Following his CMA Award-winning song, “Buy Dirt,” Jordan Davis aims to capture the lightning in the bottle again with “Bluebird Days.” Davis has consistently been scoring hits on the country charts since his breakthrough 2018 single, “Take It from Me.” Primarily known for his high-tempo, pop-country tracks, Davis has been one of the most enjoyable mainstream country artists over the last few years. His ability to toe the fine line between country and pop is quite impressive. He often delivers fun party songs while simultaneously delivering some more traditional-sounding songs that explore deeper themes that encourage a re-listen.
“Bluebird Days” delivers what you would expect from an album from Davis. There are some extremely fun, pop-like tracks mixed with some more traditional country songs that explore regret, life and love.
Though “Buy Dirt” appeared on his last eight-track album also titled, “Buy Dirt,” Davis included the track here too. This mainly has to do with gaming the streaming system. For those unaware, the more albums and playlists a single track appears on, the easier it is to rack up streams. While I don’t love the idea given that it makes album-making less artistic and more corporate in nature, I can’t blame Davis for including the incredible song on the album.
The track feels like a classic in the making. Minimal production predominantly featuring a percussive acoustic guitar and coupled with great lyrics makes this easily the best song on both albums. “Buy Dirt” takes the classic country framing device of sitting down with a family member and gaining wisdom from the older generation. My only criticism of the song is the inclusion of Luke Bryan as a feature. His voice is simply not good, and the song doesn’t need to be a duet in the first place. Davis has a version that only features himself; I highly recommend it instead. It is the definitive version of the song, in my opinion.
Mid-tempo tracks, “Tucson Too Late” and the titular “Bluebird Days” are also stand-out tracks. Though they do cover the fairly typical country breakup song territory, they are extremely pleasing tracks sonically. The subtle addition of the steel guitar in the background sounds compliments the song extremely well. The phrase, “I got to Tuscon too late,” also sounds great off the tongue; it’s fun wordplay like this that I look for in country songs.
“Bluebird Days” is a great song about the effects of parents going through a divorce. Davis begins the song with a verse painting a nostalgic look back on his childhood. However, once the chorus and the subsequent verses kick in, the song turns into a retrospective look at how a child would view his parent’s falling out of love. The symbolism of Davis’ “bluebird days going dark'' due to the divorce is great. This track is fantastic and invites you to listen to it multiple times
However, there are some less-than-enjoyable tracks here that feel like Davis is trend-chasing. “Whiskey Weak,” “Midnight Crisis” (feat. Danielle Bradberry) and “You’ve Got My Number” are all very forgettable pop tracks that don’t feel nearly as well-written or deep as the aforementioned songs.
Like many albums these days, “Bluebird Days” is much too long. Coming in at 17 songs and 54 minutes, the album overstays its welcome. A few songs, including the aforementioned trend-chasers, feel like filler in this overly-long album. “Bluebird Days” would be much better with a more traditional 12-song tracklist.
“Bluebird Days” is exactly what I expected from Jordan Davis. There are plenty of fun tracks that will go great on a summer playlist mixed with some insightful songs that invite a re-listen. Though there are plenty of highlights on the album, I couldn’t help but want a little more depth and a little less filler. More songs like “Bluebird Days” and fewer like “You’ve Got My Number” would have made this album much better. That being said, there’s a lot to like from the album.
7/10
Comments