The Eli Young Band released their new album 10,000 Towns recently. The boys have had massive success in bringing their Texas country sound to the mainstream world. They have been flawlessly meshing country music with American rock and roll for quite a while and its great to finally see them catching on with a bigger crowd. After the massive success of Life At Best, expectations were high for 10,000 Towns. Does it live up?
Yes and no. To be concise, 10,000 Towns is simply a good album. There are some very good cuts. The lead single "Drunk Last Night" (full "Drunk Last Night" single review here) is fantastic. As I mentioned in my full single review, it has modern sounds and arrangements, but still sounds country and has some weight to the lyrics. Its a perfect modern country single. "Dust" is a fun driving song with an infectious melody that should be a big radio hit as well. "Angel Like You" is a heartfelt love ballad with a really cool sound. "What Does" is a very emotional love gone wrong song that Mike Eli sings with power and poise. My favorite track is the album closer, "Prayer For The Road". Anyone who travels for work can relate to the struggle of leaving. As opposed to being a sad song, its more of a hopeful prayer for safe travels. It may not be radio material (even though it should be), but it certainly is the best song on the album.
The rest of the album is just... fine. It is a lame reaction I know, but it is the truth. Nothing makes me wince. Nothing makes me stand and shout. I could very easily see this being someones' favorite album, the songs are catchy and well constructed, but to me it is just good, but not outstanding. Songs like "10,00 Towns" and "Just Add Moonlight" are less offensive attempts at common trends than many others on the radio. "Revelations" and "A Lot Like Love" have pretty deep lyrics mixed with country-rock sounds to create songs that make you think. I hope I do not come across as too negative in this section, because I don't hate this album or even dislike it. Life At Best was simply a great album with some killer songs, while 10,000 Towns is a good album with good songs.
Eli Young Band is responsible for some of the best songs on the radio the past few years. "Even If It Breaks Your Heart", "Crazy Girl", "Always The Love Songs", and "Say Goodnight" were all huge songs. While 10,000 Towns doesn't have that huge feel that their previous releases do, it is still a very good album with songs I recommend to anyone. Eli Young Band is here to stay in mainstream country and 10,000 Towns has enough to keep them in the spotlight for the foreseeable future.
Standout Tracks: "Drunk Last Night", "Dust", "Prayer For The Road", "Angel Like You", "What Does"
"Drunk Last Night"
"Dust"
"Prayer For The Road"
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