It shouldn’t come as a shock that Vince Gill’s 18th studio album, Down To My Last Bad Habit – out today – is stunning. With 26 million albums sold, 20 Grammy Awards, and 18 CMA Awards to his name, the renowned vocalist, musician, and creator is known for delivering quality time and again. His latest is no exception.
Down to My Last Bad Habit is a love story. Much like love itself, the album is varied and lacks chronology – as if rising and falling with the irregular, emotional pulsing of beats and breaths. It begins with an uptempo ode to love lost, followed immediately by the title track, in which the narrator gives up all deal-breaking addictions to remain addicted to one: “you.” “When It’s Love” and “Take Me Down” (featuring Little Big Town) are uplifting and positive – the songs seem to throw themselves to the ground and roll downhill, making grass-angels with the giddiness of brand new love.
“I’ll Be Waiting For You,” which features up-and-comer Cam, is one of the most powerful of the bunch, and finds Gill at his most evocative and heartbreaking. “Look for your face in the candlelight / Listen for you in the still of night / Oh, I’ll be waiting for you,” Gill sings with quavering conviction. “People will see me out on the town / Tell you I’ve been running round / Baby, you’ll always know deep down the truth / Oh, I’ll be waiting for you.” As with much of the album, producer Justin Niebank has keenly chosen when to pull the production back and let the vocals lead.
“I like melancholy,” Gill said in a release. “It’s light years more fun to sing. There’s so much more emotion in it.” He doubles down on this notion in the closing track, “Sad One Comin’ On (A Song For George Jones).” “I’m drawn to the blue side since the king of broken hearts died,” he sings. It’s the most classically illustrated on the album.
Even when melancholy, the album presents a sonic dichotomy. The title track – another highlight – finds Gill rhapsodizing about abandoned vices, yet the lyrics are layered over bluesy, sunny-Saturday-afternoon vibes. “Reasons For The Tears I Cry” calls on Fleetwood Mac with its uptempo harmonization of emotional low points. Gill wrote or co-wrote every song on the album, and the lyrics remain tight throughout; “I quit everything you left me for,” Gill sings. “You’re the one thing that I’ll always be addicted to / I’m down to my last bad habit: you.” Even through an emotional breaking point in “I Can’t Do This,” the lyrics are poignant in their simplicity: “He holds your hand, and I hold my breath.”
For every pain it expresses, Down To My Last Bad Habit undoes the damage and ultimately reaffirms that real love is worth the heartache.
The Breakdown:
For the honeymoon phase: “Take Me Down,” “When It’s Love”
For handling heartbreak: “I’ll Be Waiting For You,” “Down To My Last Habit”
Over a glass of bourbon: “I Can’t Do This,” “Sad One Comin’ On (A Song for George Jones)”
Grab Down To My Last Bad Habit on iTunes or listen below: