The tour de force of Luke Combs has dropped a new album. At "only" twelve tracks, it is far more digestible then the large albums (and engorged deluxe additions) that have been the norm for him. I was asked to write up a few thoughts on release for the Waves on the Shore podcast. Instead of a straight by the numbers review, I wanted to focus on some takeaways about the bigger picture of what this album means. I have three points.
1) Luke Combs is this generation’s Garth Brooks.
2) Combs epitomizes the ideal of practical musical traditionalism via properly understanding evolution.
3) The everyman executes a much needed personal pivot.
So, number one. I went there.
Presumably this is not the first time Mr. Combs has been compared to Brooks. His chart-topping dominance is certainly reminiscent of the rise of Garth into the behemoth who wholly dominated the 1990's.
I think now, with the release of his third album with nary a sign of any steam running out of the Combs locomotive, the comparison has shifted from potential to actual. The questions surrounding his second album wondering if the success was repeatable have been quenched. Like the elite before him, Combs is now inevitable. At this point, he has been on a run for nearly five years now. More importantly, he has emerged as a taste maker. Combs has steadily moved the mainstream towards a sonic template that differs tremendously from what it sounded like in those post Montevallo years when the odd bedfellows of late stage bro and synthetic southern pop ruled the airwaves. To this mix, Luke Combs came with a sound, artistic persona, and image that was both fresh and familiar, hearkening back to the best of old whilst firmly planting himself in the new. He hit the scene like a hurricane, and sent Nashville in a tizzy looking for the next version of him. In many ways, for good and for bad, that is what Garth did and now what is being done by Combs.
This isn't to say that Combs is a visionary. His sound is very middle of the road. The crucial element to me is that his basic sonic template is becoming the generic Nashville sound. As could be predicted, same as ensued in the aftermath of Garth, the Nashville clones maintained none of the charm and unique character of the original. With Garth, it was the "hat acts" and with Combs, it is bland guitar and drum mid-tempo mixes sung by "relatable" every-men.
Playing off this, the second point is directly related. Let's take a look at "The Combs Sound". It is undergirded by prominent guitars that have a significant twang and southern rock edge to them. With the merger of Southern rock into the country tent now long ago history, this sound is a familiar one. More country then the harsh hard rock guitars of bro, but still with enough rock punch and muscle to bolster his powerful voice. Traditional country instruments often perform harmony and filler/texture work. On his ballads, traditional instruments generally play a more prominent lead role. There are minimal synthetic drum loops or overtly pop influences. Exceptions exist obviously but the general structure and sound of a Luke Combs song is well established. Belted choruses with enough power to stop a full grown moose in its tracks, the post second chorus electric guitar solo, the stripped down instruments after the solo and build up into a thunderous final chorus, and his trademark lilted intonation at the end of verses.
Given the formulaic nature of his hits so far, there has been a growing sentiment that Combs is a one trick pony and that he needs to change in order to succeed further and not turn into a parody of himself, unimaginatively releasing the same basic song over and over again a la Jason Aldean. The demand for constant growth and change has a downside. Change too much, and you lose what made people connect with you in the first place. The solution is to find and nail the thin line of growthfull traditionalism. On one extreme you have the Elvis impersonator where the whole purpose of the art is to simply ape the best of old. On the other, you have experimental art-pop that views any tie to previous convention as limiting and burdensome. An artist like Combs must change. However, in order to succeed he must change slowly.
To borrow an idea from politics, I found this excellent descriptor of how traditionalists view change. I find it equally, maybe even more apt for country music.
"When societies and cultures change- and they are always changing - it is best for them to change gradually, giving people, families, institutions, and their habits time to adjust. Change often has unforeseen consequences; human beings, individually and collectively, often need to work through those consequences before they are prepared for additional change."
I think on this new project, Luke Combs has taken ownership of this charge and epitomized this idea. The new album still has those old school Combs one-note rockers, however now they appear with more texture and variation in melody and instrumentation. He brings some older and more traditional influences into the album which provide a timeless yet fresh taste. Like a squeeze of fresh lemon on top of a salad, there is just slightly more nuance and depth of flavor in every bite. However, the experience is still based on the same tasty salad. This will become the new and slightly different Combs Sound we get used to. As time slowly marches on, he will continue to maturely and traditionally evolve his sound in accordance with his growth as an artist and audience perceptions and expectations will slowly shift alongside him.
This leads to the third point. The LC appeal lies in a large part due to his persona as the charismatic but realistic homespun everyman. His musical themes generally celebrate ordinary folk doing normal people things. Songs like When It Rains It Pours are self aware, humorous and very relatable. 1, 2 Many and Beer Never Broke My Heart are fun straightforward drinking songs. To the more artistically inclined, his music smacks of cliche. To those who actually understand, it is an successful experiment in creating the ultimate authentic country music everyman.
The problem with being the everyman is you don't have headroom to grow. Growth in art is usually highly personal. Therefore, when you have someone who’s entire shtick is based in unchanging externalities, it's hard to shift.
Katy Perry exemplified this in pop music. (I first heard this comparison on NYT Popcast.) Everyone loved her first few albums. She absolutely nailed the zeitgeist and had something for everyone. She never wholly committed to one archetype. Swift had her breakups, Gaga her experimental aesthetic. Katy just floated above it all. It all started to fall apart after a few albums. Maintaining the same style and image was causing her to stagnant and fall behind. She then executed a massive pivot to a more personal vision and promptly stalled out her career. This isn't to say that this is the inevitable path for Luke Combs, but merely that the backbone of his artistic creation is on shaky ground especially embarking into the next stage of career.
A pivot was needed. The refreshing thing was that Combs himself seemed to realize that he is in a new phase of life/career and the music must reflect that. He certainly implied that in many pre album interviews. I think a very clear personal hue runs all throughout the albums in a way that makes the songs feel more his own. Of course, the same broad appealing core is still there. Combs isn't gonna bite the giving hand, but personal touches abound. From whole songs about his feelings and motivations as a singer, to simple emotive touches within his delivery, a more personally invested Combs instead of the performance focused Combs of the past is clearly in the drivers seat.
If this album was a test of the long term viability of the Luke Combs experiment, I think he rose to the challenge and fulfilled the heavy expectations, both firmly confirming his bona fides and upping his future potential. I'm excited to be here for the ride.
Joe
PS. This was an unexpected post. I didn’t see my self writing a review about a single album. I like the more philosophical stuff. I wanna thank the boys over at Waves On The Shore for pushing me to stretch myself a little.
This may be controversial, but I think that to properly understand country music and its obsession with homage and conservation, you really have to think long and hard about the common philosophical roots it shares with political and cultural conservatism. Not in the rah-rah partisan way, although that does help explain some interesting ideas that abounded in the early 2000’s, but in the more broad based temperament and philosophical leanings. I will try and tread lightly, but there may be some slight political edge to some upcoming topics. Rest assured it will not devolve into partisanship on my end. I read a wide variety of views on current day issues and quoting or referencing any author or source is not an endorsement of their views.
The political quote in the article is from Dan McLaughlin.
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/slowing-things-down-has-value-too/
Links to the Waves on the Shore podcast.
https://open.spotify.com/show/0JEVf7JOKowxmo4HKUhGtH?si=0NNEwH_WS7yZFsLFka7s2Q
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/waves-on-the-shore/id1567332305