Chris Stapleton released the title track to his upcoming fourth album (due November 13) on Thursday, titled ‘Starting Over’. The song is a slight change from the style he usually releases to radio, going for more of an upbeat vibe, closer to ‘Parachute’, instead of a ballad like ‘Broken Halos’ or ‘Tennessee Whiskey’. Basically, he and wife Morgane, who sings backup on all his records, want to make it clear that no matter what they do, they’ll be fine as long as they have each other. It almost makes it seem like Stapleton is ready to ditch the spotlight and make music because he loves it, instead of for the accolades he’s bound to receive. Everything about this song seems simple, from instrumentation to lyrics to delivery. There’s a stark contrast between this song and all of his previous hits, and I believe that difference is passion. He has a voice that makes you want to stop and listen, but the performance here is just not as attention-grabbing. Hopefully the rest of his forthcoming album is better, but we may have heard the last of his days as a critical darling. To judge for yourself, listen to ‘Starting Over’ here.
