A Review of Brett Eldredge’s “Songs About You”

June 17th marked the release of singer Brett Eldredge’s 6th album release entitled Songs About You. The country singer stated in an interview with Billboard that this album would be about finding and celebrating confidence in himself, a sure change from his more reflective, somber 2020 album “Sunday Drive” (which is one of my favorite albums to this day – seriously go check it out, it feels like a hug!) With Eldredge’s promotional TikToks releasing snippets of tracks from “Songs About You”, I was instantly excited for the shift in tone to more enjoying the present rather than looking towards the past or future. Upon first listen, the album definitely lives up to the anticipated tone of confidence and progression. His lyrics show his acceptance of the past and willingness and eagerness to take on new love, connections, and experiences. The album expands upon a theme seen throughout a lot of his music of his hopes of finding true love and connection. This time around, his songs emphasize that both people entering a relationship share that mutual drive for love; he showcases the vulnerability both people experience in the daunting journey of finding someone they can let go with. But he also adds in the confidence that we can each find that person. Songs About You has great use of guitar, piano, and brass, with songs that highlight each instrument individually to create a more “stripped” sound and songs that bring all three together to form a more cohesive sound. The more feminine background vocals contrast his powerful, soulful voice to create a fuller sound and story line. This album feels more mature than his earlier work, seemingly leaning into his signature, more vocal-heavy, vintage sound showcased in his more recent releases. This album is a good mix of different sounds and different meanings behind songs – you’ve got your feel-good dance songs, your sadder songs, and your good-energy love songs. Overall, Songs About You is another great, easy-going album from Brett that is great to just hang out and relax or drive to. There’s definitely songs being added to my playlists! Here are some track-by-track thoughts from my first few listens through: "Can’t Keep Up" – a great, peppy upbeat opener that perfectly fits the self-confidence, live-in-the-moment vibe he was going for "Songs About You" – shares a similar reflective tone to Crowd My Mind, but with a more upbeat feeling of healing and being content with finding both joy and pain, happiness and sadness, in a goodbye "I Feel Fine" – a darker, deeper, slightly smug tone from Brett that we’re not used to but I’m really liking; highlights his confidence in moving forward to better things "What Else Ya Got" – immediate “Sunday Drive” vibes with the vocal runs and piano; a great love song that emphasizes feeling safe enough to be vulnerable and give yourself to your partner "Hideaway" – I can’t wait to hear this stripped-down guitar sound live; I love the sentiment of running away with the one you care about with nothing but the bare necessities to just enjoy each other; reminiscent of If You Were My Girl "Get Out of My House" – it’s really interesting and fresh to see this post-breakup “I’m moving on” side from Brett; slight similarity to Chris Stapleton’s sound which I enjoyed "Home Sweet Love" – very reflective of a lot of his tones of finding love but incorporates that idea of it being a shared human experience; really nice slowed-down tempo "Want That Back" – I like how Brett usually has at least one song about his smalltown upbringing and his younger days, and this is this album’s version; it reflects the constant want to forgo the unnecessary things in life to focus on the smaller, simpler moments and people you care about most he talks about often on his social media "Wait Up For Me" – another stripped song but this time with piano, another cute love song this time about the pure eagerness to finally be able to see the one you love, the feminine backup vocals really help tell the story "Where Do I Sign" – resembling the playful tune of Eldredge’s “The Reason”, I like that the song emphasizes that a relationship does not detract from each person being their own individual but rather augments and adds to it; the background bass help create Brett’s signature vintage sound "Holy Water" – while this song has had radio play for a bit now, its choral backup vocals and slow build make for a nice, feel-good song "Where the Light Meets the Sea" – to me, this song sounds like the other person’s perspective from Brett’s “No Stopping You”; it seems to mark Brett’s acceptance of moving into a new chapter of life and his music where he’s made peace with things in his past and acknowledges its best to move forward Current faves: "What Else Ya Got", "Hideaway", "Home Sweet Love" Overall rating: 4.2/5