Opinions do not necessarily reflect CUIndependent.com or any of its sponsors.
The American country bro-duo Florida Georgia Line is back. It’s been close to two years since Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley released their last album, “Here’s to the Good Times,” back in December 2012. I’m sure you have heard the group’s widely sung-along single, “Cruise,” which reached number one on the U.S country Billboard, achieving the fastest climb to the top of the chart for a debut single since 2008.
Hubbard and Kelley scored four out of five on a Billboard review with their latest studio album, “Anything Goes,” filled with country boy swag and lyrics surrounding drinking beer, living the laid-back country life and and having a hell of a time while doing so.
In an interview with “Taste of Country,” the boys called their new album an “evolution” and “continuation” of “Here’s to the Good Times.” Before the record was revealed, the talented duo released “Dirt,” the sophomore album’s first single. A personal favorite, the song references various life events that have anything to do with dirt.
The song starts out slow, with a lilting acoustic guitar and the lyrics, “You get your hands in it, plant your roots in it, dusty head lights dance with your boots in it.” The instrumentation fades out for a more profound, universal message in the final line: “You know you came from it, and someday you’ll return to it.”
The album’s title track, “Anything Goes,” is a very fun, dance-along song teeming with reminders that, “Anything goes on a Friday night.” You may easily lose yourself with the big loud beat and perhaps get a little, “boondock crazy.”
The eighth song on the album, “Bumpin’ The Night,” is another slow ballad, beginning with the words, “The week was long, but now it’s gone, the drink is on.” The chorus features a call-and-response of “Yeah, yeah, yeah” all too common to every type of popular music these days. Country boys are getting quite good at making rhymes and writing lyrics that listeners of any age can relate to (if you are over 21 years old and can get your drink on legally, of course).
Brian Kelley’s charisma and easy-to-love vocals makes me wish he was 19 again and not tied down. Tyler Hubbard’s wide smile and killer guitar-playing aptitude make me yearn for a one-on-one guitar lesson. Judging by the boys’ capability and the music charts’ current country craving, this will not be the last time we hear of Florida Georgia Line.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Audrey Rodriguez at auro8713@colorado.edu
