The Singles Jukebox

…we say “uncle”

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[5.33]

Alfred Soto: His voice a growl, those guitars drunk on MTV Buzz Bin circa 1994, Aldean gets closer to apotheosizing bro country than he ever has, down to convincingly inhabiting a stereotype that requires “she’s a perfect shot of faith” as a daily affirmation.
[6]

Anthony Easton: Aldean has some serious vocal skills, and has hired the right kind of people to do a solid melodrama; considering his personal life of lately, one would hope for a little slop-over.
[4]

Patrick St. Michel: It’s usually around Victoriville when we start fighting over the radio. My brother wants to listen to the grunge station, while I’d be happy with nearly anything else, though he’s not budging. My mom prefers talk, while my dad just wants to focus on the road. Yet we all agree on one thing while driving through the barren outskirts of Los Angeles county…we are all OK with the country station. “When She Says Baby” popped up a lot over the Christmas vacation, and I’m sure none of us will seek out this song or Jason Aldean’s forthcoming album. Yet it is an ideal driving through the desert song, something to listen to while the mountains pass by, and I think that’s perfectly OK.
[5]

Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: Aldean is strutting through somebody else’s former glories, smoothly rolling through guitar solos and tales of lost love or crazy love or lost crazy. Something along those lines. This turns the brain to mush, the concentration level drops down a notch or ten, you may not find an earworm but you’re lulled into a sense of false security: YOU ARE COMFORTABLE. DON’T CHANGE THAT DIAL.
[4]

Edward Okulicz: Those chugging guitars code early 90s alt-rock just as much as country and fittingly, the way Aldean bounces up like an enthusiastic puppy on the titular line (and anything that rhymes with it) is a universal trick. Eager to please and cross demographics, Aldean’s like a dude wearing cotton Dockers, cowboy boots and a faded flannel shirt. Either that or he’s the country Matchbox 20 (circa “3am”) which is a better proposition in practice than in theory. Extra points for the earnest middle eight and the fine deployment of the organ from verse two.
[7]

Brad Shoup: “Let me love you through this life” is a good’un. Still, once again it’s a dude who goes crazy, unlike chicks, who are crazy. But what do you call leaking that counterpoint organ into the mix and hoping that this time it’ll signify?
[6]