It’s true, HARDY has returned to the land of country music, with his new EP “COUNTRY!” leading the new era. Over his career, he’s built a diverse fanbase, carving out his own lane somewhere between Hank Williams Jr. and Papa Roach. Most recently, Michael (HARDY’s first name) has been in his rock/metal phase, which was halfway introduced through his “the mockingbird & THE CROW” album, then fully carried out by his last record, “QUIT”. In 2025, HARDY will officially be a country artist again, and this new five-song project will define what “COUNTRY!” means to him.
After the dying breaths of the bro-country era, you may be tired of hearing all the common cliches that it had to offer, but if you’re a HARDY fan, you know there are a million ways to spin those overused phrases. This project is full of, if not entirely built on, that very method. “Favorite Country Song” is a great example of this argument. The whole idea is that no country songs sound as good as the natural sounds of his ultra-specific country boy lifestyle. There’s no doubt that this track fulfills the qualifications of the genre it’s aiming for, but the use of so many cliches outweighs the message of the song. Along with “Luckiest Man Alive,” it’s one of two songs on the EP that reference “A Country Boy Can Survive”, not to mention another nod to the classic anthem in “JIM BOB”.
Regarding how this EP sounds, the songs are refreshing, giving HARDY’s voice plenty of space in the mix. Even in the more aggressive moments of “Buck On The Wall”, you don’t hear the typical “wall of sound” that makes up so much of his previous music. Throughout, “COUNTRY” uses tasteful doses of reverb, delay, and vocal layering, as well as many other masterful production techniques that Joey Moi has yet to reveal to the rest of the world.
“Girl With A Gun,” a new take on the usual “cheating song” trope, builds a bit too slowly, but its low energy actually highlights the minor chords and haunting melody, giving the track an element of eeriness. This track is the least country-sounding from the project, leaning closer towards something like “PSYCHO,” but it doesn’t sound too far out of left field when paired with the other tracks.
If you wanted an EP full of nothing but poetically introspective country songs, maybe titled “michael”, with each track in all lowercase letters, you’ll have to wait, but “Car That Drove You Away” might be enough to hold you over. Taking on the roles of whatever could keep his lover from leaving, HARDY lays out all he’d do to prevent a devastating breakup. Songs that talk about bands at bars playing sad songs are everywhere, but like always, HARDY finds a fresh way to bring them into the story.
Truth be told, HARDY is a very creative songwriter, using lots of imagery, twists, and great storytelling, but if he continues leaning on recycled phrases and famous song titles, he’ll either run out of ideas or lose the attention of his following. Obviously, he’s smart enough to try something new, and he doesn’t need to switch genres to write outside his comfort zone. Maybe all it would take for HARDY to make this kind of change would be to write about his actual day-to-day life.
While it’s nice to finally hear a more concisely constructed project from the maker of “QUIT!,” “COUNTRY!” isn’t much more than a five-song EP that misses five chances to tell HARDY’S story. This release is as clever and well-recorded as his previous works, but it lacks the novelty that his career needs. Putting twists on stereotypical country lyrics has always kind of been HARDY’s thing, but after all of his efforts to deviate from “the box” that his own music placed him in, he seems oddly comfortable shifting back to his old ways.
