ZB is the Lumineers with more twang. The Country Brothers podcast (very funny and all should listen to this if they are comfortable with profanity) noted this and it's something I can't unhear while listening to his music -- honestly, it makes me enjoy it more. The truth he brings is visceral and sophomoric, making it easy for those who want the appearance of heft in their music while not stretching themselves to something they have not experienced. And this experience can be lived or put on as they choose. It's the Hey Ho Stomp and Clap version of All Hat and No Cattle -- which is totally cool as a suburban dude who loves "real" country music.
One of my favorite songs is "From Austin" -- and it's vapid upon the second listen, kneecapped with clever turns of phrase that work perfectly in song that do not hold up to criticism. But they engender personal feelings of heartbreaks felt the world over -- that talks a bit more pretty than Truck, Beer, Dirt, Girl of the boys on the radio.
His production provides perhaps the most interesting view of his authenticity. It rejects the clean, technical sessions of the current establishment. Even on "If She Wants a Cowboy" -- which you outline as an example of a very smart and snarky swipe at Nashville (and I'd argue the entire dress up culture of this world) -- we have the laughter and soft slips of the supporting vocals -- intentionally left in to create the illusion of a rustic, one-take recording. His most recent album seems leave that behind a bit, especially on the collaborations, but not completely.
His meteoric rise is also important to his myth. He went from those YouTube videos to drawing huge crowds at festivals to headlining stadium tours in the span of two and half years. It falls squarely into lie of meritocracy -- that this talented artists delivered quality music to a free and open market not that a perfectly fine musician and often clever wordsmith landed in the right place at the right time. The desire of something easy to understand the provides a sort of validation for those who feel they need permission to wear a Stetson.
But let me stress this again: He is the Hey Ho of Country -- stopping his square toe and clapping his tattooed hands -- most often on the one and the three.
would argue a key difference between him and the lumineers (although they certainly share mediocrity) is the number of music critics who have fallen under bryan's spell! the seductions of his persona and perspective, i think, obscure some of the mid-
That's a great point. I think the bar is so damn low for country music that even those who are dedicated to "saving it" see ZB as a savior, of sorts. In rock, the freedom to do something new is part of the authenticity while the opposite is true in country music -- especially to casual observes and mainstream music critics. So we get this kind of "normal" looking white dude, making pretty ok music, with smarter than dumbass lyrics, and you get people hooked on cheap cocaine, so to speak.
Now for something unexpected: If this gateway drug brings more people into the fold of non-radio country that is wonderful.
Thank you so much for this. I like Zach, but I have to listen in small doses. You identify a couple of issues: lack of humor, and a narrow definition of authenticity.
Some artists understand that you can be funny and serious at the same time. Miranda's "Ugly Lights" and Kacey's "camera roll" are examples. Neither is ha-ha funny, but both songs are narrated by someone who views herself objectively and acknowledges her flaws and self-destructive patterns wryly. Does Zach have that in him?
Contrast Zach's rural, white, straight, American masculinity with that of Tyler Childers, who is willing to look goofy and be dead-serious. I'm recalling an appearance he made recently at the Grand Ole Opry. While introducing "Luke 2:8-10," he described it as a Christmas song, and the audience laughed. Tyler peered into the audience, taken aback, but grinned a smile that meant, "OK, I understand that once this song enters your ears, it's your song and no longer mine. But it truly is a Christmas song." (And it's a GREAT Christmas song, full of empathy and wonder, with a light touch.)
I'm trying to imagine Zach introducing an earnest song, and the audience laughing at his description, and not getting churlish. Nah, wouldn't happen. And how authentic is an artist who is afraid of getting laughed at?
Notice that in "If She Wants a Cowboy," the joke is on Nashville, not on him. The joke is never on Zach.
I get that his stuff can sound repetitive, but it's way better than what I hear on the Philadelphia country radio station. Granted, that's not saying much b/c they play about 10 songs on constant repeat. At least it's not all about how pretty the baby is b/c her mamma is pretty. Ugh, let it go. It's nice to see young people paying attention to a singer-songwriter. And I do love that Kacey Musgraves is getting good exposure.
Please tell me.. what is a "white male ego"... and how does it differ from a "black male ego", or "white female ego"? I don't know what points you people think you're scoring by constantly focusing on race, but it's lame... and annoying.. and tells me that I shouldn't pay attention to anything else you're saying.
