There are many things that make me a passionate fan of country music. One could be the nostalgic sounds of the instruments that can take you back in time. Another might be the vocals or maybe the themes.
But my favorite, by far, is the songwriting. And on Jan. 9, the best songwriter in the business, Zach Bryan, released With Heaven on Top, his sixth studio album.
Sprinkled throughout the 24 songs, including one poem, Bryan expressed themes of love, betrayal, and reminiscing, among many other themes.
Bryan’s first song on the new album, Runny Eggs, sounded a lot like his past songs: the soft strum of an acoustic guitar, accompanied by a harmonica and a slight appearance from a steel guitar in the background.
But, something changes in his next track: Appetite. This one is one of my personal favorites from the album. The song gets right into it with trumpets, quickly leaving the slow tempo of Runny Eggs in its dust.
Appetite is the perfect theme song for Bryan. It mentions how he doesn’t care for all the objects that come with his fame with lyrics like, “Together I pack my bags quickly, toothbrush, combs, and my dogs with me. Strong enough to handle this, fame, and other corny shit.”
Following Appetite, was DeAnn’s Denim, a song dedicated to Bryan’s mother. The lyrics are perfectly written throughout, showing how much Bryan’s mother meant to the young songwriter.
The mood changed again with the song, Say Why. The song contains lyrics talking about a breakup: “Still drove forty hours and I’d drive forty more. Forty days in the desert just to wind up at your door. Forty ouncеs, forty minutes, forty days and forty ways. Forty reasons that you’re lеaving and forty more you’ll stay.”
Another one of my personal favorites is Santa Fe. I find that a common theme in the songs from Bryan that I like are that they are usually the upbeat ones and that is why I am a big fan of Santa Fe.
The seventh song on the album, Skin, is another song about a breakup with great imagery. My favorite is the chorus, “I’m taking a blade to my old tattoos. I’m draining the blood between me and you. I’m taking a blade to my own skin. And I ain’t never touching yours again.”
Scattered throughout Bryan’s album were some popular unreleased songs such as Dry Deserts, Bad News, Plastic Cigarette and also Sante Fe.
Out of all the unreleased tracks, Plastic Cigarette takes the crown for me. I really liked how Bryan just used the acoustic guitar and the song just flows. This song was by far the most popular unreleased song and when I first heard it on TikTok, I was very eager to listen to it completely finished and on an album.
My favorite line is this, “Did you ever make it back to Byron Bay the day you told me to quit drinkin’? And thinkin’ that I was gonna die before thirty, your mom was so worried…”
That line is by far my favorite, it just scratches something in my brain every time I listen to it.
Moving right along, I also really enjoyed Rivers and Creeks. The beginning is really cool with a guitar and trumpet intro.
Bryan, while he sings, also has some voice cracks, which as well, scratches something in my soul. But also, Bryan while he sings the line, “Deep within the shaking, earthquake in California summer,” he does some type of Elvis Presley or Bruce Springsteen impression which a lot of people are talking and laughing about on social media.
Finishing up my review and going back to what I said earlier about how I really like when Bryan has more upbeat tempos in his songs, he uses one in Always Willin’. I liked the line which includes the title of the song, “And I know that I’m hell-bent and always will be. But at least God knows I was always willin’.”
As I have listened to this album over the last 24 hours to get a firm grasp of it, each time I throw it on, I understand Bryan more and more as an artist and a man. His lyrics are deep and powerful and are artistically crafted.
My heart will forever be ingrained into American Heartbreak, his third album, just because that is where I got my start with Bryan, but With Heaven On Top, I feel like it’s really close. The new sound is something I really liked. Bryan kept the guitar and the subtle western sound in some songs, but when he brought in a damn-near orchestra, it made the lyrics so much more powerful and meaningful.
My hat is off to you, Mr. Bryan.