Florida Georgia Line released their fifth full-length studio album Friday titled ‘Life Rolls On’. The words full-length are an understatement, because this fifteen-song (plus an unnecessary 26-second Interlude) collection is overstuffed with less than stellar music. The award-winning duo could’ve benefitted from trimming the fat quite a bit, especially considering a third of this album was previously heard on their ‘6-Pack’ EP released in 2020.
Let’s start with the good, what little there is of it. ‘Second Guessing’, a song originally pitched to them on the hit NBC show Songland, was a standout track when it was first released in May 2020, and it’s arguably the best song on this album. FGL is at their best when they’re singing heartfelt ballads, and this song definitely falls into that category. ‘U.S. Stronger’ is a very patriotic song, without veering into schmaltzy territory. Honestly, if they decided to release this as a single, I could see it eventually making some lists of best songs to represent Memorial Day or Veterans Day. Finally, ‘Good to Me’ is a nice tribute to their faith and how God has blessed them even when they feel they don’t deserve it.
Unfortunately, to get to those good songs at the end, we need to wade through a lot of bad. ‘Beer:30’ was particularly painful and downright uncomfortable to listen to. Whoever produced that track and told Tyler Hubbard to sing the song that way should question their abilities as a producer. ‘New Truck’ is a song that even the most amateur songwriter could write in their sleep. It’s so uninventive and leans into the country trope of men singing about trucks. The worst part about this song for the listener though, is that it could very easily get stuck in your head. I personally wouldn’t want to waste any more of my mental capacity on ‘New Truck’. ‘Countryside’ and ‘Ain’t Worried Bout It’ highlight the issue that Florida Georgia Line has sometimes of not sounding country enough. Add to that the fact that they basically have the same theme of enjoying life as it comes. I doubt we’ll be hearing these two songs on country radio.
Save for a couple of tracks, I’d consider ‘Life Rolls On’ a giant swing and miss. But to judge for yourself, listen to the album here.
