Eric Church, Heart | Album Review 💿

Country standout Eric Church shines on the consistent, enjoyable, and well-rounded Heart, the first of two LPs released in 2021.

Country music is at its best when it’s authentic and embraces cues from past, at least to some extent.  Throw in exceptional songwriting, and country music can be as elite as anything else.  One of the best contemporary country artists in the game is 🏆 Grammy-nominated country singer/songwriter 🎙 Eric Church.  Mr. Church returned in a big way in 2021 releasing two nine-track albums (💿 Heart and 💿 Soul). Heart arrived a week ahead of Soul with consistent, enjoyable, and well-rounded results.

“Heart on Fire” 

“Roosevelt Road was too tough for my old truck.” Yep – definitely sounds like a country song! The ‘fiery’ ✅ 🎵 “Heart on Fire” commences 💿 Heart. Written by Eric Church and produced by 🎛 Jay Joyce, “Heart on Fire” is definitely turned-up, filled with ample energy. Church spends plenty of time singing about his truck, including the chorus:

“A turned-up radio but the static was heavy
Couldn’t make out any words but ‘Take Me to the Levee’.”

That said, he also seems to move beyond it, reminiscing on the past (“We weren’t old enough but we damn sure did it / Hat turned backward singin’ ‘Paradise City’”) and of course, love.  Prior to the Guns N Roses reference on the second verse, he asserts, “I don’t have a single thought that doesn’t have you in it / To feel those flames again, I go back in a New York minute.” Ultimately, Church brings the heat – rather the 🔥 – making “Heart on Fire” a surefire country bop.

He keeps the momentum afloat on the second consecutive ‘heart’ track, 🎵 “Heart of the Night.” Like the opener, Church sings expressively, truly selling what he sings.  The best moment the song is the change of pace that occurs on the bridge.  Many bridge sections bring an element of contrast, but “Heart of the Night” does a complete about face, changing meter and maintaining the shift until the end.  From there, we get ✅ 🎵 “Russian Roulette,” one of the best and cleverer songs from Heart.  Here, Church reminisces on the past, specifically, listening to the radio in his Chevrolet.  Notably, the lyrics cleverly reference the dangerous nature of Russian Roulette itself, though it’s only explicitly mentioned on the chorus in the context of listening to the radio – go figure!

“Ain’t nothing gonna kill these horses tonight
But a song like a bullet from a dashboard light
Gettin’ shot through the speakers both left and right in stereo
Messin’ up my head, playin’ Russian Roulette with the radio.”

“People Break” 

“People break people try / Things happen people cry / Someone leaves love dies / Someone changes their mind,” Church sings on ✅ 🎵 “People Break”. “People Break” is a sincere, beautifully penned (Church and 🎼✍ Luke Laird), mid-tempo country ballad. The chorus, continues as follows:

“Baby, I get it, I really do
But now I gotta go and do the hardest part
Break the news to a broken heart.”

In addition to fine songwriting from Church and Laird, we get great production. I love the rhythmic identity of the record, even as a ballad of sorts. Church blesses us with his lovely, expressive, nuanced vocals, unafraid to unveil some of that twang (tastefully).   Furthermore, he sings with incredibly ease, quite effortlessly. Some other highlights include the lovely instrumental interlude prior to the bridge, where lush, smooth backing vocals shine.  Also, the bridge is incredibly strong, finding Church dig in a bit more.

“Stick that in your country song, come on / Take that one to number one, yeah / And get the whole world singing along.” Eric Church loses no momentum on the woke, minor key ✅ 🎵 “Stick That in Your Country Song.” Here, Church gets real about the troubling, real world, and unjust happenings.  He’s assertive, emotional, and incredibly unapologetic, which makes this rocking, thoughtful record among the very best showings on Heart.  Also, he’s much bolder than many country singers, particularly male country singers.  Church returns to a major key on the third ‘heart’ cut, 🎵 “Never Break Heart.” Like the majority of the nine songs on Heart, the chorus is thrilling.  Church remains a commanding and compelling musician.

“Crazyland”

The final trio of Heart finds Church remaining true to self.  He’s entertaining on 🎵 “Crazyland,” which features its fair share of colorful, utterly creatively lyrics.  “No, not that one, that’s Sorrows,” Church sings on the second verse, continuing, “He’s over, shaking hands with ‘I told you so’ / ‘That’s outta his mind, that just walked in.”  Matters of the heart have been really doing a number on Church, who doesn’t even know the name of the lady he asks, “Baby, please come back.”

On the penultimate cut, 🎵 “Bunch of Nothing,” Church turns up the country dial to 10 – maybe even more than that.  He delivers an aggressive performance, even dropping some profanity here and there.  No f-bombs of course, just some small colorful examples such as “Love is a bitch, ain’t it buddy” and “I know how to tune a six-string Martin / And kick Saturday in the ass.” “Bunch of Nothing” shines due to the personality showcased by Eric.  He closes with the brief but pleasant 🎵 “Love Shine Down” which features a relatable theme, more strong vocals, and well-rounded songwriting.

Final Thoughts 💭 

 Will Heart change your life? No, but this tight, nine-track set is strong overall from start to finish.  What’s most consistent is the songwriting and the vocal performance.  These are two things that Eric Church does extremely well not only throughout Heart but over the course of his career.  Heart = winner.

✅ Gems 💎: “Heart on Fire,” “Russian Roulette,” “People Break” & “Stick That in Your Country Song”

🎙 Eric Church • 💿 Heart • 🏷 EMI Records Nashville / UMG Recordings, Inc. • 🗓 4.16.21

[📷: EMI Records Nashville / UMG Recordings, Inc.]