Thursday 26 November 2020

Album Review: Granger Smith - Country Things

 


The latest album from Granger Smith powers towards its destination like a blinkered thoroughbred waiving away any distractions that may knock it off course. The intended audience are a ripe target eager for the content and willing to lap up the sensibility of this deep rooted Texas country artist. Armed with the intent and tools perfectly equipped for the job, you get all the bases covered with plenty of little extras thrown in. Granger Smith doesn't hanker for navel gazing acclaim and advises that his music is absorbed with a huge smile. This is an artist who fully understands the industry memo alongside a road map to a hungry base. 

COUNTRY THINGS is perpetually idealistic in focussing on an embedded outlook alongside cultivating an image of life through the lens of a limited periphery. Granger Smith uses every ounce of his pride, wit and musical nous to inject a streak of optimistic fun into a record that skates across a rink of cliches while never losing sight of that lucrative winning post. This is country music of a specific persuasion; one popular with a massive sea of adulation and adoration. 

Taking a deep dive into the eighteen tracks of a release that has had a staggered unveiling to the wider world has been both affirming and laced with a touch of satiated indulgence. Rules may be adhered to, but you never lose sight of understanding what it is all about. Granger Smith makes music with a smile on his face and is the architect of a product honest to its core. No pretence is offered and thus not a minute of time is wasted upon those deciding to hook up with the music of a country artist on top of his game.