Jake Owen - Loose Cannon (2023) [Hi-Res]

Since his early days as an emerging artist in the mid-aughts, Jake Owen has found a niche in making breezy, carefree music imbued with a spirit of openness and positivity. Like fellow laidback and vibey country acts Kenny Chesney and Little Big Town, Owen loves a song nodding to the great outdoors, particularly if there’s a body of water involved. On his seventh studio outing, Owen mixes such tracks—the playfully titled “On the Boat Again” and the sunburned ballad “Somewhere South with Rum,” among others—with classic party tunes (“Hot Truck Beer”) and breakup numbers (“Solo Solo”). He isn’t so much changing up the formula that’s kept him relevant in the genre for nearly two decades as letting it grow bigger and more mature alongside him.

Produced by pop-country go-to Joey Moi, Loose Cannon is Owen at, fittingly, his loosest, as he seems to revel in serving up the sound that only he can, even if it no longer blends seamlessly into the country radio landscape. Other standouts include the big-hearted rocker “When It All Shakes Out,” on which Owen advises listeners to “love the ones you love the most,” and the title track, a love song ready-made for first dances.