★★★★
What's kind of fun and pretty interesting about Zac Brown Band is that the group actually started off as a three-piece. Now seven players strong, Brown's just been adding members to the mix as the group goes along. Now five records and almost ten years into their musical careers, he certainly seems to have done things the right way.
Additionally as interesting as the group's formation – and probably more pertinent to our purpose here – are Brown's vocals. Deep, rich and downright booming, it would certainly be a shame if they weren't put to good use. But on this record, and as always, Brown and his band put not just those pipes but a whole medley of layered vocals, guitars, drums and a fiddle together and came up with some of the best stuff that's happening in mainstream country music.
Leading with their good foot, the band definitely chose the best track off Uncaged to introduce their fourth studio album to the world. With its quick-as-lightening banjo and impossibly dexterous lyrical delivery, "The Wind" is fun, fast and incredibly catchy. Their title track is equally as good, upbeat and ultimately a very entertaining listen.
Like their previous works, the record is an amalgam of upbeat tunes full of breakneck banjo picking and rapid-fire verses as well as slower songs like the ballad to "Sweet Annie" as well as "Lance's Song."
If there's one weak spot on the record, it's most definitely "Island Song." Hoping to infuse some reggae into the mix, it kind of sounds cheap and does pretty much nothing for their overall sound. Plus, it's kind of boring, all too repetitive and mostly just ridiculous.
Overall, this is a record most country lovers – and maybe some pop fans too – will want to add to their iTunes accounts.
Worth a Listen: "Uncaged" and "The Wind"
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