The country-fried Georgia boys of the Zac Brown Band have arrived with a fistful of melodies on their genre-swapping third album, “The Foundation.” Filled to the brim with country odes both lighthearted and intimate in nature, “The Foundation” is a 12-song musical event saturated with a well-chiseled, grassroots style.
The real breath of fresh air, however, is found in the group’s ambiguous, label-dodging sound. On the surface, Zac Brown and his boys take the guise of a polished country outfit with all the Southern twang and finger picking to boot. But peer a little closer and you’ll find a band that has played more than 3,000 shows and is furnished with a crisp network of talented musicians who are evoking something very special on “The Foundation.”
And what better way to kick off an album than with the islandy, Jimmy Buffett-inspired “Toes” in which Brown sings about the Spanish-speaking isle where coconuts, drinks, and exotic bartenders surround Brown’s carefree chant, “Life is good today.”
Life is good for Brown and friends as their first single, “Chicken Fried,” rests in the number-one spot for its 23rd week in a row on the Billboard Country Music charts. Filled with four minutes of heart-warming excitement, the song is, yes, about fried chicken, among other sentimental favorites such as pecan pie, “cold beer on a Friday night,” and “the little things in life that mean the most.”
“Free” is altogether different fodder. Welcomed by a soul-sketched violin intro that loosens the tension of the day, Brown paints a portrait of two people out on the road, bound to each other, and a witness to true love. All of the imagery is cast alongside the warmest of guitars tones where Brown’s voice breaches the halls of confidentiality, entwined around an anthem chorus.
The trend on “The Foundation” is one of multiple directions, but it is blanketed underneath one consistent group sound. “Mary” is a speedy bluegrass, telecaster-toting song about Brown’s hopeful girl-chasing endeavors, in which he sings, “Mary, why you want to do me this way?”
“It’s Not Ok” and “Sic Em’ on a Chicken” are unique, original, and a definite fun-filled blasts offering up violins, drum solos, and a well-placed upbeat consistency to the record.
It’s surprising to navigate through an album full of material and not come across at least one dud, but “The Foundation” is solid throughout. Not only is that standard reached, but the Zac Brown Band also achieves classic-album status with a highly memorable lineup of songs that wholeheartedly entertain and inspire as they travel the road to country stardom.
The real breath of fresh air, however, is found in the group’s ambiguous, label-dodging sound. On the surface, Zac Brown and his boys take the guise of a polished country outfit with all the Southern twang and finger picking to boot. But peer a little closer and you’ll find a band that has played more than 3,000 shows and is furnished with a crisp network of talented musicians who are evoking something very special on “The Foundation.”
And what better way to kick off an album than with the islandy, Jimmy Buffett-inspired “Toes” in which Brown sings about the Spanish-speaking isle where coconuts, drinks, and exotic bartenders surround Brown’s carefree chant, “Life is good today.”
Life is good for Brown and friends as their first single, “Chicken Fried,” rests in the number-one spot for its 23rd week in a row on the Billboard Country Music charts. Filled with four minutes of heart-warming excitement, the song is, yes, about fried chicken, among other sentimental favorites such as pecan pie, “cold beer on a Friday night,” and “the little things in life that mean the most.”
“Free” is altogether different fodder. Welcomed by a soul-sketched violin intro that loosens the tension of the day, Brown paints a portrait of two people out on the road, bound to each other, and a witness to true love. All of the imagery is cast alongside the warmest of guitars tones where Brown’s voice breaches the halls of confidentiality, entwined around an anthem chorus.
The trend on “The Foundation” is one of multiple directions, but it is blanketed underneath one consistent group sound. “Mary” is a speedy bluegrass, telecaster-toting song about Brown’s hopeful girl-chasing endeavors, in which he sings, “Mary, why you want to do me this way?”
“It’s Not Ok” and “Sic Em’ on a Chicken” are unique, original, and a definite fun-filled blasts offering up violins, drum solos, and a well-placed upbeat consistency to the record.
It’s surprising to navigate through an album full of material and not come across at least one dud, but “The Foundation” is solid throughout. Not only is that standard reached, but the Zac Brown Band also achieves classic-album status with a highly memorable lineup of songs that wholeheartedly entertain and inspire as they travel the road to country stardom.
