ERIC CHURCH'S 'HEART' REVIEW.

 Eric Church finally drops the first part of his triple album 'Heart & Soul' . Heart consists of nine songs and some of them were singles previewed before the realease of the album: Never Break Heart, Crazyland,Heart On Fire and Stick that In Your Country Song , the first single of the whole project, dropped last summer. 

Stick That In Your Country Song is one of the most special moments in the album. It was written in 2015 by Jeffrey Steele and David Naish and finally given to Church to sing it himself. It has unavoidable social lyrics and social content, and it addresses young people problems, their options for life and the ease to get in contact with guns and violence. The song is almost combative and there's no better country act than Eric Church to sing it and , maybe, ask for change. There are brilliant songwriting moments, like the lines  'Jails are full, the factories empty /Momma's crying, young boys dying /Under that red, white, and blue still flying'  and 'Where dreams become drugs and guns' / 'The only way out is to shoot or run'. 

The rock and warrior spirit has always fit in Eric Church, who has  been considered halfway between a country and a rock star. Joanna Cotten's backing vocals have prominence on the track and contribute to insist on the message of the lyrics. 

It's great to see a country singer to defend this concept of country , not the steady town or the delightful beach.



The record starts with Heart On Fire, joyful, with a classic rock sound, and keeps with  another Heart-named song, Heart of the Night, which draws the liberating getaway from town. It feels free and euphoric when he sings 'Let's point this thing west into the chest of the still beating heart of the night'. The rock guitars are on Russian Roulette too, but disappear on the almost acoustic and thoughtful People Break. 

In this little collection of songs there is space for a break-up and drinking song, Crazyland, with great wordplay about the feelings involved in a heartbreak :'That's Sad in the corner'/'With his heart on his sleeve' /'Talking to Regret who's never gonna leave'. 

The party started with Heart On Fire continues with Bunch Of Nothing and its playful mixture of country and rock. However, Heart concludes with Love Shine Down, where Eric Church gets back his 'bad guy' side ('I am done with not doing you right'). 

This part of the album is a perfect mixture of country and classic rock, which is more noticeable in the uptempo tracks. The piano use in this chapter is delightful to get an unique combination between the two genres. The lyrics still matter and appear frequently poetically, as a big  weapon to deliver the songs messages. However, the message and charm of the record get lost  throughout the album, making it vague, and more in the last track, which doesn't add something and seems a weak end. 

The second chapter, 'Soul' is available on Friday 23rd.


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