Back in July of 2022, country singer and Charlottean, Luke Combs released “Growin’ Up,” an ode to what made him and the perspective a true rags-to-riches story can bring.
Combs, now 33, has only been doing this professionally for seven of those years. His story mirrors his lyrics in terms of poetry — a bouncer at a bar who started performing there on his off days, dropped out his senior year of college to make the move to Nashville, and the rest is history.
Combs fits the country music everyman bill perfectly, he’s the kind of guy you’d have a beer with regardless of how many platinum records are on his wall. Despite success that continues to mount with every new project, the pressure just can’t seem to shake this guy or the grip he holds on country music at this point.
When a genre that prides itself on normalcy starts seeing singing competition contestants and “nepo” babies in its starting lineup, a soul as pure as Combs’ just gets highlighted even brighter. Fame and fortune get relegated to the passenger seat to let authentic expression take the wheel, and this newest installment is no exception.
“Gettin’ Old” acts as a spiritual sequel to Combs’ July release, both in layout and thematics. The two records were written and recorded practically side by side, with this album’s opening track “Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old” fusing the two together.
Combs here sings “I’ve been finding peace of mind slowin’ my roll,” a poignant reminder of where he is with the reverence to know it’s where he needs to be. Where “Growin’ Up” got nostalgic over the journey, “Gettin’ Old” picks those memories apart to see what sort of lessons can be salvaged from them.
As for the actual sound of the record, it pretty much rides dead center in the normative lane Combs has been curating since his first LP “This One’s For You.”
Its vocal belts that feel all too easy, a full band that adds the meat and potatoes portion of the record and sounds impossibly pristine. It’s not quite “bro” country, but it toes that line of commercially appetizing to outsiders while still staying true to the confines of the genre, a line Combs continues to toe delicately and successfully.
Even when he covers Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” on the back half of the project, its placement feels in no way arduous or too ham-fisted for its appearance to be second-guessed. I mean, why should it? Combs has clearly been taking a victory lap with his last two efforts, so a tune centered on buying your freedom and making something of oneself to bring him back down to Earth feels almost necessary.
Doesn’t take a publicity nightmare or run-ins with the law for Combs to get reality-checked, his blue-collar approach to fame already does it for him.
It’s that same approach to fame that lingers through Combs’ prose and makes his relatability truly endearing. Instead of sounding like all the booze, trucks and long-lost loves were drafted by a focus group, Combs personage and his methods makes genuine feeling bloom in areas his contemporaries still place artificial houseplants.
“Back 40 Back” takes a look at fame that prides itself on making peace for a life much more complex and paparazzi-filled than Combs may have anticipated.
Here singing “Never would’ve thought it wouldn’t last, a way of life that time moved past,” Combs seems to be making peace with fame that leaves nothing excluded from its spotlight. In a world where celebrity and artistry are basically inseparable, a headliner that would rather have his story told by the man himself rather than your Twitter feed is wildly refreshing.
There’s nothing too unfamiliar with “Growin’ Old” to set it above or below his aforementioned projects — here the development feels more internal than external. Then again, why shouldn’t it?
Combs has been making waves in country music for almost a decade now with ballads of over-indulgence and odes to character-defining mistakes. It only feels appropriate that Combs then takes those stories with his own grain of salt this time around and see what use they bring to solidifying his career and, more importantly, his character.
If he wants to leave his listeners with anything, it’s that the same Luke that was playing in college bars for half a dozen undergrads is now the one on the Opry stage for everyone in the holler to hear. Regardless of externalities, he’s living this life on his own terms, and seems to be all the better for it.