All that said... performers, by default, aren't "authentic"... they're performing. There is nothing "authentic" about any of these people — regardless of their race. Which, again... is lame to keep focusing on... unless you're pandering to the stunning & brave crowd.
Also: the more time I spend on Substack, the more I realize that people spend an embarrassing amount of time writing about things they don't like. Personally, I save that for comments ;)
Great article Nat! I really enjoyed it. I do really like the Kerouac, singer songwriter side of ZB though 😆. the poem/song fear and fridays I think is my fave. Some of the real lumineers style songs do nothing for me.
I get where you’re coming from with the genre/mystique of a veteran white man from the middle being “Authentic” over other artists. I agree it says more about our own country’s identity crisis that white rural artists are “real” than anything particular about ZB. I do think you can tell and hear when a person is faking something, like pretending to be from a dirt road when writing country music, or be from a tough neighborhood when rapping. I wish more artists felt comfortable being “authentic” and telling their story in whatever musical genre fits, but I agree you’re right that society is gonna reward certain tropes, cultures, or individuals over others. But, I do think the stripped down, simple soundscape and biographical, or pseudo-biographical lyrics, of singer/songwriters is always going to feel more “authentic” than a sugary pop or dance song, because the point of that songwriter song is to connect emotionally and portray a story, and the point of a pop song sometimes is to just have fun and bounce up and down!
sure! but springsteen or no, I still come back to wondering why those kinds of stories are perceived as intrinsically realer, more honest and - crucially - more valuable, which is what i was trying to get at here - nw
I mean, isn't this how people have been with Springsteen himself for decades? It's part of why I get irrationally annoyed about him. I think ZB is also a major beneficiary of 15 years or so of what I was trying to lay out in this playlist - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6PaTtIjuF0G0z68tMNdvnL?si=f471df22d0c344c1
"Rustic alternative" is 100% ZB's home turf - the Lumineers are on his record! To me it signals that this is where commercial country is headed - if the Nashville songwriters of 5 years ago were channeling dentist office rock c. 2005 (Daughtry, O.A.R.) it stands to reason that the next generation of Nashville songwriters will write like their first unchaperoned concert was some band with 13 members called "The Last Novembers" or something. The key distinction between them and Bryan is that he sings pretty
I'm glad you appreciated what I was trying to do there - this is more or less what I was thinking and was directly inspired to do it based on Bryan's success, but this isn't really my lane so I still feel a little insecure about it.
A distant and largely disconnected observation, from someone on the other side of the Atlantic who doesn't use social media and who's never knowingly heard a Zach Bryan song until today:
Maybe country music - and/or, if ZB isn't really country as such (as is suggested/argued/outlined above), its fans - are going through something similar to what happened to hip-hop music, artists and fans a couple of decades ago? As that art form moved from being an underground scene to a major pop genre in the late '80s/early '90s there were lots of people worried about who was "keepin' it real" and who wasn't, and in the way of these things, a lot of that ended up getting boiled down to largely pointless ponderings over whether Artist X had really lived the street life they wrote about in their rhymes. After a while these conversations - boring and unhelpful enough to start with - pretty much died a natural death, and I would argue this proved to be a helpful and healthy thing for the creative community, as well as for the audience. Hip-hop went back to being an art form that welcomed and encouraged musical creativity and experimentation, and the people in the industry around it found out they could market and promote rap records that didn't have to force themselves into a gangs/crack/crime straitjacket in order to gain attention. Clearly, country has been around longer so I'm not suggesting this is a similar phase occurring at a similar stage in its evolution - but if there was a similar outcome, eventually, that might be quite a good thing, possibly?
Beyond that, the thing that surprised me the most about reading this well-argued and fascinating piece is discovering that ZB is who the mainstream is picking up on as their avatar of country(-tinged) authenticity, when we live in a world which has Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires in it.
thank you so much for reading! i think country has basically been grappling with the authenticity question as long as it exists, the push and pull between a national pop audience and the imagined rural listener/artist - this is just the latest round :)
Wow this article was really triggering, especially for dudes!
lmao
ZB is the Lumineers with more twang. The Country Brothers podcast (very funny and all should listen to this if they are comfortable with profanity) noted this and it's something I can't unhear while listening to his music -- honestly, it makes me enjoy it more. The truth he brings is visceral and sophomoric, making it easy for those who want the appearance of heft in their music while not stretching themselves to something they have not experienced. And this experience can be lived or put on as they choose. It's the Hey Ho Stomp and Clap version of All Hat and No Cattle -- which is totally cool as a suburban dude who loves "real" country music.
One of my favorite songs is "From Austin" -- and it's vapid upon the second listen, kneecapped with clever turns of phrase that work perfectly in song that do not hold up to criticism. But they engender personal feelings of heartbreaks felt the world over -- that talks a bit more pretty than Truck, Beer, Dirt, Girl of the boys on the radio.
His production provides perhaps the most interesting view of his authenticity. It rejects the clean, technical sessions of the current establishment. Even on "If She Wants a Cowboy" -- which you outline as an example of a very smart and snarky swipe at Nashville (and I'd argue the entire dress up culture of this world) -- we have the laughter and soft slips of the supporting vocals -- intentionally left in to create the illusion of a rustic, one-take recording. His most recent album seems leave that behind a bit, especially on the collaborations, but not completely.
His meteoric rise is also important to his myth. He went from those YouTube videos to drawing huge crowds at festivals to headlining stadium tours in the span of two and half years. It falls squarely into lie of meritocracy -- that this talented artists delivered quality music to a free and open market not that a perfectly fine musician and often clever wordsmith landed in the right place at the right time. The desire of something easy to understand the provides a sort of validation for those who feel they need permission to wear a Stetson.
But let me stress this again: He is the Hey Ho of Country -- stopping his square toe and clapping his tattooed hands -- most often on the one and the three.
would argue a key difference between him and the lumineers (although they certainly share mediocrity) is the number of music critics who have fallen under bryan's spell! the seductions of his persona and perspective, i think, obscure some of the mid-
That's a great point. I think the bar is so damn low for country music that even those who are dedicated to "saving it" see ZB as a savior, of sorts. In rock, the freedom to do something new is part of the authenticity while the opposite is true in country music -- especially to casual observes and mainstream music critics. So we get this kind of "normal" looking white dude, making pretty ok music, with smarter than dumbass lyrics, and you get people hooked on cheap cocaine, so to speak.
Now for something unexpected: If this gateway drug brings more people into the fold of non-radio country that is wonderful.
(I'm fully aware of how dorky my deep in-sider allusions are in this context, and I'm fine with that)
The article was great and nailed all my feelings about Zach Bryan way more coherently than I could.
But also coming back to specifically thank you for introducing me to what may be one of my new favorite podcasts.
Glad you like the Country Brothers -- be sure to listen to Episode 4. It's wonderful.
Thank you so much for this. I like Zach, but I have to listen in small doses. You identify a couple of issues: lack of humor, and a narrow definition of authenticity.
Some artists understand that you can be funny and serious at the same time. Miranda's "Ugly Lights" and Kacey's "camera roll" are examples. Neither is ha-ha funny, but both songs are narrated by someone who views herself objectively and acknowledges her flaws and self-destructive patterns wryly. Does Zach have that in him?
Contrast Zach's rural, white, straight, American masculinity with that of Tyler Childers, who is willing to look goofy and be dead-serious. I'm recalling an appearance he made recently at the Grand Ole Opry. While introducing "Luke 2:8-10," he described it as a Christmas song, and the audience laughed. Tyler peered into the audience, taken aback, but grinned a smile that meant, "OK, I understand that once this song enters your ears, it's your song and no longer mine. But it truly is a Christmas song." (And it's a GREAT Christmas song, full of empathy and wonder, with a light touch.)
I'm trying to imagine Zach introducing an earnest song, and the audience laughing at his description, and not getting churlish. Nah, wouldn't happen. And how authentic is an artist who is afraid of getting laughed at?
Notice that in "If She Wants a Cowboy," the joke is on Nashville, not on him. The joke is never on Zach.
really good point.
I get that his stuff can sound repetitive, but it's way better than what I hear on the Philadelphia country radio station. Granted, that's not saying much b/c they play about 10 songs on constant repeat. At least it's not all about how pretty the baby is b/c her mamma is pretty. Ugh, let it go. It's nice to see young people paying attention to a singer-songwriter. And I do love that Kacey Musgraves is getting good exposure.
Please tell me.. what is a "white male ego"... and how does it differ from a "black male ego", or "white female ego"? I don't know what points you people think you're scoring by constantly focusing on race, but it's lame... and annoying.. and tells me that I shouldn't pay attention to anything else you're saying.
All that said... performers, by default, aren't "authentic"... they're performing. There is nothing "authentic" about any of these people — regardless of their race. Which, again... is lame to keep focusing on... unless you're pandering to the stunning & brave crowd.
Also: the more time I spend on Substack, the more I realize that people spend an embarrassing amount of time writing about things they don't like. Personally, I save that for comments ;)
Great article Nat! I really enjoyed it. I do really like the Kerouac, singer songwriter side of ZB though 😆. the poem/song fear and fridays I think is my fave. Some of the real lumineers style songs do nothing for me.
I get where you’re coming from with the genre/mystique of a veteran white man from the middle being “Authentic” over other artists. I agree it says more about our own country’s identity crisis that white rural artists are “real” than anything particular about ZB. I do think you can tell and hear when a person is faking something, like pretending to be from a dirt road when writing country music, or be from a tough neighborhood when rapping. I wish more artists felt comfortable being “authentic” and telling their story in whatever musical genre fits, but I agree you’re right that society is gonna reward certain tropes, cultures, or individuals over others. But, I do think the stripped down, simple soundscape and biographical, or pseudo-biographical lyrics, of singer/songwriters is always going to feel more “authentic” than a sugary pop or dance song, because the point of that songwriter song is to connect emotionally and portray a story, and the point of a pop song sometimes is to just have fun and bounce up and down!
thanks for writing!
I think he just has a lot of Springsteen vibes and people really crave that, with or without a twang.
sure! but springsteen or no, I still come back to wondering why those kinds of stories are perceived as intrinsically realer, more honest and - crucially - more valuable, which is what i was trying to get at here - nw
I mean, isn't this how people have been with Springsteen himself for decades? It's part of why I get irrationally annoyed about him. I think ZB is also a major beneficiary of 15 years or so of what I was trying to lay out in this playlist - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6PaTtIjuF0G0z68tMNdvnL?si=f471df22d0c344c1
no question it's trendy!
"Rustic alternative" is 100% ZB's home turf - the Lumineers are on his record! To me it signals that this is where commercial country is headed - if the Nashville songwriters of 5 years ago were channeling dentist office rock c. 2005 (Daughtry, O.A.R.) it stands to reason that the next generation of Nashville songwriters will write like their first unchaperoned concert was some band with 13 members called "The Last Novembers" or something. The key distinction between them and Bryan is that he sings pretty
"The Last Novembers" is a perfect name for that band. I'm pretty sure they played Outside Lands in 2013.
I'm glad you appreciated what I was trying to do there - this is more or less what I was thinking and was directly inspired to do it based on Bryan's success, but this isn't really my lane so I still feel a little insecure about it.
Rustic Alternative; love it. Now THAT'S Americana! lol.
A distant and largely disconnected observation, from someone on the other side of the Atlantic who doesn't use social media and who's never knowingly heard a Zach Bryan song until today:
Maybe country music - and/or, if ZB isn't really country as such (as is suggested/argued/outlined above), its fans - are going through something similar to what happened to hip-hop music, artists and fans a couple of decades ago? As that art form moved from being an underground scene to a major pop genre in the late '80s/early '90s there were lots of people worried about who was "keepin' it real" and who wasn't, and in the way of these things, a lot of that ended up getting boiled down to largely pointless ponderings over whether Artist X had really lived the street life they wrote about in their rhymes. After a while these conversations - boring and unhelpful enough to start with - pretty much died a natural death, and I would argue this proved to be a helpful and healthy thing for the creative community, as well as for the audience. Hip-hop went back to being an art form that welcomed and encouraged musical creativity and experimentation, and the people in the industry around it found out they could market and promote rap records that didn't have to force themselves into a gangs/crack/crime straitjacket in order to gain attention. Clearly, country has been around longer so I'm not suggesting this is a similar phase occurring at a similar stage in its evolution - but if there was a similar outcome, eventually, that might be quite a good thing, possibly?
Beyond that, the thing that surprised me the most about reading this well-argued and fascinating piece is discovering that ZB is who the mainstream is picking up on as their avatar of country(-tinged) authenticity, when we live in a world which has Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires in it.
thank you so much for reading! i think country has basically been grappling with the authenticity question as long as it exists, the push and pull between a national pop audience and the imagined rural listener/artist - this is just the latest round :)