See, here’s the thing about listening to lots of music. (Unrelated, this post is being written whilst listening to a fantastic album/compilation. Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass- Instrumental Country. I am not sure it ever received a physical release but John Alexander from Alexander Records pieced together a great highlight reel. Ditch your AI generated lo fi beats for studying playlist and turn on some country classics reimagined a way you didn’t anticipate.)
Often framed as an issue unique to critics, in the streaming age, this no longer is true. By this, I mean the effects of over saturation. In years past, the critic served an important role in tastemaking. All major releases would filter through the critics desk and impactful decisions were made upon the review. Film and music lived or died based on the pen of the critic. The masses didn't have the financial ability nor the time to sift through the vast amount of content and as such they relied on expert opinion to filter for them. This led to a schism. The tastemakers were exposed to significantly more and varied forms of art whereas the people only encountered a narrow sliver of the pie. A side effect of this societal condition made critics far more jaded and stingy with their praise. When you have been exposed to more, you inevitably have been exposed to better. Or at least tremendous amounts of sameness. In today's day and age with hundreds of millions of songs at our fingertips, we all suffer from this condition.
One of the ways we manage, is by pre-filtering this colossus. We filter based on genre. We certainly filter based on past experience. And this is where we can very easily have a blind spot. Based on our experiences with the past we extrapolate towards the future and assume that we probably don't need to bother checking a particular release out. This can backfire. Badly.
The fallacy with relying on this method of filtration is that the nature of art is to grow. Artists build on the past and tweak, evolve, and change. What was the case in 2019 is not quite as it was in 2021 and certainly not in 2023. Whether the change is of a genuine artistic turn or a commercially induced push, relying solely on the past as a guide will lead you astray at times.
I am no different than everyone else. As a part of the amateur critic scene, there is a constant awareness to try not to fall into the madness of attempting to cover all high profile releases in the country tent. I would have no time for anything else. And yet, the incessant voice ringing in my ears telling me that I need to hear more and I need to make sure I don't “fall behind” is a constant. As we all do, I try to curate what I listen to. There is no reason why I must listen to the boilerplate eighteen song albums released weekly by Nashville’s newest, older than you think (like all these debut artists are 35+. How and why is a really good question), freshly bestubbled, anonymously generic dudes wearing flannel shirts and shackets.
All of this is not to convince you that I have some sixth sense about where to find good music, and nothing slips past my radar. In fact, I am going to tell you precisely the opposite and dwell on two artists that I had all but written off as possessing nothing of interest to me. I was told by others to check them, did, and had my assumptions ripped out from under me.
The first artist is a Canadian artist by the name of Brett Kissel. Canada possesses its own country scene that generally operates free from Nashville influence. It is mostly Canadian owned and operated and the stars are usually local. Aside from the highest level of Canadian artists, crossing over to America is very unusual. Canada is a small country so even a high-level star in Canada doesn’t necessarily have the sales numbers charting success of American artists that would allow them to make that push over the border.
Brett Kissel is a name that carries some weight north of the border. Personally, I didn’t have any opinions developed prior to this year. The couple of songs I had randomly heard didn’t make any sort of discernible impact. I chanced upon an article in the beginning of this year that excitedly discussed Brett Kissel‘s audacious plan for 2023. He aims on releasing a quadruple album, one per each quarter of the year, and each one with a separate theme relating to a particular direction. The first album was titled The South Album and I was intrigued.
Maybe this is the critic in me, but the questions in my head were intrigued and analytical. I had no clue what to expect. Who is this guy? What is he gonna talk about? What influences does he pull from? With dismay, I was greeted with a generic and bloviating album that effectively cribs from the worst of Nashville. Disappointingly, it didn’t even try to connect itself with its Canadian roots. I’m not saying I was expecting him to drown his sorrows in a big bowl of poutine, but it would’ve been nice to have some local detail to latch onto. Even the ostensible patriotic anthem espousing the glory of the motherland has nary a mention of the actual name or any identifiable Canadian character trait. Instead it chest pounds about freedom and pride over a blaring pop rock instrumental. If this was actually an unreleased demo from peak Darryl Worley or Trace Adkins time as B-Tier Toby Keith it wouldn’t surprise me one bit.
The music ranged from super Nashville radio friendly material with all its blandly aggressive percussion and generic All-American electric guitar solos ™️…
… all the way to punchless celebration of youth “anthems”…
…and sappy adult contemporary crossovers fit for the credits of a Netflix romcom.
Truly a dreadful experience and an early contender on my worst of the year list. I immediately wrote him off. As far as I was concerned, there was really no reason to further investigate this artist. It really felt no different than an early career Jordan Davis or- idk, spins random Nashville name generator- Adam Doleac project. Bland and forgettable. Away the name Brett Kissel went deep into the “ignore” section of my mental filing cabinet.
From what I assumed, he ended up releasing another album in April, and at the time of this writing, he is soon to release his third of the year, presumably in September. It was a few weeks ago when my buddy of mine shot me a text with a Spotify link to a Brett Kissel song. He told me something along the lines of “believe it or not, you should probably check this out”. I didn’t bother. After all, Kissel was firmly in the irrelevant part of my cabinet. Eventually I caved and I went to Brett Kissel’s page. Mistakenly thinking the linked single was part of the second album that had been released in April instead of an upcoming single for his third quarter release, The West Album, I clicked play on the album. My expectations were rock bottom. At best, I was expecting vaguely catchy Nashville background noise. Considering Kissel's utmost desire in life seemed to be becoming an anonymous Nashville radio darling, I figured it would be good exercise music.
