Ain't In It For My Health

Released a year after his gold-certified debut, Zach Tops sophomore set, Aint in It for My Health, doubles down on the smooth-as-silk sound that made him a breakout star. After swapping bluegrass for country in 2024, Tops career took off thanks in part to throwback singles like "I Never Lie" and "Sounds Like the Radio," two songs that evoke the slick neotraditional tone of forebears like Keith Whitley and Alan Jackson. He kept the formula intact on "Good Times and Tan Lines," another playful cut in the Jackson mold that serves as the lead single from his follow-up. With his warm, relaxed vocals and nimble guitar picking, Top inhabits this world with ease, riding the border between heartfelt and hokey with just enough moxie to pull it off. Cuts like "Guitar" and "Honky Tonk til It Hurts" are playful boot-scootin exercises that keep the record moving, though, at 15 tracks, many of them ballads, it could use some trimming. Top is early enough in his career that riding the 90s nostalgia wave for two consecutive LPs is still effective, though it might behoove him to establish a more robust signature sound on future releases. ~ Timothy Monger