The arts have long been relied upon as a form of expression that was born in the spaces where language fell short, or solitude and coping walked hand in hand. Like all genres, country music has ebbed and flowed with each passing decade, forever permeating across sound boundaries rather than committing to one single aesthetic. Oftentimes, this familiarity feels generational and more sincere. It’s memories of a hot summer afternoon with your granddad’s boombox cranked up, as “Chattahoochee” spills through the crackling speakers, or local radio playing “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” all summer long.
The first great wave of country’s popularity ascended during the era of the “hat acts,” music that 70s babies grew up on, now tucked away in the dusty memory boxes of their children’s minds. Instrumentation leaned heavily on pedal steel guitar, fiddle, banjo, and mandolin, the sonic carpet that is readily identifiable and familiar to country listeners everywhere. This departure from the previous decade had produced a long and exhaustive list of timeless acts with a sound rarely replicated by modern-day musicians.
To that end, several talented artists are working the live-scene circuit today, but precious few can be coined as timeless acts. That gap is precisely what leaves the door wide open for breakthrough artists like Mack Geiger to carve their path. By breathing new life into the 90s spirit, the young Australian-native reels in the generations who lived it, while offering younger listeners a passage to a simpler time they may only know through photographs or family stories. In his freshman release, Walk a Straight Line, Geiger’s stories arrive in solemn whispers and ludicrously clever lyricism, marking him as a disciple of the era-defining greats.
The songwriting of the 90s stands as arguably one of the finest examples of intentional, purposeful craft the genre has ever produced. It was deeply personal, richly descriptive, and rooted in the textures of ordinary life. These tracks traversed heartbreak, humor, and the everyday with an unparalleled romanticism. If 90s country could be defined by two pillars that set it apart from what came before and after, they would be: 1) neo-traditional instrumentation and 2) narrative, everyday storytelling. Together, these qualities forge something timeless, where each song acts as a time machine to a specific place and feeling.
These pillars that trademarked the 90s are woven throughout this 6-track EP, borrowing generously from country music legends. The lingering whine of a pedal steel and fiddle anchors the production; its playfulness puts him right on brand with the fun-loving 90s country ethos. Soaked in twang and an electric guitar, Geiger’s “Campdraft Queen” is the spiritual successor to melodies that closely mirror George Strait’s “Check Yes or No.” In the quieter moments, such as “Mess of Blues” or “String By,” the fresh-blooded artist strips everything back to simple string arrangements and the aching pull of a pedal steel, fully embodying the sad cowboy archetype. Further, this project occupies a rare space: familiar enough to feel nostalgic, yet too layered to be neatly categorized. Geiger draws on strings that the ’90s artists’ repertoire often missed: bouncy piano chords that nod to the rock-and-roll days and flamboyance of Elvis Presley. Layered beneath the repetitive bass hits and quick-struck fiddle riffs, these buoyant piano strikes nod to both Brooks & Dunn’s “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” and its ancestor “Lawdy, Miss Clawdy,” by Presley, pulling the listener further back in time. This subtle reach beyond the golden age of country music is precisely what makes the project feel dated, worn-in, and lived-through, like a record written fifty years ago.
The craft of developing a story through words on a page and notes in a stanza is conducted in perfect complement throughout Mack’s freshman EP. The 20-year-old cleverly introduces the textures of modern life, “neon red light therapy” and “pilates,” as the new world’s remedies for what ails you, before making clear his cure is far more honky tonk than hippie. All he purports to need is “western swing, working class company,” and a bar or a “hole in the wall.” The EP’s title track offers another window into what separates him from his peers. Where lyricism referencing religion, family, and the romance of a “desert rose” so often tips into cliché, Geiger’s delivery carries an inexplicable honesty that lends the song a traditional gravitas. Small-town living and devotion to family read not as affectation, but as sincere longing. He inhabits the perspective of a man with wisdom beyond his years and the maturity to want the responsibility of a home and a wife to share it with.
Within 22 minutes, the rising star transports listeners into an older age, rendered with the crispness of modern studio production rather than the warmth of vintage audio. A strong first step into a largely untouched realm of the genre, Walk a Straight Line is a small but deliberate statement, one that leaves a curious ear wondering what Geiger is truly capable of when given more room to stretch. What other soundscapes will he explore? How far does that vocal range reach? Throughout the short project, listeners are attuned to largely one, neo-traditional landscape of sounds and an unvaried vocal tone.
That said, Geiger pairs the blueprint of 90s country with a warm, lush baritone carrying enough charisma to fill the space the genre has left vacant. He is a student of some of country music’s most foundational acts, those who reshaped the landscape for the masses and continue to define its canon. For the uninitiated willing to give this EP a chance, they may find melodies and storylines that surprise them. Geiger is the kind of act built to feed the boomers and the classic-zeitgeist crowd alike, forging a career that may one day feel as significant as it once did to share the live-scene circuit with Willie Nelson, Toby Keith, or Travis Tritt.
