Production-wise, James Stroud has done a strong job here. It’s very scaled back and nothing feels overdone. Young is a strong vocalist, and that shows through on this song. This fits strongly within Young’s comfort zone. It’s right in his sweet-spot. Musically, it’s also a nice track and quite enjoyable.
The song hardly breaks any new ground. And that’s not always necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes a familiar story is nice to hear, especially if it’s done well. And it’s hard to deny that Young does it well on this song. There’s nothing offensive about the track, even if it does play it relatively safe. It’s certainly a better lead-off single for his upcoming new album than “Aw Naw” was for his last effort.
Largely, I usually like Young. He’ll make some missteps, but I’ll find that the good tends to outweigh the bad. I also get the sense that Young cares enough about his music and about country music to make as many strong choices as possible, even if mistakes like “Aw Naw” happen along the way.
Will this be a track that is remembered as anything special a few years down the road? Unlikely, but for now, it’s most assuredly better than a lot of the alternatives the mainstream is offering.