Walker Hayes: 'Country Stuff The Album' Review

From a young age, I’ve always had a love for Country music. I grew up listening to 2000s stars such as Zac Brown Band, Brad Paisley, and Miranda Lambert as well as older artists/bands such as Alabama and Randy Travis. That being said, I have a deep love and appreciation for the genre. Whether it’s the themes of heartbreak, working-class struggles, or small-town lifestyle, great Country music has something for everyone.

Enter Walker Hayes. Hayes is a tough one to truly define. He made his debut album, “Reason to Rhyme”, in 2011 before taking a five-year album hiatus. In 2017, he released his second album, “Boom”, which contained his first big hit, “You Broke Up With Me”. It went 2x platinum. The song’s success launched Hayes into the mainstream country scene; he hasn’t looked back since. In between these three full-length albums, Hayes has released and re-released some tracks on EPs titled “8-Tracks”. “Country Stuff The Album” serves as a follow-up to the 2021 EP “Country Stuff” and was released on Jan. 22, 2022. The album is sadly about as original as its title.

Hayes scored not only Country radio success but viral success with “Fancy Like” in 2021. “Fancy Like” quickly became a smash hit on TikTok. Propelled by the popularity gained online, it quickly climbed the charts. “Fancy Like” reached number one on Billboard’s Country charts and peaked at number three all-genre on Billboard. It’s gotten so popular that Applebee’s now includes it in their ads since they are name-dropped in the chorus. Though I find the song insufferable due to its cringe-worthy lyrics, it’s hard to ignore the juggernaut that it is. However, the guitar riff that drives the entire song is quite good.

The main criticism that Hayes receives from me as well as many country fans and critics alike is that he hardly makes country music. A majority of Hayes' songs on his previous projects don’t truly feel like country songs. Though I will say that “Country Stuff The Album” does sound more in line with traditional Country music than his previous album, “Boom”, I still have a hard time taking Hayes seriously in the genre, unfortunately.

As I mentioned earlier, Hayes is a confusing artist to me personally. He has some truly beautiful, introspective songs that deal with fatherhood (“Chapel”), depression (“The Comedian''), redemption (“Craig”), and sobriety (“Say Sober”). However, it seems that Hayes and his writing crew have no quality control and consistency in their writing. These songs are often right next to extremely boring, cliche, and borderline laughable songs. “Country Stuff The Album” is no exception. Songs such as “Briefcase” are absolutely beautiful and once again tap into themes of fatherhood. However, it gets lost in a wave of nothingness composed of songs like “Country Stuff”, “U Gurl”, and “AA.”

The standout song that I mentioned previously is “Briefcase” featuring the Grammy-winning songwriter, Lori McKenna. McKenna is one of the best songwriters in country music today, penning hits such as “Humble and Kind”, “Girl Crush”, and “I Bet You Think About Me”. “Briefcase” is not only the best-written song, but it also has the best production present on the entire album. There are no distracting percussion elements such as snap-tracks or bass drops. The song is carried by an acoustic guitar with a minor addition of drums in the background. “Briefcase” revolves around Hayes’ rejection of his father and his absence during Hayes’ adolescence. Throughout the song, it is revealed that his job as a musician makes him just as absent in his children’s lives. The full-circle realization that he is just like his father coupled with the love he has for both his children and his father truly makes this song a diamond in the rough that is “Country Stuff The Album”. At the end of the day, the beauty of Country music is that it is a window into real-life hardships. This is the only song present here that showcases this.

The other enjoyable songs, “I Hope You Miss Me” and “Delorean”, are pleasant listens. I enjoy the conflicted emotions of “I Hope You Miss Me”. In the song, Hayes is wishing his ex good luck in her move to Los Angeles. However, he still hopes she misses him out there. I also enjoy the reality of the story. Though overly produced and quite pop-sounding, I still like the songwriting present here. “Delorean” is also a very easy-going song. The title is an obvious allusion to the time machine in the film, “Back to the Future.” There are some solid details present throughout the lyrics that make the song feel lived-in (“chewed Ice Breakers next to me at church”, “backseat of your Accord again”, “Anything Bone Thugs in the speakers”).

As I alluded to earlier, there are some simply cliche, borderline satirical-sounding songs present on “Country Stuff The Album”. “Drinking Songs” comes to mind. Whether it’s using the term, “ciga-regrets” or using nearly every single Country cliche such as barstools, drinking, sad songs, and Hank Williams, “Drinking Songs” feels like it’s supposed to be some sort of satire of Country music. However, it isn’t. It’s completely unironic. What I find more disappointing is that there was a similar song released in 2019 by Midland (“Every Song’s a Drinkin’ Song”) which covers the same theme with more clever lyrics and has much better production. The title-track “Country Stuff”, featuring one of my favorite mainstream Country artists Jake Owen, is another song that feels very cliche. It’s simply another “check-list” song that lists different “country” things that Hayes likes. The production also doesn’t help the song. The ad-libs in the background as well as the distracting booming bass doesn’t fit a song named “Country Stuff”.

Another huge disappointment is this album’s version of “Craig”. In the original version of "Craig", it was a simple song led by a piano and some minor snap-track percussion. The song works really well with simple production given its subject matter. “Craig” is about a man who helped Hayes out when he was struggling financially. It’s a lyrically beautiful song about redemption. However, in 2022’s “Craig” featuring Christian band, Mercy Me, is a destruction of the song. The production is simply strange to me. It ranges from a rocking electric guitar intro to a beat-drop into the chorus. It's extremely distracting and generally sounds extremely out-of-place for the subject matter in the lyrics.

Overall, “Country Stuff The Album” was a very disappointing album to me. I’ve enjoyed a fair amount of Hayes’ songs up until this point. Though Hayes’ sound might not be a standard Country sound that many Country purists enjoy, I enjoy the vibe of a lot of his songs. However, Hayes’ songwriting took a noticeable nose-dive in quality here. The dip in song-writing quality coupled with the extremely poor and annoying production choices make this album a chore to get through. The gem that is “Briefcase” as well as solid tunes such as “I Hope You Miss Me” and “Delorean” don’t save the project.

4/10