*Sigh* ... I had a feeling this might happen.
I liked Russell Dickerson's debut single, "Yours", probably more than most. In fact, it grew on me more throughout the year. Call it a gut feeling or something else though, but I had a feeling he might be a one trick pony with that song. Hearing his debut album confirmed that (I didn't cover it, but it wouldn't have been pretty), and while his latest single, "Blue Tacoma" isn't the worst offender in his catalog, it still has its fair share of problems.
Sure, the song dances around typical bro-cliches at times by drinking a different type of beer, name-dropping Shania Twain over Hank Jr., and driving during the daytime instead of the nighttime, but it's still a pretty faceless tune overall. There are too many songs adopting this same theme right now, and unfortunately while it tries to go for different details, it's still lacking in overall depth.
Then again, a lack of lyrical depth can be excused provided that everything else is good, and unfortunately it's not. The production on this song is terrible, with the loud drum machine pushed way too far to the front of the mix completely swallowing the tune. Yeah, the atmospheric banjo is nice and all, but it's so buried that it feels simply tacked on rather than essential to the song.
Dickerson is a better vocalist than he'll get credit for, with a surprisingly good range and likable personality, however it's hard to really get excited for a song about nothing at the end of the day.
Grade: C
Listen: "Blue Tacoma"
Author: Zackary Kephart
I liked Russell Dickerson's debut single, "Yours", probably more than most. In fact, it grew on me more throughout the year. Call it a gut feeling or something else though, but I had a feeling he might be a one trick pony with that song. Hearing his debut album confirmed that (I didn't cover it, but it wouldn't have been pretty), and while his latest single, "Blue Tacoma" isn't the worst offender in his catalog, it still has its fair share of problems.
Sure, the song dances around typical bro-cliches at times by drinking a different type of beer, name-dropping Shania Twain over Hank Jr., and driving during the daytime instead of the nighttime, but it's still a pretty faceless tune overall. There are too many songs adopting this same theme right now, and unfortunately while it tries to go for different details, it's still lacking in overall depth.
Then again, a lack of lyrical depth can be excused provided that everything else is good, and unfortunately it's not. The production on this song is terrible, with the loud drum machine pushed way too far to the front of the mix completely swallowing the tune. Yeah, the atmospheric banjo is nice and all, but it's so buried that it feels simply tacked on rather than essential to the song.
Dickerson is a better vocalist than he'll get credit for, with a surprisingly good range and likable personality, however it's hard to really get excited for a song about nothing at the end of the day.
Grade: C
Listen: "Blue Tacoma"
Author: Zackary Kephart
