Dylan Marlowe: ‘Mid-Twenties Crisis’ – Debut Album Review

Dylan Marlowe’s debut album, Mid-Twenties Crisis is out now, September 27th on all streaming platforms. Take a listen and read our full review below.

For rising country star Dylan Marlowe, his debut album Mid-Twenties Crisis, represents a snapshot of his life at a very specific point in time. On his first full-length with Sony Music Nashville, the Georgia native shares fifteen new tracks detailing life in his mid-twenties.

“Mid-Twenties Crisis is a record I wrote in my mid-twenties, really over the last two or three years,” shares Marlowe. “There’s a bunch of songs that are going to be fun to play live. I also thought it was really important to make sure I had some deeper lyrics as well. ‘Mid-Twenties Crisis’ was actually the last song to make the record. I’m so proud of that song—it’s kind of vulnerable but I hope y’all can relate and that you love the record.”  

Featuring Side A and Side B, the new collection is entirely written or co-written by Marlowe, who enlisted Seth Ennis, Jordan Minton, Trannie Anderson, and many more to add their talents.

The result is a solid body of anthemic country mixed with softer and more vulnerable moments, including the poignant and relatable title track.

“I’m the only one of my friends without a car seat // Sitting in the backseat of my truck // And lately I’ve been further from Jesus than I’ve ever been // But I swear that I’m trying to patch things up,” He muses, heart on his sleeve. “I think I’m going through a mid-twenties crisis // I’m 27 and it feels like my life is // Flying by and I don’t know where the time has gone // And I still can’t tell if I’m one step ahead or one step behind // Everybody’s telling me that I’ll be alright // So, maybe my thirties are the silver lining// But right now, it feels like a mid-twenties crisis”

Collaborations also provide great moments on the LP, including “Stick to My Guns,” featuring Riley Green, and “Boys Back Home” with Dylan Scott. The latter finds him out on the road, missing his friends. “I wrote ‘Boys Back Home’ with Joe Fox and Seth Ennis because I got homesick when I moved to Nashville and missed all of my friends back home,” Marlowe shared. “Dylan Scott took me on my first tour and I ended up showing him the song on the road. He loved it and I ended up asking him to sing on it with me. A year and a half in the making and I’m excited for the fans to finally have it!”

Likewise, “Stick to My Guns” is a clear standout, as the pair celebrate their upbringings and their beliefs, proclaiming that they’re not about to change for anyone. “Where I stick to these boots I’m putting down // Stick to this cross around my neck // Stick to these roots stuck in the ground // Way I was raised ain’t let me down yet // In a world that’s changing // I sure as hell ain’t, son // So, I’ll sit right here with a rifle and a beer ‘til the good Lord comes // And stick to my guns”

Anthemic, pop-rock tinted country is prevalent on the album, ripe for a live show in the form of the earwormy “Heaven’s Sake,” “I Never Miss,” “Heart Brakes,” and “Bat Outta Hell (With a Boat on the Back).” The album’s opener is especially bombastic, immediately garnering your attention, while “Heart Brakes” is a catchy single-ready ode to making bad decisions with one’s heart.

Matters of the heart are a common theme throughout the collection, as Marlowe finds himself broken and downtrodden on songs like “Hungover in a Deer Stand,” “Hang It Up,” and “Devil On My Shoulder.” Of “Devil,” he says  “I had the idea of ‘devil on my shoulder.’ We wanted to find a different angle with the phrase so the song talks about how sometimes you can try everything you can to get over somebody, but you still can’t at the end of the day. I think it’s a fun song and I hope y’all enjoy it.”  

Meanwhile, Marlowe’s country boy sensibilities inhabit almost every song, as he dabbles in hunting, fishing, and all the things that make country life great. “Deer on the Wall” finds him humorlessly dealing with cohabitating, agreeing to pillows in every room and giving up every drawer to keep his prized deer on the wall. Meanwhile, “You Did It Too” celebrates the way he was raised and the fact that it can only be understood by those who did it too.

The album ends with the sparse and powerful “The Fence,” which finds Marlowe thankful for someone who stopped him in his tracks, fencing him in when he needed it most. While it may seem like an unusual metaphor, it works flawlessly, proving the skill of the singer-songwriter as a lyricist and storyteller.

“I was hell on wheels // You were heaven sent // I wasn’t no good deal // You didn’t mind a bit // You stopped me // You caught me // Roped all my crazy in // I was a tumbleweed just blowin’ in the wind // Thank God, girl That you were the fence”

For Dylan Marlowe, Mid-Twenties Crisis represents a young singer-songwriter coming of age, grappling with his identity and his upbringing, falling in and out of love, and singing songs about all of the above.

Mid Twenties Crisis Track List: