If I could ask Jason Aldean one question, it would be “Y u so serious?!”
While I still contend that Thomas Rhett is the bigger star right now, there’s no denying Aldean’s impressive track record:
- In thirteen years, his lowest peak on Billboard’s airplay chart has been #15.
- Of his thirty singles, twenty-seven of them have reached the Top Ten (nineteen reached #1, another four peaked at #2).
- He’s been the ACM’s Entertainer of the Year for the last three years.
This sort of success is not always an indicator of quality, but it’s worth noting that his last two singles “You Make It Easy” and “Drowns The Whiskey” have also scored fairly well on this blog as well. Sadly, for his third single from his Rearview Town album, Aldean reverts back to the mean, sucking all the romance out of this ballad with an overly-serious and surprisingly-generic approach to the subject.
In contrast to some of the sparse arrangements I’ve heard lately, Alden and his team throw everything but the kitchen sink into the production here. Some of these experiments work (the acoustic instrument that opens the track—I can’t tell if it’s a guitar or dulcimer—has an exotic feel to it, and the “mmmms” in the background of the verses add a hint of sensuality), but for the most part this mix feels completely unsuited to the topic. The electric guitars create a dark, forebording atmosphere that feels more creepy than sexy, the drum machine on the verses feel too sanitized to draw any emotion out of the listener, and whoever tossed in those ear-splitting whistles that close the verses should have their mixing board privileges revoked. The producer seems to be shooting for the “dangerous love” vibe that “Run Wild Horses” pulled off so well, but they overshoot the mark and make the song sound dreary instead of dramatic. Honestly, the mix sounds like every other Jason Aldean song ever recorded, and that’s not what you want when you’re looking for a romantic touch.
I’ve busted Aldean’s chops a lot about sounding too serious for his subject matter, but he just keeps falling into the same darn trap! His range is suitable for the song and his flow isn’t really exercised, but he delivers the chorus with such a deadpan, serious intensity that he drains all the happiness and romance out of the song. Forgetting transmitting his feelings to the audience—Aldean leaves the listener wondering if he’s even happy about the current situation. (A good question to ask in these instances is “Does the singer sound like he’s having any fun?” In this case, the answer is a clear no.) Looking back at Aldean’s discography, I’m starting to think the man is incapable of singing a passionate love song (the closest he’s come is “Don’t You Wanna Stay,” and he needed a lot of help from Kelly Clarkson to pull it off). There’s no shame in this, but Aldean and his team need to recognize his limitations and stop putting him in positions like this, because it’s just no a good look for him.
Lyrically, this song is a not-so-cleverly-disguised “love as a drug” song trying to pass itself off as a heartfelt romantic ballad. I hammered Billy Currington’s “Bring It On Over” in my last review for doing absolutely nothing to set the mood and stir the listener, but this song doesn’t do a whole lot better: The actions and description are a tiny bit more sensual, but beyond the usual alcohol comparisons, the imagery is pretty generic (You move in close! We kiss! You “do that thing”), and the attempts at flowery language fall completely flat (“Your eyes are so diamond, body so gold?” That’s the best you could do?). It’s the kind of song that’s been done a hundred times before (and usually done a lot better), and whatever sentiment the lyrics offer is overwhelmed by the negative energy of the production and Aldean’s serious demeanor.
I wouldn’t call “Girl Like You” a bad song, but I certainly wouldn’t call it a good one either. In the hands of a more flexible artist, it might have held a bit more weight, but when Jason Aldean brings his dark production values and trademark serious intensity with him, it doesn’t have a chance. He might be able to drag this track to No. 1 on momentum alone, but I doubt anyone will remember it existed by this time next year.
Rating: 5/10. Don’t waste your time on this one.