“Zach Bryan” Album Review

Zach Bryan is an American singer-songwriter who started in 2017 when he began uploading his music to Youtube leading to his big hit, “Heading South” going viral and later his debut album “DeAnn.”

In August, Zach released his self-titled album “Zach Bryan.” For this album, he took a slightly more produced take of his music in comparison to his “American Heartbreak” album. He still remains true to his traditional americana and story-telling style.

While his other albums were compiled into a storyline, this one takes a different approach, “Zach Bryan” is a kaleidoscope of stories without a “roll-out plan.” Each and every song takes on a different story and perspective with some being hopeful while others remain heavy. 

When we dive deeper into his songs in this album, we see a reflection of his past from his perspective. From his Navy experience in “East Side of Sorrow” with the line “don’t even know what you’re fighting for”  to his experience with his ex-girlfriend, sprinkled throughout the album

including “I Remember Everything” with “I sing you my love songs and you’ll tell me about How your mama ran off and pawned her ring.”  The “Zach Bryan” album shows the reality of life in its best and worst moments and the vices in which surround it. 

Zach Bryan as a whole has been in controversy in previous years, with his major switch from TicketMaster to AXS as well as multiple claims that all of his songs sound the same and all speak on the same subject, which he calls out in “East Side of Sorrow” with “Do you ever get tired of singing’ songs / like all your pain is just another ****** singalong.” 

The artistic approach Zach uses in his song-writing style, relates his listeners to his experiences allowing us to connect to him and his music on a deeper level. As we go through life's high and low points, Zach encourages us to look at life as a collection of experiences rather than a singular moment.  

*This blog post was written during my time with JTAC newspaper

Zach Bryan Photo// Courtesy of Consequence Sound