Born Here Live Here Die Here (Deluxe Edition)＜Blue Vinyl＞

Perhaps it was meant as a celebration of the pleasures of home, but theres a telling complacency lying within the heart of the title of Born Here Live Here Die Here. Seven albums deep into his career, Luke Bryan sees no reason to mess with the cheery sound that brought him fame and fortune. Boozy anthems sit alongside sentimental ballads, with the two extremes bridged by sunny pop tunes about love, the outdoors, and other country concerns. Bryan may still act like its 2010 but he cant turn back the hands of time. Now firmly ensconced in middle age, he moves a little slower and sounds a bit gentler than he used to, an overall mellowing that changes the tenor of his music. What once played like a party now feels like comfort or, at best, the soundtrack to a midweek happy hour. Bryans signature friendliness helps sell these subdued good times, but the leisurely pace also means he often sounds like a dad telling dorky jokes. When he rhapsodizes about Knocking Boots, theres no danger hell seduce a stranger, and when he sings about being Too Drunk to Drive, hes completely sober. His measured attack suits a singer who is slowly turning into an old pro even though it can also highlight how hes still singing about the same things he did a decade earlier. The lack of musical and emotional evolution doesnt necessarily hamper Born Here Live Here Die Here -- it was designed as slick entertainment and thats exactly what it is -- but it does suggest Bryan may be playing with some borrowed time. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine