After listening to Chillin' It all of last summer (and singing along like an idiot in my car, annoying my girlfriend by the same occasion), and Hope You Get Lonely Tonight being an outstanding single, I kind of had high hopes for Cole Swindell's first album. Overall, Cole Swindell offers a very conservative package as far as country albums are concerned, barely going out of the "party song" and "love song" themes. While Cole Swindell is a very talented and promising artist, this album gives the feeling like there's much more to him than what he offers in this first release, and that the best has yet to be discovered.
Cole Swindell's Cole Swindell album, like said previously, is very conservative. Too much in my mind. We have many "party songs", some "love songs", sometimes faster, sometimes slower. Either Cole Swindell lacks the originality to have a long lasting career in the country industry, or he didn't want to be too wild in his first release, slowly building a fan base and then being able to explore musically in the next albums. I genuinely think we are faced with the second scenario.
Cole Swindell writes all of his songs (well 11/12), which like you guys know, I respect a lot. While the lyrics aren't particularly outstanding in most songs, when the need was, Cole Swindell was able to display great song-writing skills, particularly in songs like Hope You Get Lonely Tonight or The Back Roads And The Back Row. Moreover, Cole was emotionally involved in most of his songs, which we can really feel though the album.
Musically, this is where the album feels lackluster. Overall, few songs really seem to break from the general path of the album, which leads me to think that Cole Swindell decided to go with a conservative approach. We get a few solos here and there, and they aren't out of place like they sometimes are. The singing is also pretty good except for Swayin'. A lot of people I talked to had amazing experiences in his shows, and this album will most probably be outstanding live.
Overall, this is a pretty good album, but compared to the other tons of releases those past couple of weeks, this album feels lackluster. It isn't half bad, but isn't outstanding either. Hopefully the second release of Cole Swindell will let us dig a bit deeper in what he can offer.
8/10
PS: Big props for Cole Swindell for having a video on Youtube for each song to describe the song, and just talk about it. I posted them all for you guys, so you'll get an idea of what it sounds like too.
Hey Y'all
This song is mostly aimed to be a party song, and it does this job correctly. Overall, it's enjoyable, but a bit repetitive. The lyrics aren't half bad either, but nothing spectacular. Overall, good song to start the album on a good note.
7/10
Chillin' It
This was the first single of the album, and it hit the top spot in no time. The lyrics are pretty basic and full of bro-country clichés, but it'll stick in your head the first time you hear it anyways. Musically, the song remains pretty simple, but it's very effective and the tempo isn't overblown by the drum like it sometimes is in pure "radio hit" songs. Overall, great first single for Cole Swindell, and very enjoyable.
8.5/10
Swayin'
I think this is one of the worst songs I've heard in a while to be honest. Sorry, but the singing just sounds atrocious in this song, at least to me. The song is aiming to be emotional, but it's a train wreck, there is no involvement whatsoever from Cole Swindell. It's really too bad, because the lyrics were decent for a slow song.
3/10
Hope You Get Lonely Tonight
This is my personal favourite of the album. I heard this song first on the radio in the weeks before the album was released, and I loved it the first time it played. It's emotional, the singing is excellent, and overall it's a love song in a perfect package. At the time this review was written, the song didn't chart half as good as I would have expected (ranks 27), but hopefully more people will discover it as they buy the album.
9/10
Let Me See Ya Girl
Of all the "party songs" of this album, this one is one of my favourites. The lyrics are filled with bro-country clichés, but it just fits well together. The singing isn't excellent though, but overall the music compensates for it in my mind.
8/10
Ain't Worth The Whiskey
The songs written by Cole Swindell (11 out of 12) are all emotional, and Cole involves himself in them, which is fantastic. This song makes no exception, and the song is really good. This isn't a "party song" but it's really good, and the music fits fantastically with the lyrics, which are really good.
8/10
Brought To You By Beer
This is just an average fun party song on this album. The song is filled with bro-country clichés, and the soundtrack is composed of pretty straightforward instrumental arrangements. There is really nothing exceptional it, but it's an appealing package that is somewhat entertaining.
7/10
I Just Want You
As a slow love song, I Just Want You is a pretty attractive package. Overall the lyrics are decent, nothing really exceptional though. It's also quite emotional, though again nothing particularly outstanding. It does the job pretty well, but we've seen much better from other artists. The guitar is pretty good in this song as well.
7/10
Get Up
And... another party song. And this one is particularly repetitive, the chorus takes for the two thirds of the album lyrics by themselves. So really, it's not outstanding by any means, it's a decently fun song, but you won't fall on your back or be impressed whatsoever by it.
6.5/10
Dozen Roses And A Six-Pack
This album desperately needed a breakup song to be a complete package, and this is the one we've all been waiting for. Overall the lyrics are pretty good, and the guitar solo fits also pretty well, which isn't always the case by experience. Very conservative package for a breakup song, but it does the job quite well.
8/10
Down Home Boys
Another song filled with bro-country clichés, and for a song that isn't really a party song like the others, it just fits oddly in my mind. The song lacks emotional involvement as well, and overall it just sounds odd with Cole's voice behind a voice equalizer in the middle of it.
6.5/10
The Back Roads And The Back Row
Even though a lot of albums I've reviewed in the past put their worst songs as the last one, surprisingly Cole Swindell breaks from this pattern and offers us one of his best-written songs as the last one. Cole... THANK YOU. I'm sick and tired to exit an album with a bad taste in the mouth. We can leave this album on a good note, on a story of the "good old days", like as if we were already mournful of this album. Interesting strategy, and I like it. Great song overall.
8.5/10
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