Big Machine artist Brett Young stormed onto the scene with his breakout single ‘In Case You Didn’t Know.’ Since the release of his self-titled debut album and its follow up – Ticket to LA – Brett Young has continued to craft a tender and emotive space for himself in the genre. Today, he releases his next chapter – Weekends Look A Little Different These Days – we review the project by Brett Young below. Stream everywhere here.
Brett Young has today released the next chapter of his music – Weekends Look A Little Different These Days – released through BMLG Records. The project showcases an artist and man continuing to mature in his songwriting, with the life-altering changes of early fatherhood and an expanding family, the singer/songwriter has funneled each milestone into a creative throttle. Coupling the professional and personal, he delivers eight fresh tracks exploring love, family, loss and everything in between. Alongside, her maturing lyricism, Young has stretched his sonic diversity, offering his most sonically versatile project to date – from the grooving ‘You Got Away With It’ to the more quietly tender ‘Lady.’
Young has done an incredible job at re-inventing his sound with the help of his producer Dan Huff, while retaining elements of his original sound. The project opens with the quietly joyful title track ‘Weekends Look A Little Different These Days’ where Young reflects on how much his life has changed. ‘I used to stay up late and sleep in all day long / Now it’s bed by nine and wake up with the dawn / I used to need the world to spin around me, used to think that IÂ had everything / I thank god that everything has changed / My weekends look a little different these days.’Â It’s a swelling, resplendently mature and introspective look at his life that paves the way for following track ‘Lady’ that also taps into Young’s sonic roots, celebrating his daughter and wife – a powerful and emotional track. On ‘This,’ a thicker layer of instrumentation is added where Young looks back on his journey so far and on ‘Dear Me’ Young pens a letter to his younger self to show himself that it will all work out.
Once Young has laid the foundations for the record, reflecting on his new life and the journey he has taken so far, the second half of the record sees Young begin to experiment a little more with his songwriting and sound. ‘Leave Me Alone’ introduces a groovier sound, about having a clean break in a break-up rather than drawing it out. It’s a tripping and swirling production that fits the track, adding a fresher more commercial sound, where Young sings, ‘You left me so why don’t you leave me alone.‘ Rather than vitriolic, the track allows Young to sing out the toxins of a negative break-up and feels free.  Following track ‘Not Yet’ is another album highlight. Here, Young blends crisp vocals with vivid scenes of fresh new romance and soaring guitar riffs, before moving into the groove and swagger of ‘You Got Away With It’ that experiments once again with his instrumentation, pushing the boundaries further of Young’s sonic landscape, about his wife stealing his heart. The record is rounded out on ‘You Didn’t,’ where Young taps back into heartache – a track about unrequited love that sonically brings the project back full circle.
On Weekends Look A Little Different These Days, Young shows the onward journey of his life into fatherhood and marriage, and it’s tenderly and delicately done. The real magic of the record is when Young pushes his sonic boundaries on ‘You Got Away With It’ and ‘Leave Me Alone’ that offer a hint of where Young is sonically pivoting toward. It is to be hoped that he continues to pivot and reinvent his sound further this way, pushing himself further outside his comfort zone.
Â
Â
