While never having been all that into country music myself, Chris Young’s new album Neon didn’t repel me from the genre. The album gets off to a strong start and largely holds the listener with it’s short, sweet tunes. I found it hard to believe that Young is only 27, as his voice is much deeper and older than his years, and this seems to be a large part of his appeal.
Neon didn’t jump right out and grab me, and it didn’t really change my thinking that all generic country music kind of sounds the same, but it still held me and I wanted to keep listening even after it was done.
A few of the slower tracks on the album really weren’t for me, with a little too much treacle for my taste, (I think I actually cringed in ‘Flashlight’ on hearing the line, “there’s more to life than fixing cars”), but there are some really solid tracks on here that show why Young is so popular. The album’s opening track ‘I Can Take it From There’ really sucked me in, and I liked ‘Save Water, Drink Beer’ kind of in spite of myself. The title-track, ‘Neon’ really showcases Young’s effortlessly impressive vocals, complemented by some great harmonies.
Country still isn’t really my thing, but I could probably listen to Young’s voice all day. I might have to just block out some of those cheesy country lyrics though…