Dillon Carmichael: ‘Keepin’ Country Alive’ – Album Review

Dillon Carmichael’s new album, Keepin’ Country Alive is out now, June 13th on all streaming platforms. Listen to the new album below.

With a style that pairs gritty soulful vocals with soaring instrumentation and a hint of 90s country, Dillion Carmichael returns with his third studio album, Keepin’ Country Alive, via Riser House Records. 

Featuring fourteen tracks, nine of which he co-wrote, the LP is a celebration of small town roots and the relationships that come with that upbringing. “We took two years to make this record, and because of that I was able to spend a lot of time with the songs and bring my vision to life in a whole new way,” he says of the project. “I called this record Keepin’ Country Alive to honor all the people who grew up the way I did.”

Recorded at Blackbird Studio in Nashville, the Kentucky native offers up a perfect mix of hometown nostalgia, raucous anthems, clever lyrics and hair-raising ballads. Songs like “Home” and “Good Ol’ Day” are certainly tales of rural life, while “Raised Up Wrong” and “Keepin’ Country Alive” truly pay homage to his raising. “There’s a lot of misconceptions about where I’m from and what the people there stand for,” He shares. “So I wanted to write about stepping into someone else’s shoes and trying to understand their experience.”

The album opens with “Raised Up Wrong,” a swampy and gritty ode to country raising, pairing driving and anthemic guitars with clever lyrics that prove there’s nothing wrong with his upbringing. 

“I’d say, there ain’t a damn thing that I’d change // To me it was growing up the right way // No it ain’t just a country cliche how we came up If you think it’s out of style, kind of old school // Walk a country mile in these old boots // You’ll find out that you’ve got how we were raised up wrong // Don’t give a damn like an old Hank song // Hangin’ round like a buck on a wall // Or you can say what you’d like // But if that’s raised up wrong I don’t wanna be right”

Likewise, the album’s title track is a celebration of those who keep the country tradition alive. For Carmichael, that tradition runs deep as the nephew of country legends John Michael and Eddie Montgomery (of Montgomery Gentry fame).

“Here’s to the ones keeping ol Merle spinning // Midnight first time cornrow kissing // New coat of water tower spray-painted names // New crop of crop growers praying for rain // From Saturday bonfires to Sunday pews // Filling in all them hand-me-down boots // Making sure that the roots in them towns don’t die // Here’s to the boys and the girls keepin’ country alive”

“No Matter How Hard I Try” is a truly heart stopping moment, a building and anthemic ballad that allows Carmichael to show off his impressive range. “That’s the most challenging song I’ve ever recorded, and at first thought I might not nail it,” he says. “In the past, I might not have even tried, so I’m proud that this album has that moment of me taking a real risk with my voice.” 

“When She’s Drinkin’” is a swinging and playful tale of a girl who’s only amorous when she’s intoxicated, while ​​”She Likes Me This Way” finds the singer-songwriter acknowledging his shortcomings, but musing that she likes him just the way he is, “good, bad, and in-between.”

One of the LP’s most surprising moments comes with his cover of the Adele mega-hit “Someone Like You,” sparse country instrumentation paired with his earnest voice, while “Hell Freezes Over” finds him longing for something that may never happen.

“I’d Call Grandpa” is another truly special and poignant moment that finds him aching for a phone line to heaven, to chat with his grandpa, while the album’s closing track, “Goin’ Places” is a clever lyrical turn of phrase.

“You can’t say I ain’t goin’ places I’m goin’ outta my mind // I’m goin’ down to every red light // Roadside dive bar that I can find I’m goin’ looking for you // In every bottle of booze // And too many strangers faces // So you can’t say that I ain’t goin’ places”

“There’s a lot of different themes on this record—one song might make you want to call your mama, another might make you want to throw down and party, some songs might make you cry,” he shares. “But no matter what, I hope they help you to forget about your problems for a while, to not overthink things or take yourself too seriously, and just take a little time to remember all the good things in life.”

Keepin’ Country Alive Tracklist:

1. Raised Up Wrong (Dillon Carmichael, Jared Conrad, Devin Dawson, Josh Phillips)
2. Good Ol’ Day (Dan Isbell, Randy Montana, Dillon Carmichael, Jim Beavers)
3. When She’s Drinkin’ (Brett Tyler, Chase McGill, Josh Thompson)
4. She Gone (Dillon Carmichael, Rhett Akins, Michael Whitworth)
5. Home (Dillon Carmichael, Trent Willmon, Phil O’Donnell)
6. No Matter How Hard I Try (Jonathan Singleton, Jim Beavers)
7. Someone Like You (Dan Wilson, Adele Adkins)
8. Tiny Little Fiddle (Dillon Carmichael, Brett Tyler, Brent Anderson)
9. Keepin’ Country Alive (Dillon Carmichael, Matt Roy, Paul Sykes)
10. Hell Freezes Over (Jonathan Singleton, Josh Dunne, Rob Snyder)
11. I’d Call Grandpa (Dillon Carmichael, Kenton Mccreary Bryant
12. She Likes Me This Way (Dillon Carmichael, Jimmy Melton, Neal Coty)
13. Heartbreak Waitin’ To Happen (Dillon Carmichael, Lindsay Rimes, Neil Medley, Matt Rogers)
14. Goin’ Places (Joey Hendricks, Andy Skib, Brett James)

Country Swag Picks:

1. No Matter How Hard I Try
2. When She’s Drinkin’
3. Keepin’ Country Alive

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