New Tunes Tuesday - Chris Young

Chris Young is known for his deep bass vocals and traditional credentials with an updated sound. His fourth studio album "A.M" holds true to that. You may have heard his first single "Aw Naw" on the radio which follows right along with the current trend in country music - party anthem, high energy, and screaming guitars. But if you're not into that scene, there are plenty of other impressive ballads to make you melt.

"Hold You To It" is exactly one of those songs. "Girl you wear the hell out of that dress / And I can hardly catch my breath / when I see you look this way / And I've been sitting here all night long / Waiting on your favorite song / and it's finally starting to play." This song was an instant favorite of mine.

Another instant favorite was "Text Me Texas." If you liked "Gettin' You Home" (you know, the black dress song...), you are going to absolutely love this one. The mandolin carries you through this lovely song as you wait desperately for the object of your affection to contact you. It's a modern heartbreak song and very clever.

Another fun tune is "We're Gonna Find It Tonight." It's definitely more rock than country, but it finds a nice spot on the album. Whatever gets your girl fired up, they're on a mission to find it. Love it.

In Spotify, you can star your favorite tunes so that you can easily find them again. After one listen, I put a star next to "Forgiveness." His voice, the lyrics, and the stripped down arrangement is perfect. "It ain't hiding in no bottle on a shelf / Or lying in the bed of someone else / I can't feel it on some Sunday morning pew / And one sleepless night it dawned on me / The piece I need so desperately / is buried in the one place I can't get to / Girl, it's gotta come from you." I've been on both sides of this song, so that may be why it appeals to me so much. In the midst of so many modernized country songs, this one is just really refreshing.

This is one of the best country albums to come out this year, in my opinion. The ballads are definitely the highlight, but it's great that he gives us a taste of something different too. I highly recommend that you give it a listen....