Given his hit-making track record writing for Jake Owen, Eli Young Band, Love and Theft, Lady Antebellum and more, it’s no surprise that every song on Eric Paslay’s debut sounds like a potential single. The songwriting shines, but it’s backed up by Paslay’s prime-time vocals. A couple of tracks are familiar: Paslay’s spirited take on Lady A’s “Friday Night” works as well for one singer as it does for three, and his rendition of “Less Than Whole,” which he co-wrote with (and for) Big Kenny Alphin, is just as moving as the original. “Never Really Wanted” and the grooving “Song About a Girl” show that Paslay is comfortable in more contemporary settings, while “She Don’t Love You” and “Good With Wine” are straight-up tear-jerkers. This summer, expect to hear the rootsy, creek-side sounds of “Country Side of Heaven” or “Like a Song” on country radio playlists, right alongside all those Paslay-powered hits for other artists.
