Zach Bryan

Belting Bronco • Warner 2023

Zach Bryan has brought a cohesive brand of poetic prose to be reckoned with, in the confines of a genre that has effectively lost its touch with soul. The album reminds me of Springsteen in its amalgamation of American poetry, artistic discipline, and storytelling. He’s caught the eye of multiple artists and for an overtly good reason. The album has a heartland approach with newly treaded context and an approach that is refreshing. Earning the largest streaming week for a rock album in Billboard chart history and impressing critics at a number 1 spot on the Billboard 200, Zach Bryan exceeds expectations on multiple fronts. The song structures are minimalist at times and atmospheric, taking cues from impressionism rather than the conventional. Jakes Piano — Long Island is a track that exemplifies this fairly acutely. The instrumentation is vast and multifaceted, incorporating everything from cello to banjo. Overall, the album is composed well, it’s naturally pensive, and it offers that which can’t be bought, trained, or artificially generated. Authenticity.

10/10