For Blake Shelton, a new album hasn’t meant more than a disappointing collection of songs for several years. But on For Recreational Use Only, the veteran country act’s first LP in four years, does two surprising things: It challenges expectations and has enough heart to avoid the stigma attached to its other projects.
That stigma, mind you, is that it’s generally best to avoid his music. For years, Shelton has fallen by the wayside like many other artists who came up in the early 2000s and know nothing but regular radio success (Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, and Carrie Underwood are prime examples). Yet Shelton seems to be on the cusp of removing himself from the doomed fate of legacy acts who can’t seem to keep their catalog fresh and interesting, at least to an extent.
For Recreational Use Only, it doesn’t represent a new sound for Shelton. You’ll hear plenty of his personality throughout the 12-track LP, and instrumentally, it’s not like he’s resorting to 808s and hi-hats or gritty bluegrass. Instead, he’s approached these songs with a renewed passion for making music, which he credits to the success of his 2024 collaboration with Post Malone, “Pour Me a Drink.”
While it does not offer a return to the excellence of “Austin” that some fans may crave, For Recreational Use Only is a fine album that proves Shelton has a bit more left in the tank.
The first single off the project, “Texas,” somewhat represents Shelton’s perspective on making music: change the chords, add a spin on the chorus, throw in some extra conviction, and see what happens. Shelton also has taken a tour on Music Row to tap into the catalogs of new writers, which plays a big part in why this album is easy to tolerate, if not slightly enjoyable.
Front to back, the album flies by with its 40-minute runtime, but it’s no longer a miserable 40 minutes. You’ll find yourself bopping your head to some of the production on the record, such as the instrumentals behind “Strangers” and “Cold Can.” They’re two of the most run-of-the-mill Blake Shelton bar songs you’ll ever hear, but they sound pretty good.
“Stay Country or Die Tryin'” leans into “God’s Country’s” success, which feels necessary with every new Blake Shelton album after the track blew up in 2019. It works well as an opener and will surely be fun to hear live, but there’s not much more to the song than rootin’ and tootin’ about being a country boy.
Like every new Morgan Wallen album’s HARDY feature, every new Blake Shelton album seems destined to have a Gwen Stefani appearance, and we get that through “Hangin’ On.” Sonically, the song offers a deeper, more introspective impression than previous duets like “Happy Anywhere” and “Nobody But You.” Still, it’s otherwise another push-and-pull track about a complicated relationship. Despite this, the song’s emotional delivery and stylistic choices feel more intentional, which is nice.
For Recreational Use Only dips into somber subjects in two back-to-back tracks: “Let Him in Anyway” and “Heaven Sweet Home.” The heartfelt cuts intertwine religion uniquely, touching on redemption after a life separated from Jesus and finding refuge in the afterlife. The songs add more depth and meaning to the record, standing out as some of Shelton’s best tracks in the past 10 years.
“The Keys” and “Years” offer the album’s most reflective moments. Seeing his life replay in his brain using keys as a play on words is Shelton’s take on Hardy’s “A Rock.” Meanwhile, his cover of “Years” by John Anderson is his play as a tear-jerker. Watching time fade away is depressing, which makes the song quite impactful as the album’s closer. However, the weight of the production is too heavy for the general flow of the record. You don’t anticipate its heaviness until it hits you, which makes “Years” more of a bummer than anything else.
Make no mistake, this is still a Blake Shelton album. You’ll hear plenty of beer-drinking party anthems that are as forgettable as they are fun to hear at a music festival, while Shelton’s artistic brand remains intact throughout the album. It’s by no means a departure from anything he’s done in the past, which makes it easy to brush off if you haven’t enjoyed a song of his since “Ol’ Red” or “She Wouldn’t Be Gone.”
But compared to virtually every album he’s put out since 2016’s If I’m Honest, For Recreational Use Only taps into Shelton’s artistry and extracts something different from what we’ve heard before. Between the more heartfelt moments, religious themes, and intentional approach to production, it’s the first Shelton album that isn’t a total bore to spin in nearly a decade. What more could you ask after being in the industry for over 20 years?
