Zach Bryan “Zach Bryan” Album Review

Zach Bryan

Zach Bryan

• Genre: Country
• Date: 25 Aug, 2023
• Content: explicit
• Track(s): 16
• ℗ 2023 Belting Bronco Records under exclusive license to Warner Records, Inc.

The release of Zach Bryan’s new self-titled album has thrilled country music fans. The War And Treaty, Sierra Ferrell, Kacey Musgraves, and The Lumineers are among the four featured on the 16-track project. Even though there was much anticipation for the album, many fans were disappointed to learn that the highly regarded song “Deep Satin” wouldn’t be on it.

However, Bryan said on X, formerly Twitter, that he decided not to include the song on “Zach Bryan” because he wanted the album to be completely self-produced and he was not involved in the production of “Deep Satin.” Bryan’s music has a unique Red Dirt feel, which is not surprising given his Oklahoma heritage.

Album Cover Art

With a cigarette stuck between his lips, Zach’s head pokes out from the lower right corner of the pitch-dark picture. His demeanor says he is either having the time of his life or wallowing in sad feels.

Tracks and Features

Zach begins the album with “Fear and Fridays,” a poem about life broken down into experiences that include the singer’s. He also draws up a similarity between Fear and Fridays, and how they both leave you wanting more. The singer gently strings his guitar as he narrates his poem. Zach taps The War and Treaty for “Hey Driver,” a moving duet about a passenger who has had it with life and just wants to fall off the face of the earth by driving to the end of it. The poor driver basically becomes the trauma dumpster for the passenger, who longs for a Utopian society that may never materialize. And the way the singers sang with a perfect blend in voice parts as the guitar chords played was simply flawless.

Sierra Ferrell joins Bryan in “Holy Roller,” a romantic love ballad about lovers who found something real and authentic in each other. Their melodies and general rendition aptly embody the emotions contained in the lines of the song. You know that cliché part in some rom-coms where the boy and the girl accidentally collide with each other and their eyes lock as the boy helps the girl gather her fallen items? This track would be the perfect background song for such a scene.

The love cruise ship keeps sailing and Kacey Musgraves gets onboard for another beautiful duet, “I Remember Everything,” which mourns the demise of a relationship that was once filled with fun and fleeting but beautiful experiences. The track is can be likened to an audio documentary of such special times.

Zach invites the iconic band, The Lumineers, for “Spotless.” And over calm guitar chords, they sing about how no human is without blemish, which should help us see each other from a more compassionate perspective rather than a judgemental one. In “Smaller Acts,” Zach sings about a rare quality of women that are on the brink of extinction. Women that actually legit love you for you and not for your status or material favors you could grant them. Women that are genuinely moved by the simpler, seemingly ‘smaller’ things; the little kind gestures. Zach expresses his pride and how lucky he feels to have this woman in his life. Rightfully so. Though you might want to ignore the frog’s loud croaking in the song’s background.

Putting his city on the map with the last song on the album. Bryan sings about his roots and the solace he finds back at home. And in the same way Zebras can’t shed their stripes, Zach will remain that proud “Oklahoman Son” he has always been.

Tracklist

NO	TITLE	TIME
1	Fear and Friday’s (Poem)	1:47
2	Overtime	3:10
3	Summertime’s Close	3:06
4	East Side of Sorrow	3:29
5	Hey Driver (feat. The War and Treaty)	3:47
6	Fear and Friday’s	2:51
7	Ticking	4:02
8	Holy Roller (feat. Sierra Ferrell)	3:36
9	Jake’s Piano – Long Island	5:19
10	El Dorado	3:02
11	I Remember Everything (feat. Kacey Musgraves)	3:47
12	Tourniquet	3:09
13	Spotless (feat. The Lumineers)	2:49
14	Tradesman	3:07
15	Smaller Acts	3:07
16	Oklahoman Son	4:09

Album Theme

Love, relationship turmoils, personal issues, and taking pride in his roots.

Production Credits

Zach Bryan is the only credited producer on the album.

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