Canaan Smith released his debut album, titled Bronco, today, an 11-song release via Mercury Records. Smith debuted a five-song, self-titled album earlier this year, all of which made the cut for the first release. This includes Smith’s single “Love Me Like That,” which was just certified Gold, and currently sits at #8 on country airplay, according to Mediabase.
Bronco is a sonic hodgepodge, the kind you keep coming back to, diverse, surprising, and full of hook. “Two Lane Road” features a bombastic, festival-ready pop hook and hip hop flavoring, while “American Muscle” settles into a more anthemic uptempo groove. Smith, who co-wrote all but two songs on the album, dabbles heavily in mid-tempo, catchy vibes, with “Love At First,” “Good Kinda Bad,” and “Stomping Grounds” sliding steadily into that category. Lyrically, Smith at times gets clever as well, with the simple and effective “Stuck,” “Hole In A Bottle,” “Mad Love,” or “One of Those.”
“I just the love the message from start to finish,” Smith says of “American Muscle” in a release. “I’ve seen the way the crowd goes nuts when they hear it. When we play it on stage we feel high as a kite just because it’s such a high-energy song. It has so much power behind it.”
With such a high-energy live show, Smith catches the listener off guard when he takes on a somewhat more somber tone, first with “One of Those” and then with “Bronco,” but it’s a refreshing, not disjointed, change of pace. Both songs are standouts on the album; “if that’s what you’re looking for baby you found it / straight down the middle, ain’t no way around it / if you want the kind of man who ain’t never gonna let you go, baby I’m one of those,” Smith sings on the former, in a cyclical verse/hook concept like “Stuck.” “One of Those” has a touch of romance, a side that works well for Smith.
Another standout is the title track, “Bronco.” Written with Scooter Carusoe (Kenny Chesney’s “Better As A Memory,” Brett Eldredge’s “Mean To Me,”) “Bronco” is a tribute to Smith’s brother, who passed away in a car accident. “I always wanted to write something that would honor my brother, but I didn’t know it would be in the form of his car,” Smith says. “I had no idea the Ford Bronco that he drove would stick with me all of these years, but it has. When I think about him, that’s the first thing I see.”
Bronco is by Brett Beavers, Jimmy Robbins, and Ryan Tyndell. Grab Bronco on iTunes.
Bronco Track Listing:
1. Good Kinda Bad (Canaan Smith, Brett Beavers, Casey Beathard)
2. Stompin’ Grounds (Jaren Johnston, Lindsay Rimes)
3. Love You Like That (Canaan Smith, Brett Beavers, Jim Beavers)
4. Hole In A Bottle (Canaan Smith, Brett Beavers, Dan Couch)
5. Stuck (Canaan Smith, Brett Beavers, Vincent Hickerson)
6. One of Those (Jason Mizelle, Ash Bowers, JP Williams)
7. Mad Love (Canaan Smith, Brett Beavers, Aaron Goodvin)
8. Love At First (Andrew Dorff, Jimmy Robbins, Jaren Johnston)
9. American Muscle (Canaan Smith, Brett Beavers, Dan Couch, Ryan Tyndell)
10. Two Lane Road (Canaan Smith, Brett Beavers, Marv Green)
11. Bronco (Canaan Smith, Scooter Carusoe)
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