Real Friends

The very title Real Friends carries an air of bonhomie, suggesting Chris Jansons third album was designed as good music for good friends. Sure enough, Real Friends is a cheerful, breezy affair, filled with reassuring ballads and party tunes that mindfully avoid pressing the pedal to the metal. Jansons deliberately light touch helps disguise how he takes a few more musical risks this time than he did on his previous two records. While he doesnt abandon his lean, straight-ahead country wheelhouse, he accentuates his traditionalism with Mellencamp-styled heartland rock, punchy horns, glossy pop, soft R&B, and a bunch of slick electronic tricks. Its varied enough to justify his claim of Rolling Stone called me the most open-minded redneck on the block on Say About Me, and even if that lyric is just Janson paraphrasing himself (the 2017 article contained the quote Im the most open redneck youll ever meet from the singer), there is a kernel of truth to the sentiment. Janson does seem eager to appeal to all audiences on Real Friends, making music that is big, bright, and welcoming, but underneath that chummy veneer, hes essentially a modern-day good ol boy, celebrating the virtues of home, buddies, beer, and family. This sentimental streak does result in some cornball moments -- kids singing along on Hawaii on Me, name-drops of Porter Wagoner and Johnny Paycheck on the fiercely anti-traditional Check, a hammy duet with Blake Shelton on the title track -- but that old-fashioned cheer is also the thing that makes Real Friends a fun listen. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine