WALKER HAYES

                        FT. JAKE OWEN

                                                              "Country Stuff" 

                                                               Monument Records

Walker Hayes soared up the charts with his breakout hit “You Broke Up with Me” in 2017, and although he’s released a couple of singles since, he’s been relatively quiet as far as Top 40 chart success is concerned.

With his new EP due out next month (June 4, 2021), Hayes now returns with the title track “Country Stuff” and gives us our first look at things to come.

The song, written by Hayes, Joe Thibodeau, and Adam Stark, features a guest appearance by Jake Owen and offers us a catchy two-and-a-half-minute groove that sucks you into it whether you want to be or not.

Mostly typical in the lyrics, Hayes runs down a list of all the “country stuff” he enjoys such as beers that are cheap and cold, Redman Skoal, mud tires on his truck, old blue jeans, The Dukes of Hazzard, turnip greens, front porch swings, tin roof’s when it’s raining, etc…

Though we’ve heard lyrics like these ten million times before, what does make it pop in its own way is that Hayes absolutely lives this lifestyle out on his farm and is basically inviting us into who he is in real life. That factor does help to give this a different feel of sorts as it adds a truly honest vibe to what he is singing about.

The production slides back and forth, blurring the pop and country lines with relative ease, while fusing together with oddly timed instrumentation that doesn’t walk the typical fare - helping this stand out as different from the pack.

This is quirky.

This is weird.

This is one of those songs that you’ll be shaking your head at the first time you hear it, but then you’ll find yourself humming its melody all day long and will be giving it a second listen – and then a third, fourth, and so on. And that is exactly why “Country Stuff” might just be the song that could earn Walker Hayes his next Top 40.

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)

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