[usr 3.5]

Country singer/songwriter Walker Hayes returns with a ‘boom.’  Before the ‘boom’ arrives, he drops a second single, “Beautiful.”

Walker Hayes is not your household name. Nonetheless, the 37-year-old country singer/songwriter has experienced moderate success.  Perhaps his sophomore album, boom., will give Hayes booming success. After kicking off album no. 2 with moderately successful single “You Broke Up with Me,” he returns with a second single, “Beautiful.”

“Beautiful” serves as the opener for boom.  It’s unique from the onset, featuring somewhat unexpected sounds – percussion and a light, flute-like synth. The first impression personally is, that “Beautiful” doesn’t sound like your traditional country song.  That’s not a bad thing in the least.  Listening for the first time, the overall sound personally came off as a bit off-putting – mysterious – throughout the course of the first verse.  Ultimately, “Beautiful” played out better with successive listens.  Vocally, Hayes has a distinct sound; love his tone.

“Beautiful” definitely feels unified by the chorus, which is simple, but catchy.  The breezy natures of the vocals here is among the selling points of the song overall.

“Baby, why do you have to be so beautiful?”

Also, worth mentioning is the rhythmic approach that Hayes incorporates throughout.  Sometimes it’s more melodic, while at other times, Hayes seems to busts-a-rhyme – boom.

Final Thoughts 

So, how does “Beautiful” stack up? Ultimately, “Beautiful” is quite an interesting record.  In a lot of ways, Walker Hayes separates himself from other country artists.  It doesn’t feel like a traditional hard-hitting country record, but the results are still alluring.  Maybe that’s part of the charm. Boom.

Walker Hayes • boom. • Monument / Sony • Release: 12.8.17

Photo Credits: Monument / Sony