Old Dominion return today with their fourth studio album – Time, Tequila and Therapy – a record that adds a fresh layer to the band’s signature sound, including the new single ‘Hawaii.’ Here, we review the record.
Old Dominion have been carving their own fresh path in the country music genre since their first record – Meat and Candy – that broke boundaries in the modern country consciousness. Today, they release their fourth studio album Time, Tequila and Therapy that continues to evolve the band’s signature sound, producing their most thoughtful, contented project to date. The collection of tracks are sun-drenched, lazily contented mediations on life and where they are at as a band now, firmly couched in a laid-back island lifestyle.
So, the record opens up with a collection of tracks that offer an edgily fresh take on some of their more mid-tempo break-up tracks that have gone before, like ‘One Man Band.’ On ‘Why Are You Still Here?’ the band question lingering feels after a break up. ‘If I lost you, why are you still here? Moving on ‘Hawaii’ that offers a lazily nostalgic look back on happier times, as the band ponder on ‘why they ever left Hawaii.’ It’s a sexy, breezy take on heartbreak. ‘By the ocean, happy as a ukulele / Yeah, that rainbow we were under / Sometimes I wonder why we / Ever left Hawaii.’ Despite the laidback, island feel, don’t overlook the clever intricacies of the lyrics that Old Dominion perennially have at play. Meanwhile, ‘Walk on Whiskey’ is a delightful, off-beat look back on love lost. ‘You used to think I could walk on whiskey / I used to think you hung the neon moon / They used to call us the life of the party / Now the party’s over way too soon.’ The track moves with an easy, intoxicating groove that sets the pace of the record apart from what has gone before. Later, the band return to these ideas of heartbreak on ‘Something’s The Same About You’ and ‘Drinking My Feelings.’ The former is another nostalgic look at old relationships, in the moment that you notice that an ex remains the same, even despite the years that have passed. ‘You change how you fix your hair / Change your style and the clothes you wear / Change every little thing I swear / But something’s the same about you.’ The vocal quality of the band is no doubt elevated on this track, whereas on ‘Drinking My Feelings’ they show their ability to constantly invert stereotypes and lyrics – an upbeat inversion of the idea of drinking my feelings, in a thrumming, pacy guitar. ‘I’ve been drinking my feelings and beer label peeling / And feeling alright.’ It’s a track that will be simply immense, elevated at its live status.
The only part of the record that is hindered by the ‘island’ sound comes up on ‘All I Know About Girls.’ Though it is a delightful move back toward their earlier materials – a 2021 ‘Snapback’ in feel – the laidback island feel hinders the track. ‘It’s probably the reason Hemmingway drank / Or all the lovesick blues that were written by Hank / They all got stuck right where I am / Just like every other man.’ In the Meat and Candy era this track would have been ratcheted up a few notches in tempo and would have surely been a surefire hit, but feels restrained in the context of Time, Tequila and Therapy.
There follows an easily grooving collection of songs. ‘Blue Jeans’ is an easy, seductive grooving celebration of love. ‘You trip me like shoestrings / You fit me like blue jeans.’ ‘No Hard Feelings’ offers an optimistic and gracious look on heartbreak. ‘I can honestly say I’m happy to see the happy back in your eyes / You found somebody who painted your grey skies blue / Do I wish it was me? Hell yeah / Am I all the way over the pain? Not yet / But the sun keeps coming up babe and I’m still breathing / And there’s no hard feelings.’ The track grooves along, and the lyrics trip with ease. The band return to the theme on ‘Don’t Forget About Me’ – a rock-tinged look back on an old relationship, yearning for it not to be forgotten.
Still, the more unexpected ‘surprises’ of the record come later on.’Lonely Side of Town’ offers an unexpected moment away from the island vibes, an intoxicating track founded on a heavy bass, accompanied by Gladys Knight’s legendary vocal, changing up the cadence of the record, before moving into ‘I Was on a Boat That Day’ – a delightfully fun island romp looking back on an old relationship. Finally rounding out the record are a couple of surprisingly jaunty, off-kilter tracks. ‘I Wanna Live In A House With You Forever’ is a jaunty, two-stepping romp that is immense fun, retaining a childlike innocence and naivety sonically but should not be discounted, for it retains immensely clever, intricate lyrics underneath the simplistic feel. It’s a vibe fulfilled on the final track ‘Ain’t Nothing Wrong With Love,’ a track about the highs and lows of love. Although, these two tracks don’t sum up the full capabilities of Old Dominion, they show the ways that the band are able to continually innovate and experiment with the edges of their sound.
Time, Tequila and Therapy continues to push the boundaries of the band’s sound, without deviating the path Old Dominion had laid out, throughout Meat and Candy, Happy Endings and Old Dominion. It’s a sun-drenched continuation from their self-titled record, retaining their signature sound and soaking it in lazily tequila-infused island vibes. It’s an intoxicating record to sit with, though it does not contain the same zest and instant pull of Meat and Candy or Happy Endings. Still, it’s as strong a record as can be expected from Old Dominion, with plenty of novel surprises to position them as a band that do not rest easy, but are continually seeking to push the boundaries of the sound into new and unexpected directions.