I could not have been more wrong. By the time the third or fourth song came on, I was stopped in my tracks in sheer astonishment. The albums were just so incredibly different. Where the South Album was boisterous and overly exuberant, the Eastern Album was sedate and contemplative. The old album had aggressive percussion, the new album had subtlety. The first album was artificial and synthetic and the new album was organic and alive. Importantly, there was a feeling of synthesis. These simple ideas being discussed, not tremendously different in topic choice from the prior album, were much more in tune with the setting and vibe that was being portrayed. For the life of me, I will never understand the impulse for mournful lyrics about a breakup being presented in a bombastic arena rock presentation. A more sedate stripped back approach thematically fits better to my ears. I’m open to fiery kiss off anthems and “good riddance, she left, let’s party” barnburners. It’s just those weepy mournful bangers that I don't get. This shift is precisely the most notable shift between the entire approach of the two albums. Time after time again, the Eastern Albums excels in pinpointing the precise tempo, arrangement and atmosphere necessary for conceptualizing the ideas of the music in its best manner in ways that the Southern Album missed the mark on.
Take the first track, Spend A Little Time With You. A very simple premise. Falsetto matching with lonesome single electric guitar that marks the main harmony. The track is uncluttered, precisely akin to the lifestyle that Kissel is idealizing in song.
This synthesis is again found in a song like Coastline which uses dreamy glittering guitars to induce a trance like effect on the musical landscape. Appropriate for a song consumed about a fantastical relationship with a far away place. Said place may not even exist, as is acknowledged within the song itself, but it is the mythos of the concept that enraptures us. Dreamy and glittery indeed.
Port Colburne is my favorite track off the project and the main reason is the track’s usage of energy in the storytelling. There is a lonesome kick drum driving landscape for the setup of the premise and then an energetic buildup towards the climactic resolution which then crests into majestic and solemn acoustic and piano accompaniment for the final verse as the pièce de résistance of the track. The detailed lyrics give a visceral sense of space and story. Take your choice of any of “she's got her pretty young hands in goodwill bins, she’s got an eye for a bargain”, “rent goes up when the sun goes down, in a saddened heartbreak harbor town”, “falling in love while watching the tugboats push and shove”. I’m sure the Zach Bryan listeners are accustomed to great lines of prey in their music (stay tuned we’ve got some great coverage of that in the pipes) but hearing such detail in a smooth polished mainstream setting will always be a joy to witness. ALSO THERE ARE BAGPIPES.
In Meet Me In Vegas there is a slight skitter in the vocal run while saying the ragged that is very on point, and the cascade of guitars chiming in when the word Vegas is introduced to the song for the first time brings a cinematic element to the song that is- yes, you guessed right- precisely appropriate for the context of the song.
For readers who are aware of my fondness for traditionally styled country music, I imagine you might chalk this up to my biases. Fair, although in this instance I don’t think it an applicable critique. The second album isn't really traditional. The adjective that comes to mind is organic. Tasteful acoustics and a folk pop influence leads to a take on modern country that is quite satisfying. I’m long on the record for opining that an organic approach to instrumentation meshes with the storytelling and real life stakes discussed with frequency in country music. The contrast between these two albums adds yet another example of this thesis.
I chose to learn my lesson from the Brett Kissel incident and open my mind up more to artists that I had written off. Good thing because only a couple weeks later on the eve of the Zach Bryan album release, I was reminded that Dan and Shay (10,000 hours, 19 You + Me, Tequila, Glad You Exist etc.), the noted architects of the anodyne country meets overearnest boyfriend meets discarded Backstreet Boys demo x CCM sound that you have heard in the last five years, were deciding to “go in a new direction”. They were releasing a five song sampler EP off their upcoming album. I have not gone out of my way to listen to a Dan and Shay song in a very long while. The last songs they did that grabbed my attention were a one off cover of a Lady Gaga song they did for Spotify.
As well as their redone version of Speechless with Tori Kelly. That added dynamic she brought elevated the song quite nicely.
Note that I have effectively been not seeking out their music for almost five years now. Certainly, I heard a song or two of theirs on the radio, but I stayed away generally.
Now, usually “going in a new direction” is just marketing talk and a strong sign to stay far away. It is especially common when an artist or group is coming off of a downer period. A very similar thing exists in sports media when during spring training a- usually fading veteran but always one coming off of a disappointing year- will pronounce they are “in the best shape of their lives”. It is marketing drivel that isn't useful except as a heuristic to assess the athletes (lack of) confidence in his future. Same here.
Hesitations aside, I checked out those Dan and Shay tracks, and I was blown away. For the first time since they busted out onto the scene, they fulfill the promise that their vocal talent has always failed to deliver. Aside from the warm organic presence brought upon by copious use of organic instruments, especially dobro and fiddle, providing texture galore and an actual country feel to the songs, the two of them are unleashed vocally. Their exuberance, personality, and everything that the plastic pop veil covering their previous music was hiding is on full display and it is riotous fun. The leadoff track is a boisterous joyous burst of energy.
The fiddle line explodes in the uptempo mix like a vintage Shania Twain song and the duo’s vocals soar. This dynamic is repeated and tweaked over the next four songs in ways that belay the one trick pony vibes of their previous music. This isn’t a repudiation of their previous work. Rather it is a paring down of excess and maturation of what worked so well about their music. The voices are front and center. I can’t come to any full determination about this new turn because the album is not yet out. It is excited to see what they’re going to do with their next album. I won't go fully in depth to these tracks. Let’s save that for the album. Dan and Shays’s upcoming album has now shot up to the near top of remaining projects this year that are worth your time. It just goes to show, you can’t rely on assumptions, even though we really all require so many of them to just simply enjoy this little hobby.
Thanks for reading,
Joe