<\/p>\n
Cards on the table \u2013 I haven\u2019t liked a Jason Aldean album since 2016\u2019s \u2018They Don\u2019t Know\u2019 \u2013 up to that point he\u2019d been on a great run from \u2018Wide Open\u2019 in 2009 right up to 2016. Banger after banger, hit after hit. What has come after \u2018They Don\u2019t Know,’ for me, has felt a little dialled in and formulaic even though the number ones have kept coming.
Aldean is an artist that, by and large, doesn\u2019t write his own songs but sources them from writers in the songwriting community in Nashville so the blame has to lie with his team, the writers and possibly Aldean, himself, for taking his eye off the ball as he became distracted by political grandstanding, numerous visits to Mar-a-Lago and selling MAGA influenced merch alongside his wife.<\/p>\n
However new album \u2018Songs About Us\u2019 is an absolute return to form, his best album in a decade.<\/p>\n
Looking at the writers on these 20 songs I\u2019m immediately struck by the cohesive nature of the people involved. Kurt Allison\u2019s name appears 16 times. Tully Kennedy 15 times. John Morgan 14 times. Lydia Vaughn 9 times. By keeping the lion\u2019s share of the album to the same four writers there\u2019s a binding sound, a consistent narrative and cohesion to the album that we haven\u2019t seen from Aldean in many years. Hell, Aldean, himself, even gets a credit on 2 songs. Sure those four writers featured heavily across Aldean\u2019s last album \u2018Highway Desperado\u2019 but maybe the evolution of artist \/ writer John Morgan has added just that extra bit of something special or maybe it\u2019s Aldean himself this time round, who knows, but something is definitely different.<\/p>\n
Lyrically, Aldean and his team are hardly re-inventing the wheel \u2013 heartbreak, goodbye, regrets & drinking as tropes all loom large across these songs but musically something feels different\u2026.. lighter? More commercial? The album is awash with chugging guitars & big melodies \u2013 all over, track to track, from beginning to end. It’s a musical ear worm for fans of guitar driven country music and, most importantly, one song doesn\u2019t just run into another like it seemed to do to me on his most recent albums. Sure, it’s too long at 20 songs, all albums that long, including Luke Combs’ new one, would benefit from 5 or 6 songs being saved for a deluxe or released as B sides or extra content further down the line but, ultimately, the bottom line, here, is that \u2018Songs For Us’ is Aldean’s best album in a decade. <\/p>\n
The album kicks off with \u2018Anytime Soon,’ and it immediately signals a shift. A heavy bottom end and funky organ introduce a slightly more commercial, melodic tone before the guitars crash in. The chorus is classic Aldean\u2014mid-tempo, radio-ready, and instantly familiar. It\u2019s followed by \u2018Drinking About You,’ where the rock edge sharpens. The crunchy guitars and pounding drums frame another tale of trying\u2014and failing\u2014to move on, a theme that dominates much of the album\u2019s first half.<\/p>\n
That emotional thread continues into \u2018Don\u2019t Tell On Me,’ one of the early standouts. Here, Aldean leans fully into arena-ready rock, begging his heart not to betray him: don\u2019t let the world see the cracks beneath the surface. The chorus is huge, the guitars relentless, and the 80s influence unmistakable. By the time we reach \u2018How Far Does a Goodbye Go,’ a recent No.1, the album has firmly planted its flag. This is Aldean doing Aerosmith-style power ballads, complete with soaring melodies and a guitar solo that feels like it wandered in from \u2018Sweet Child O\u2019 Mine.’ It’s a sound that suits him.<\/p>\n