Country boy Dierks Bentley has grown into a real man. His seventh album “Riser” debuted at number one on the iTunes country charts and number six on the standard iTunes charts, while his song “I Hold On” is hanging in at number six on the country charts.
Bentley has had a pivotal two years including the death of his father in 2012 and the birth of his third child in late 2013. These changing moments are what fueled his album “Riser” and what made it so special and personal to him.
One of the most popular songs off the album is “I Hold On,” which tells a touching story about the value of the real things in life.
Bentley sings “It’s just an old beat up truck/ some say that I should trade up/ now that I got some jangle in my pocket.”
He then sings about the memories he has in that truck and how he wouldn’t trade it for anything. The song resembles humbleness and how life is about the memories you make and not the things you buy. Listening to the song start to finish is incredibly touching and has a beautiful sort of “anthem” feel to it. The drums and guitar stay true to a classic country tune.
As with every country album, there has to be a couple cliché countryman songs. Tracks like “Pretty Girls,” which talks about “pretty girls drinking tall boys.” “Sounds of Summer” will definitely be a hot song this summer as Bentley sings about beer, freedom and fireworks. “Drunk On a Plane,” which is accompanied by beautiful lyrics like “it’s Mardi Gras up in the cloud” rounds out the album. These songs will serve as easy come easy go singles on the radio.
“Riser,” the title track on this album is a definite hit. Bentley spreads a positive message of redemption and courage which most definitely serves the title justice. The song repeats the thought of surviving, living and doing what you have to do to live your life; words that I’m sure picked Bentley up through the worst of times.
“Riser” can translate to anyone’s life as Bentley, himself, says on his website: “That song really applies to anybody that’s lived. There have always been those moments when we have to get back up and get on our feet.”
Dierks Bentley has shown a great amount of maturity and an overall smarter sense of meaning in his music. In other words, he has come a long way since “What Was I Thinking.” His guitar playing is fantastic, as usual, and his melodies get trapped in your head for hours.
Besides a couple typical country songs and cliché simple lyrics on this album it has an overall positive and uplifting message that is quite invigorating to listen to.
4 out of 5 dolphins
