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                                                                      WALKER HAYES

                                                               "U Gurl" 

                                                               Monument Records

 

 

 

 

The importance of infectious grooves is certainly not something lost on Walker Hayes – Just look at his most current smash hit “Fancy Like” for example. However, beyond just the catchiness of his melodies, Hayes also has a knack for singing songs inspired by what he knows best which helps add an element of truth to the lyrics.

As with “Fancy Like,” his new song “U Gurl” was also inspired by his wife, Laney.

The song, written by Hayes, Dylan Guthro and Jodi Guthro, uses a repetitive instrumentation strum to pull you through the song with the occasional guitar strike dropped in just to spice things up as Hayes’ vocal melody delivers the catchiness that pulls you in.

He uses the opening verse to sing you through a list of descriptions of “his” country girl, but not necessarily in a cliché way, but rather in a way that helps show us her laidback vibe about anything and everything - from her not being phased by the pouring rain while they’re sitting on the front porch swing, to her not being afraid to get mud on her boots.

Whereas the opening verse didn’t lean on all the typical “country” cliches, he purposefully leans on a cliché in the second verse with an almost tongue and cheek like feel as he shifts to a more flirtatious side and sings the cheesy pickup line: 

“Girl I hate to see you go (hold up)

But I love to watch you exit.”

All of this is designed, though, to knock you into the chorus where the true focus of the song is elevated; that he’s stunned by her and can’t keep his eyes off her; “guys like me like girls that look like u girl.”

I hang out a club that carries an interesting dynamic in that they play country music and do line dancing for the first half of the night and then gradually slide over to more of a hip-hop vibe in the later part of the night. With “U Gurl,” Walker Hayes has delivered a song that would be the perfect fit as they are making that shift between both styles.

More importantly for Hayes, “U Gurl” is the first song he’s released that isn’t included on his most current Country Stuff EP, which could be a good indication of where his music is heading in the very near future, and that perhaps, there is even more new stuff on the way!

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis / Cover art by: Matt Bacnis)

 

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