On Sep. 22, country singer Zach Bryan released his newest EP (short for extended play), Boys of Faith. Now, with the prior release of his self-titled album, Zach Bryan, being such a hit and fan favorite, my expectations for his newest five songs were soaring. But, to my surprise, this release was not at all what I had expected it to be, and ZB has—for the first time ever—let me down.
“Nine Ball”
The EP opens up with “Nine Ball”—a track dedicated to the absence of having a true father growing up—and although I have tried time after time again to find myself glued to this track, it simply is not sticking. Something about it is just off. The lyrics seem almost too repetitive, and, on top of this, I’ve found that the tune to support them feels as if it contains too much power over the lyrics themselves.
“Sarah’s Place (feat. Noah Kahan)”
The expectations that I had for this song alone were more than I had for the EP as a whole. With Bryan and Kahan both being two of my favorite artists, I was expecting this song to quite literally blow my mind. But, after listening to it, I painfully concluded that this duo produced a song that was nothing other than wasted potential. While the track was something that created a catchy tune, I was expecting a heart-wrenching, tear-creating song that made me question my existence as a whole. This song unfortunately did not live up to those expectations; rather, it just felt like I was listening to two guys sitting around and singing at a casual get-together.
“Boys of Faith (feat. Bon Iver)”
After carefully listening to this EP, I am now certain that “Boys of Faith” is sadly the only track on the list that I could listen to on repeat. Bryan sings along with indie folk artist Bon Iver to create the finest track out of the five that were released. The voices of these two blended perfectly together—almost as if they were one—bringing to life the friendships that have stuck around over the years. With that being said, this track has given me a song to sing side by side with friends on late nights.
“Deep Satin”
I have differing feelings towards this track. While this produced a favorable mix of an upbeat tune as well as heart-touching lyrics, this song tends to be a hit or miss for me. Bryan composed catchy lyrics that have, at times, been repetitively playing in my mind to compel this feeling of unfamiliarity as to how he is being portrayed to others. But, whether or not I will find myself playing this song in my rotation solely depends on my mood at that moment. Additionally, I have found that this particular track is not fitting for any occasion such as many others produced by him are.
“Pain, Sweet, Pain”
I don’t exactly know what I was expecting from this song, but I do know that what Bryan gave his fans with this one was something rather shocking. The song starts off slow-paced. With a calm melody in the background to compliment the smoothness in Bryan’s voice, this is what I was anticipating to remain throughout the entirety of the song. But, to my surprise, the melody picked up, and Bryan’s voice continued to compel a softer tone to create his feelings toward moving past the pain we face in life. This change in tune becomes almost overwhelming and—at some points—takes away from Bryan himself. Now, while this tune is something that I will, from time to time, play during random adventures, I do not know that I will find myself falling in awe over this track.
After listening to Boys of Faith, I have concluded that the expectations I had originally set for these songs have not been met. Instead of being given five new songs to obsess over, I was left with crushed hopes and potential background music for my daily tasks, if that.
