought it wouldn’t be the same down here / So I got me a ticket on a plane down here / Thought I’d be better if I came down here.’ Though the feel is straight-up laidback, island vibes, the lyrics are despondent and melancholic – it’s an intriguing mix that feels incredibly fresh, before moving into the lingering notes of the piano ballad ‘The Knife or The Hatchet.’ This track narrates the difficulties of navigating long-term relationships and yearning for upfront honesty, where hiding feelings causes more issues. ‘Promise me you’ll say the word / And don’t look back, make it hurt / You owe me that, say what’s been unspoken or break up will stay unbroken / Ain’t something I can do it anymore, so all I ask is / Twist the knife or bury the hatchet.’ It’s the kind of slick and interesting track you will revisit, revealing more layers to the songwriting artistry with every listen. Finally, the story is rounded out with ‘I Never Said I’m Sorry’ that looks back again on old relationships and past mistakes. ‘I said I love you and I said forever / And I don’t regret it, I meant every word / When I left you crying, out there in the driveway / It don’t mean much now, but for what it worth / I never said I’m sorry.’ It’s a tenderly delivered track about regret, without being cliche or trite. It’s slickly written and perfectly delivered, as always in the masterful hands of Aaron Eshuis.
Pelago is the work of an artist who has taken time to thoughtfully and painstakingly create his own path in the country genre and his own narrative and voice. It’s an album for lovers of songwriting, where every listen to the record reveals another layer to the puzzle and as a whole creates an even more intriguing picture – of relationships, love, heartache – brought to life by unique and interesting reference points found on the lakes of Michigan. Hurd has created a project that feels completely intentional from start to finish and his narrative is brought to life in unexpected and perfect ways by Aaron Eshuis, moving between island grooves to cinematic orchestration with ease. For an artist who has made such a mark in songwriting, the path is clear for Hurd’s light to shine even brighter in his own artistry. Pelago is a riddle, a puzzle that when put together creates a lush and fresh cinematic landscape.
