Album Review: Eric Church - The Outsiders

Artist: Eric Church
Release Date: February 2014
Label: EMI Nashville
Producer: Jay Joyce

Kitch's Rating: 9/10  

Eric Church's route to the top in Nashville hasn't been easy. He's an outlaw, a guy who detests Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and the rest of social media, preferring, instead, to do things the old-fashioned way. He doesn't give many interviews, happily living the life of a recluse down in Georgia - he prefers to let his music do the talking.

Perhaps most famous for playing too loudly and for too long as a support act for Rascal Flatts, Church was kicked off the tour and basically exiled from Nashville for that stunt, and had to rely on playing small rock clubs, rather than country joints, throughout Georgia for years. 

Hence his hardened sound, full of swagger and stomp. On previous albums, but especially on The Outsiders, you can definitely hear that rock and roll edge, heavy guitars, thick bass, and only the occasional presence of a banjo. Look at the opener/title track - "The Outsiders" could be a song recorded by Metallica, a raucous tune about anti-establishment types, and Eric Church is certainly one of those. 

Church has said that he doesn't adhere to one genre, calling it an 'outdated concept' and that's pretty apparent here. The album is an intriguing mishmash of styles, from hard rock to rock ballads, through some more traditional country (though there's never any fiddle or banjo) a collection of tracks that Church has said are designed to be listened to in the order they appear on the album.

My favourite from The Outsiders is the second single, "Give Me Back My Hometown", an angry and emotional song, a sprawling epic about the demise of his hometown as he knows it. According to Church, this isn't a tale of the destruction of a town, exactly, but rather about the departure of the girl whose presence made the town the memorable place he remembers. She's left town, breaking off their relationship. You can hear the pain in his voice. It's suitably epic, and Church's strong Georgia drawl does it justice.

 

There's plenty to like right through The Outsiders. It's brash, loud, exciting, and a definite nod to the departure from traditional country, which has been a major talking point in Nashville recently, with the emergence of Florida-Georgia Line (who rap) and Brantley Gilbert (who plays flat-out rock and roll). Then there's Eric Church, releasing this audacious and impressive collection of songs, all of which he's either written or co-written. 

Yes, there's some elements of traditional country in his music, but no one's telling Church what to do or what not to do. His duet with the incredibly talented Lzzy Hale on "That's Damn Rock 'n' Roll" at the recent CMT Music Awards was as unusual as it was breathtakingly amazing. It's that sort of musical freedom that Church is rolling with that makes him an unstoppable force. This album is proof of that.

If there was any doubt that Church has arrived in Nashville and is here to say, The Outsiders stands as confirmation. I can't wait to see what comes next.


The Outsiders - Track Listing

1. The Outsiders
2. A Man Who Was Gonna Die Young
3. Cold One
4. Roller Coaster Ride
5. Talladega
6. Broke Record
7. Like A Wrecking Ball
8. That's Damn Rock & Roll
9. Dark Side
10. Devil, Devil (Prelude: Princess of Darkness)
10. Give Me Back My Hometown
12. The Joint