Powerful, Reflective, Tumultuous.

After years of releasing albums consecutively, modern country great Luke Combs has returned to fans with a full-length album, a big contrast from his three song EP last year. This album serves listeners with an emotional roller coaster full of regret, sadness and nostalgia through themes of love for his family and partner. 

Before diving into his tumultuous record, Combs begins with a loud, abrasive, song sung with his classic rugged country accent and a heavy emphasis on drums and electric guitar. After a yearlong hibernation, this song perfectly hypes fans up for what’s to come while also reminding them of what they’ve missed during his hiatus. 

After the opening track, Combs begins exploring the emotional themes of the album, first focusing on his relationship with his mother in the fourth track of this album, “15 Minutes.” In this song, he sets the scene in a jail cell where he uses his fifteen minute jail call to catch up with his mother on everything he’s missed. Double entendres, such as the imagery of the jail cell, are what make Comb’s melodies so worthwhile; they first reward listeners with a simple treat, before they dig deeper and discover hidden meanings within his lyrics. The cell that surrounds the narrative of this song not only serves as a fictional cell Combs has put himself in out of guilt for his past sins and faults, but it also conveys the lack of time the country great has with his family due to his new, vivacious, hectic lifestyle. 

The next track, “Alcohol of Fame” is a complete 180 shift from the previous one, with the slow melancholy melody from before being replaced with an upbeat bar song about a breakup. This is the first of many songs about relationships and strenuous breakups that Combs reminisces about throughout the album. As a genre, it is common knowledge that country is known for its fair share of relationship and breakup songs, however, for a 22 track album, more variety from the musical themes wouldn’t hurt, and could actually strengthen the record. There were other themes within the album that could have benefited the record if they were expanded on, such as his relationship with his family or his conflicting feelings about his fame. 

Although more thematic variation could prove to be beneficial, it doesn’t deter from the quality of the songs, which excels with the loving odes to his partner and the depressing heartbreak blues. Songs like “Ever Mine” provide listeners with a soothing tune from the instrumental to the calming adlibs from the featured artist, Alison Krauss. Combs directs this song to his wife as he details how she’s always on his mind and how he is undoubtedly endlessly devoted to her. On the other end of the emotional spectrum, “Seeing Someone” explores the broken mental state of a man who refuses to get over his past lover and sees her wherever he goes even though she’s long gone. The memories of his past love haunt him since he refuses to let go, despite knowing he should. 

As Combs closes out his hefty album, he reminisces on his fame, with his 18th song, “Tell ‘Em About Tonight,” which serves as an appreciative track about his current fame and where he is in life, despite the possibility of him being forgotten in the future. Combs closes out his record with “A Man Was Born;” he looks back to the first chapters of his life and how he was living fast and abrasively, thinking that was what made a man a man. Once he was faced with the consequences of his actions, however, Combs quickly learned that learning from his mistakes was what made him a true man. 

This introspective close to the album juxtaposes with the brash opening track, bringing this whirlwind emotional journey to a close. Throughout the tracks, Combs leads his audience through a passage of his life and mind, offering them insight into his struggles and values while also providing them with aspects of life that they may begin to reflect on and redefine their thinking about.