LUKE BRYAN

                                                             "Southern and Slow" 

                                                              Capitol Records Nashville

With a list of accolades that reads miles long, Luke Bryan certainly doesn’t need any introduction. However, as his tremendous accomplishments grow, having recently notched his 30^th #1 with “Country On” as his current single “But I Got A Beer In My Hand” quickly moves up the charts, he continues to hone in on what he does best as he showcases another blast of his newest material with “Southern and Slow.”

The third song teased from his forth coming album, written by Matt Dragstrem, Josh Thompson, and Chase McGill, sees Bryan sitting squarely in his comfort zone as he turns up his addictive charm to slow down the speed of life and bring it back down to its southern basics.

“I’m so sick of doing 90” he laments in the opening verse as a soft, feel-good motion accents the melodic drive, putting his honest vocals in the forefront to hold the nostalgic lyrics in place as he begins to unravel a list of what he’s needing to soothe his soul, from a radio station spinning Jones, Merle, and Waylon to a windy road that leads to the middle of nowhere.

The chorus certainly strikes the pop of the melody to match his energetic pace of reaching closer to soothing his southern soul as he slaps the lyrics with a picture painting continuation of what his vision of slowing down life looks like, singing:

“I need slow and southern

Like a Sunday

Like muddy water rollin' by a riverbank

Like some sleepy little town, down with the moon

Livin' like honey drippin' off a spoon

Like the sun that takes an hour to get behind the water tower

'Bout the speed of watchin' wildflowers grow

Ain't but two ways this old boy's gonna go

Slow and southern, southern and slow”

Shifting away from the simple moments that are often overlooked and are truly the special things that we take for granted, he then uses the second verse to shine a light on the fact that he no longer wants to chase after the wild, fast paced women like he used to, to instead, slow down the pace with the forever love he’s now found that he wants to savor every sweet moment with.

Themes of this nature are a dime a dozen at this point in country music, but there are certain artists who can carry them with raw honesty and Luke Bryan is certainly one of them. This is Luke being Luke …not the guy you see on stage, but the guy who truly lives the type of slowed down southern lifestyle that he so often sings about. He unashamedly knows who he is and continues to deliver “country boy” compositions that speak directly to his audience with “Southern and Slow,” continuing to further hype the anticipation for a new album while satisfying his fans with his irresistible down-home charm.

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)

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