Old Dominion: ‘Time, Tequila & Therapy’ – Album Review

Old Dominion’s new album, ‘Time, Tequila, and Therapy’ is out now, October 8th, on all streaming platforms. Featuring thirteen new tracks co-written and co-produced by the band, listen to the full project below and check out our review.

Since forming in 2007, Old Dominion has become one of country music’s biggest success stories. Today, the quintet released their fourth studio album, Time, Tequila, and Therapy, coming nearly two years since the release of their self-titled album, which featured hits such as “Make It Sweet” and “One Man Band.” 

Produced by Shane McAnally and Old Dominion, Time, Tequila, and Therapy features thirteen new tracks, all co-written by the band with help from longtime collaborators, McAnally and Josh Osborne. The LP continues to show Old Dominion doing what they do best: writing and releasing catchy and harmonic country music.

Unlike many of  their country contemporaries, Old Dominion has managed to find a sound that’s distinctively their own. From the opening notes to the toe-tapping choruses to the breezy instrumentation, there’s no doubting an Old Dominion song when you hear one, and this is apparent throughout this album. From “I Was On a Boat That Day” to “Blue Jeans” to “All I Know About Girls,” Time, Tequila, and Therapy is Old Dominion through and through.

Opening with “Why Are You Still Here?,” lead singer Matthew Ramsey finds himself pondering about a lost love on the breezy intro track. In the opener, the girl is gone but still haunting every aspect of someone’s life, as they muse, “If I lost you, then why are you still here?”

As songwriters before they were artists, all five members of Old Dominion contributed to each track on this album. This is apparent on the clever wordplay that weaves itself through every song on the LP. Two of the finest examples here are “All I Know About Girls,” “No Hard Feelings,” and “Ain’t Nothing Wrong with Love,” where interesting lyrical twists make them stand out. On “All I Know About Girls,” the band muses about how little they know about the opposite sex. “I’m a jack of all trades, and a master of none,” Rosen sings, before making his way to the lyrical plot twist. “All I know about girls is // I don’t know nothing at all.”

Meanwhile, “Ain’t Nothing Wrong with Love,” the album’s final track, finds the band musing about all of the reasons love hasn’t worked out for them. “Daddy had Mama // Johnny has June // Even that dish ran away with the spoon,” they sing. “So if there ain’t nothing wrong with love // Then it must be me.” Additionally, on  “No Hard Feelings,” we discover the LP’s title, as the song opens with “I took a little time, tequila and therapy // And threw it in a blender with ice.”

Other highlights of the album are “Hawaii,” “Blue Jeans” and “Lonely Side of Town,” which couldn’t be more different from each other, yet all work oh-so-well. “Lonely Side of Town” shows the band trading vocals with the legendary Gladys Knight. On the soulful and bluesy ballad, Knight provides an absolutely unexpected, but delightful, treat, harmonizing perfectly with the band in a way that’s absolutely magical.

“Blue Jeans” is a catchy, snappy up-tempo that sounds musically similar to the George Michael classic “Faith,” and celebrates the moment you meet your perfect match. “I feel you like music //  Pray for you like rain // Wait for you like Christmas // Count on you like change // I lost you like car keys // Then found you like faith,” They sing here. “You trip me like shoe strings // You fit me like blue jeans.” Meanwhile, “Hawaii” provides an aural vacation, which finds the band longing for the simpler days of a trip to the islands. “I wonder // why we // ever left Hawaii.”

The thing that makes Old Dominion great is that they are unapologetically themselves in all of their music. With a distinct sound that includes clever lyrics, snappy musicianship, and 5-part harmonies, everything Old Dominion does best is evident on Time, Tequila, and Therapy.

Old Dominion’s Time, Tequila & Therapy Tracklist

1. Why Are You Still Here
2. Hawaii
3. Walk On Whiskey
4. All I Know About Girls
5. Blue Jeans
6. No Hard Feelings
7. Lonely Side of Town (feat. Gladys Knight)
8. I Was On A Boat That Day
9. Drinking My Feelings
10. Somethings The Same About You
11. I Want To Live In A House With You
12. Don’t Forget Me
13. Ain’t Nothing Wrong With Love

 

OUR PICKS:

1. Blue Jeans
2. Ain’t Nothing Wrong with Love
3. Lonely Side of Town

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