Dustin Lynch's Self-Titled Debut Album

       I know what you’re thinking: “Country music?!?!?! What the hell is this all about?” Hear me out people. Highlighting new and exciting music means showing no bias to any genre, which is why Dustin Lynch’s self-titled debut album is the perfect choice for us here at Druggernauts to introduce those sensitive ears of yours to a country album that is worth talking about. So get out your Jack Daniel’s and take a shot as you read this.

       Dustin’s journey is reminiscent of a lot of country singers, such as Eric Church and Taylor Swift, to name a few. Upon graduating from high school he set out to Nashville in 2003, dedicating himself entirely to the craft of songwriting. That was nine years ago and it’s just until this year that Lynch has begun to really garner a national following. A lot of people who don’t listen to or live in that world of country music, think of it as nothing more than talking about shots of whiskey, tractors, and pickup trucks. Well, yeah, it is all those things, but that is just the surface layer of what makes country, well, country.  Rap is stereotyped as just about getting paid, drinking expensive vodka, and getting with women, yet a lot of people love it. Just trying to put things into perspective for everyone. Now that that’s done, lets get into the album itself.

       What else could be a greater first track than something titled, “She Cranks My Tractor?” It’s one of those good time, rock-a-billy type songs that one would envision seeing at a great southern bar or even line dancing, if that tickles your fancy. This song is the perfect example of what a country song should sound like. The elements are there, both lyrically and in the instrumentation. “A girl like that is what a country boy’s after/She cranks, she cranks, she cranks my tractor,” Lynch writes. Alluding to the cliché of “revving someone’s engine,” Lynch gives it a little country flare.

       The first single off the album, “Cowboys and Angels,” takes a different musical route to that of “She Cranks My Tractor,” however. The beauty in the song doesn’t lie in the energy of it, but rather the melody and lyrics. It’s a heartfelt broken down cowboy song of sorts.  Lyrically, Lynch makes a great analogy between men and women, comparing them to cowboys and angels. While the two are seemingly disparate, somehow they mesh perfectly. “I’m hell on wheels and she’s heavenly, I’d die for her and she lives for me,” he writes, helping further paint the picture of how two types of people from opposite ends of the spectrum can "make it work," as they say. Lynch has that definitive southern twang in his voice that is so rich and sultry that it feels comforting in slower songs, such as this one. There is a reassuredness in his voice and in what he writes that evokes a man who has been through the wringer once or twice, resulting in these great songs.

       One of the poppier sounding songs, if you could classify it as that, would be “Yeah Yeah Yeah.” Like a great pop song, the hook is what makes this song bob your head up and down. In it, he writes, “Yeah Yeah Yeah look at you lookin’ all drop dead beautiful/Whoah oh oh/Girl you got it, got it goin on tonight." By no means are these lyrics groundbreaking and highly original, but that is why it comes across as more of a pop element type of song. The lyrical content is simple, but the melody and musical arrangement are the essence of it all.

       If you’re not a country listerner at all and you actually read this ‘til the hopefully not so bitter end, I thank you. Sure, you probably took an extra shot or two while reading this, but who can blame you? As a fellow Druggernaut it’s all about spreading those musical horizons after all! As always, please send us any artist/band albums that you would like to have us cover. Later, Druggernauts!