RANDY HOUSER

                                                            "Note To Self" 

                                                            Magnolia Music Group

Randy Houser’s string of huge hits in the early to mid-2010’s – “How Country Feels,” “Runnin’ Outta Moonlight,” “Like A Cowboy,” “We Went,” and “Goodnight Kiss” – put him on the radar in a big way. Even more importantly, though, the success he experienced during that era of his music career has set him up perfectly for what he’s able to do now.

Delving deeper into his songwriting passion, he’s been able to often experiment with different styles within country music’s borders without ever driving away his exuberant fans, while also staying 100% true to the signatures that have defined who he is as an artist by delivering lyrical masterpieces that really strike a chord with the heart of the listener.

His latest release “Note To Self,” is another amazing example of him doing this.

In some ways, the song written by Houser, Bobby Pinson, Ross Copperman, and Casey Beathard, will earn comparison to Pinson’s “Don’t Ask Me How I Know,” though “Note To Self” sees its narrator offering himself solid advice rather than passing it down to the next generation.

Making mental notes of all the things he’s learned about life, Houser opens the song by singing us through lines that touch on several aspects of everyday living: 

“My truck only goes so far on half a tank.”

“That credit card ain’t money in the bank.”

“If it don’t sound like a good idea it probably ain’t.”

But as the lyric progresses, it takes on a much deeper meaning as it begins to tackle love lessons; specifically, the heartbreaking moments that come after losing the one you love and having to face the mirror to point the blame: 

“She might love you, but she won’t like you all the time.”

“Instead of taking her for granted, take her somewhere nice.”

“Some girls say goodbye and mean goodbye, it don’t mean that she don’t hurt and she don’t cry.”

With one powerful line in the chorus that ties this entire idea together, “Whiskey’s best left up there on the shelf,” Houser shares the heartbreaking reason that caused their love to fade and why she’s walked away from it.

Though he’s been playing shows and doing some touring, we really haven’t heard too much in the way of new music from Randy Houser since his 2019 Magnolia album. However, with “Note To Self” perfectly combining all the character traits that have defined Randy Houser into one tight package, he proves that it not only was it well worth the wait, but that he’s also setting the bar to an extremely high level as he opens this next chapter.   

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)

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