Aaron Lines
June 12, 2007
Outside The Lines
Cheaper To Keep Her
Modern-day Honky Tonk. The playful yet recognizable lyrics in today’s society cleverly put on a dangly melody that brings out the old country spirit with a touch of comedy. With Cheaper To Keep Her, Aaron Lines gets off to a great start on this record. He shows it’s not necessary to come with really deep and hard-to-understand lyrics to make a song that makes people think.
Moments That Matter
The title track of the album, co-written with Mark Irwin (written with many country greats) & Josh Kear (known for writing Carrie Underwood’s Before He Cheats and wrote songs for many country greats), is an introspective song with a great deal of catchiness. I can get really excited about good country songs. And this is definitely one of them. And with this clever composition it would do well on pop radio as well.
Somebody’s Son
Lyrically, this ballad-like tune is my favorite. Where Aaron showed he could wonderfully present himself as the modern honky tonk, he shows himself as the sensitive country singer/songwriter on this song. I urge you to really listen to this song and let it get to you, because I know it will. Where the first two songs were good, this song is a step better. The lyrics are the most important part, but the music has been moulded exactly right to complete the package, so to speak.
Let’s Get Drunk And Fight
Aaron Lines is very good at finding the fine line between pop and country music that makes his music fit for pop radio and pop music fans, without losing the country music spirit/touch. This is another good example of that. Though it’s not really one of my favorites on the album, it carries along nicely and makes a good sing-along song.
When We Make Love
To me, this is more a pop song than a country song. It sounds like something you’d hear an American Idol artist sing, and yes, that does mean that it has the potential of doing well commercially, but in my opinion Aaron could’ve done more with this song. It’s not bad, but not great either. It has a very familiar sound and there’s not much to really complain about, but it kinda sounds like a ‘safe song’.
It Broke Off
My first thought when I listened to this song: “yay!”. The gritty, alternative country/southern rock feel in this song (reminds me of old-school Lost Trailers somewhat) gives this a nice beat and catchy rhythm. Aaron’s vocals fit perfectly and the tempo is dead-on. This is the kind of song I would want hear him play live.
Everyday Heroes
Everyday Heroes is another song that excells lyrically and musically this song deserves to be a radio hit. It sounds similar to other songs in the genre without sounding LIKE them. This song is competing for being my favorite track off the album. It just has that little bit extra that makes it more special.
Just Drunk Enough
C’mon, can you honestly say you don’t recognize the feeling in this song? Might not be the most creative song musically, but it’s a fun song. It’s not a radio song, but I would want to hear this live. ‘I decided I’d walk right on over and pour him a beer… on his head’ / ‘I’m sober enough to know better… but I’m just drunk enough not to care’. I know I keep singing that. Makes me feel good.
Sometimes It’s Summertime
This catchy song has the same songwriting team as the title track, and it is a great summer song indeed. Catchy, great lyrics and carrying that good ole country spirit. Do I smell yet another radio hit?
Nothing Like You
On writing Nothing Like You, Aaron collaborated with a couple of great songwriters (Aimee Mayo, who pretty much wrote with every name in country music, Chris Lindsey who wrote with Emerson Hart, and Troy Verges who wrote for Bon Jovi, Lonestar, Faith Hill, Trisha Yearwood and many others) and you can hear it. This gentle song features a musical depth that is very suitable to end the album with. And the lyrics are just very sweet: ‘You, you’re too beautiful for words/You, you move me so much it hurts/Never had something I was so afraid to lose/I never had nothing like you’. Need I say more?
Mr. Lines proves that he’s a big name in country/pop land. He’s one of those artists that pick up country and make it marketable, without losing it’s original spirit and intention. Where I have a personal preference for his previous album, “Moments That Matters” is mostly different, and definitely not a step back, compared to “Waitin on the Wonderful”. With some great songwriting collaborations, to emphasize his songs and possibly make them even better, Aaron Lines has returned and brought us another country album, that is worth to be heard. And this album definitely has some “Moments That Matter”!