Heart

Eric Church

Released on 16/04/2021 by EMI Music Nashville (ERN)
Main artists: Eric Church
Genre: Country

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There are so many wondrous surprises on the first half of Eric Church's two-part new release (the second record is Soul; a third mini-album, &, is available only to members of his Church Choir fan club). Who ever would have thought the king of Ray-Ban country cool would make what sounds like the theme to a '90s rom-com—a song that could've been recorded by Bonnie Raitt for a Sandra Bullock movie? But that's how the very first track on Heart, "Heart on Fire," comes on, and it's irresistible: all hard-charging attitude and sassy, sizzling guitar. Romantic plea "Heart of the Night" starts off like a pretty traditional ballad about longing to escape, then kicks in with a wild punch of crashing cymbals and yelled lyrics: "Let's point this thing west! Into the chest! Of the still beating heart of the night!" It's a little bit Broadway, a little bit Springsteen, and a whole lot seductive. Church famously wrote a song called "Springsteen," one of his early hits, and his love for the singer-songwriter is clearer than ever here. "Russian Roulette" borrows the Boss's prowling pace, big guitars and tattoo drum beat, and heartland emo poetry: "A song like a bullet from a dashboard light/ Getting shot through the speakers both left and right on the stereo/ Messing up my head, playing Russian roulette with the radio." The breakdown even gets self-referential, recalling Church's "Springsteen," which mentions how "a melody sounds like a memory." When he sings: "I need a melody without a memory/ Take me where I've never been" it's truly glorious. And while Church didn't write the protest tune "Stick That in Your Country Song," he delivers it with as much conviction as on any of his own, infusing lyrics—about the inequality of America's failing cities, the human damage of war, and the impossible challenges faced by teachers—with absolute fury. "Never Break Heart" is classic Church: catchy, undeniably country (that banjo!), an embrace of classic-rock guitar and piano, and inflected with all his completely unique vocal tics and twangs. As always, wingwoman Joanna Cotten complements his quirks with her powerhouse backing vocals, cutting through the swamp air of "Bunch of Nothing"—a fun, Jim Croce-esque lark—like a hot knife. She also joins in on playful album closer "Love Shine Down," which, weirdly and wonderfully, echoes the rich harmonies of '80s superstars like the Oak Ridge Boys and Alabama. It proves Church knows how to end the first half of a two-parter: Leave 'em wanting more. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz

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Heart

Eric Church

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Heart On Fire