If this song proves anything, it's that an artist can have a song that mention a party atmosphere AND include some depth, contrary to belief.
Granted, it's hard to flag down a lot of information about Travis Denning, but like many songwriters as of late, Denning has finally moved away from writing album cuts (he helped to write songs on the latest albums from Jason Aldean and Justin Moore) to releasing his own music to the world. The result is a song that's very easy to like.
The song's biggest selling point is its lyrical content. While receiving a fake I.D. to essentially drink yourself silly sounds par for the course on a mainstream country song (especially if we hop back in time to 2014), the focus isn't really about that. While the song does gloat about being able to drink and smoke illegally, the focus is more about being an adult and actually getting to experience something you've never experience before. The song also takes the time to focus on the man that Denning is impersonating, and it's a nice touch to have Denning be so obsessed with reading over the card to figure out who this man is. Honestly though, they could have done a better job than describing Mr. Parker as a "Levis, t-shirt, all-American guy" considering it sounds pretty faceless, but overall, it's a cool perspective on being integrated into adulthood in a way that's more fun and engaging than boring.
While I wouldn't call Denning a distinctive vocalist, he's got a healthy amount of charisma. He does a great job convincing me how excited he is just to experience something all the adults do, and considering that the lyrics never tilt into anything obnoxious like most songs in this vein, I'd say he's got a very likable personality as well.
The production here starts off too compressed, with that echoey drum machine taking up too much room. Once the chorus hits, the sweeping electric guitar helps to give this song somewhat more of an edge.
Overall, I'll be interested to see what else Travis Denning can do, because he's off to a solid start with his debut single.
Grade: B
Listen: "David Ashley Parker From Powder Springs"
Author: Zackary Kephart
Granted, it's hard to flag down a lot of information about Travis Denning, but like many songwriters as of late, Denning has finally moved away from writing album cuts (he helped to write songs on the latest albums from Jason Aldean and Justin Moore) to releasing his own music to the world. The result is a song that's very easy to like.
The song's biggest selling point is its lyrical content. While receiving a fake I.D. to essentially drink yourself silly sounds par for the course on a mainstream country song (especially if we hop back in time to 2014), the focus isn't really about that. While the song does gloat about being able to drink and smoke illegally, the focus is more about being an adult and actually getting to experience something you've never experience before. The song also takes the time to focus on the man that Denning is impersonating, and it's a nice touch to have Denning be so obsessed with reading over the card to figure out who this man is. Honestly though, they could have done a better job than describing Mr. Parker as a "Levis, t-shirt, all-American guy" considering it sounds pretty faceless, but overall, it's a cool perspective on being integrated into adulthood in a way that's more fun and engaging than boring.
While I wouldn't call Denning a distinctive vocalist, he's got a healthy amount of charisma. He does a great job convincing me how excited he is just to experience something all the adults do, and considering that the lyrics never tilt into anything obnoxious like most songs in this vein, I'd say he's got a very likable personality as well.
The production here starts off too compressed, with that echoey drum machine taking up too much room. Once the chorus hits, the sweeping electric guitar helps to give this song somewhat more of an edge.
Overall, I'll be interested to see what else Travis Denning can do, because he's off to a solid start with his debut single.
Grade: B
Listen: "David Ashley Parker From Powder Springs"
Author: Zackary Kephart
