Nashville has delivered 鈥淏roken Branches,鈥� his eleventh studio album that leans into some well-tread country rock territory, the kind that invariably involves broken hearts, trucks and a cold beer.
Look, Bentley knows what he鈥檚 doing. The album is 11-tracks of catchy, radio filler and there鈥檚 not much mystery to its musical roadmap. But therein lies his calling card: Dependable songs with few rough edges.
Thematically, many of the tracks on the superstar鈥檚 latest effort hint at internal struggles, but allow Bentley and the listener to escape them unscathed. 鈥淛esus Loves Me鈥� is an admirable acoustic slow burn about finding religion but losing a woman. 鈥淭hought maybe if I hit my knees / She鈥檇 think about hitting the brakes,鈥� Bentley sings. There is slight salvation for the Phoenix-born singer: 鈥淵eah, Jesus loves me / But she don't.鈥�
On the title track, the jukebox stomp 鈥淏roken Branches,鈥� Bentley gets a nice assist from fellow country hitmakers John Anderson and Ostensibly it鈥檚 an energetic drinking song about family lines, but lyrics like 鈥淲e shoulda gone to college / Coulda gained a little knowledge,鈥� which pull from a popular childhood rhyme, feel like they're underperforming.
What Bentley does extremely well is execute what his 鈥� and the modern genre鈥檚 鈥� biggest fans might expect. Tales of a tough exterior with a warm, if fragile, heart underneath. But his familiar is derivative.
Palatable country is how you get on the radio and stay on it. Songs about beer and trucks are If you like your country artists with a longer rap sheet, you鈥檒l need to look further than 鈥淏roken Branches.鈥� Even the few attempts at invention don't totally land, like the rowdy, rocking 鈥淪he Hates Me,鈥� which includes a surprising interpolation of 2001 hit 鈥淪he (Expletive) Hates Me.鈥�
If there鈥檚 a pleasant find here, it鈥檚 Stephen Wilson Jr. duetting with Bentley on the opening track, 鈥淐old Beer Can.鈥� It鈥檚 the most memorable song on the album 鈥� with its plucky instrumentation and ascendant chorus, which showcase Wilson Jr.鈥檚 rich voice and guitar talents.
It also does what Bentley aims for, but misses, throughout the record: It addresses life's touching moments over brews.
Ron Harris, The Associated Press
