Luke Bryan - Born Here Live Here Die Here (2020) [Hi-Res]

After years of chasing the latest Nashville trends, Luke Bryan has settled into a comfortable groove with his seventh studio album—an easy, mature, mid-tempo sweet spot that recalls country radio's '80s heyday. It's a welcome shift. As he hits the high notes on the chorus of "Little Less Broken This Time," Bryan evokes the great Ronnie Milsap. And suddenly you realize, that's where his voice—for so long trying to be hip and "bro"—really fits: into the smooth, pure country shoes of Milsap or Alabama frontman Randy Owen. He repeatedly proves he wears them well, on "Too Drunk to Drive" and the heavy-handed sentimentality of "Build Me A Daddy." That one's the story of a little boy longing for a father to replace the one he lost, asking for him to be "10 feet tall with a Southern drawl and a fishing pole in his hand"; no one ever said Bryan was subtle. Indeed, his lyrics tick all the boxes of the Music Row 101 formula. There are mentions of John Deere hats, fishing, drinking and jokey allusions to sex. "Birds need bees and ice needs whiskey...sweet tea needs that sugar stirrin'...boots need knockin," he sings on the catchy, finger-snapping "Knockin' Boots." Despite being rich enough to buy a yacht—the man's 2018 tour grossed $65 million—Bryan even finds a life lesson in growing up too middle-class for boat aspirations: "Love what you got, buddy, and not what you ain't," a father tells his son in "For a Boat." Bryan slips back into urban-lite beats with "What She Wants Tonight" (mercifully, he avoids the rap act he tried on the 2013 hit "That's My Kind of Night"), but it's just enough. And it's almost immediately followed by the rootsy title song, a simple palate cleanser that scoots over a bit on the '80s radio dial. It's like tuning in a forgotten Bruce Hornsby song. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz