Reid Haughton: ‘Higher Than 9’ – Debut Album Review

While River House artist Reid Haughton may not be a household name just yet, the Alabama native is poised to make a splash with his new album, Higher Than 9, out now. With a country-soul-meets-rock-and-roll sound that finds him channeling a mix of Eric Church and early Keith Urban, his trajectory can only be upwards.

“Higher Than 9 is everything that I love,” He shared on social media. “It’s the feeling that only music can give you. It’s rock songs, love songs, groove songs, and everything in between. I poured my heart and soul into this and I’m so thankful for everyone who’s a part of it.”

Haughton is an unpolished gem in the best way, not tainted by a need to bend to current trends or sounds, but instead appreciating swirling guitars, unapologetic lyrics, and raw vocals. The album is a mix of rock-laden blue-collared anthems, including a cover of the Charlie Daniels’ classic, “Long Haired Country Boy.”

The album’s title track sets the mood immediately, a driving celebration of love, seen through rock-tinted glasses as Haughton growls that he’s “on some cloud higher than 9.” Meanwhile, “Man Made Money” is a catchy and tongue-in-cheek ode to the expensive taste of a woman, with the Alabama native musing, “She loves to spend it and so I save…God made women, So man made money.”

With the confidence and swagger of a seasoned frontman, Haughton growls through heartbreak and drinking all day on the gritty and swampy stomper of “It Don’t Hurt.” “If it wasn’t for the weed, the wine, the whiskey // I’d be low down in the dirt // I feel a whole lot better, once the buzz gets to work // No drowning myself sure as hell don’t help, but it don’t hurt.”

“Mendoza Line” is ripe with harmonicas and slide guitars, while “Don’t Get Wet” finds him wise beyond his years, scatting that worrying will get you nowhere. “You could try hiding from the rain // Thinking that umbrella is going to keep you safe from the storm brewing up ahead… better jump in the water so you don’t get wet.”

Haughton deals with love and relationships on songs like “Flicker,” which finds him dealing with a dangerous woman, and her hold on him. Likewise, “Got to Give.” On the latter, he muses that a woman “don’t want nothing except all I’ve got to give,” while “Flicker” finds him standing “too close to the flame… I ain’t tryna say that I still miss her // But every now and then that flame still flickers.”

The album ends with “The Crow,” a more sparse and acoustic track than the others on the album that finds the singer-songwriter’s voice laced with remorse. “I bet you can tell, that it’s all gone to hell, that I look like somebody, who stayed in something, a little too long,” He sings on the blissfully moody track, voice laced with soul. “It’s a long way home, even if you got wings, I ain’t gonna get nowhere, sitting and wondering what the crow brings.”

From Higher Than 9, it’s clear why Reid Haughton already has a devoted following, but it’s only a matter of time before he’s a mega star.

 

Higher Than 9 Track List:

1. “Higher Than 9”
2. “It Don’t Hurt”
3. “Man Made Money”
4. “Don’t Get Wet”
5. “Got to Give”
6. “Flicker”
7. “Mendoza Line”
8. “Longed Haired Country Boy”
9. “The Crow”

Country Swag Picks:

1. “It Don’t Hurt”
2. “Don’t Get Wet”
3. “Man Made Money”
4. “Higher Than 9”