Vincent Mason: ‘Can’t Just Be Me’ – Debut EP Review

Newly signed to Interscope Records/UMG Nashville/Music Soup, Vincent Mason is musically wise beyond his 23 years. While it would be easy to take a look at the young singer-songwriter and dismiss him as another young country wannabe, the music is so much more nuanced and impressive than one might expect.

With a unique vocal style and unspoken maturity, the Georgia native is ready to take the genre by storm. Listing one of his main musical inspirations as John Mayer, that prowess is immediately evident on his new EP, Can’t Just Be Me, out now.

“This EP is a great representation of everything that’s happened from when I first started writing songs up until now. I’m thankful to have the opportunity to co-produce for the first time alongside Brett Truitt,” Mason said in a statement. “The music sounds exactly how I envisioned and I’m excited to mark this moment in time and have it to look back on one day.”  Mason added of his signing, “I’m so grateful to have Interscope, Universal Nashville, and Music Soup help bring our vision to life and keep building on what we’ve started. I couldn’t feel better about the team around me and I’m excited to get to work.”

Laced with acoustic guitars and harmonicas, Mason’s EP is a unique brand of singer-songwriter heartbreak country music. That theme permeates the collection, as he deals with the end of a relationship throughout the bulk of the six tracks.

With over 17 million streams already under his belt, “Hell is a Dance Floor,” is an immediate standout, a clever and moody take on watching the one you love move on before your eyes. His unique lyrical style and knack for storytelling is on full display here, as he laments, “Hell is a dance floor watching a red dress // Spin around with someone new // My hearts for damn sure breaking in my chest // Watching him fall for you // Part of me wants to leave this place but I can’t get the other half to look away // Every song’s reminding me // That I ain’t yours // Oh Hell is a dance floor.”

The EP’s opening track “May Be” finds Mason channeling his inner Jack Johnson, with a song that wouldn’t be out of place on country radio or at a local coffee shop. Here, he muses about where his life was before he met someone special. “Loving you may be the only thing I’m made for // Maybe these boots were made to get you on the dance floor // And that empty bench seat was always supposed to be yours,” He sings, voice laced with emotion. “If I called it fate would it be crazy // ‘Cause loving you may be.”

“Take Too Much” is a clever contradiction between uptempo music and downtrodden lyrics as he admits that it doesn’t “take too much” to get him to a place where he’s thinking about an ex. Likewise, “Livin’ Proof” finds him looking in on someone with a broken heart. “Make it in before closing time If you wanna know what a ghost looks like,” He sings poignantly. “You wanna save him don’t even try // He’s living proof of a lost goodbye.”

The EP’s final two songs, “Can’t Just Be Me” and “Really Don’t” are both strong contenders for the best of the bunch, with the title track a stirringly sparse heartbreak ballad that finds him longing for answers. Meanwhile, “Really Don’t” is arguably the most up-tempo and polished track on the item, harmonicas accompanying Laurel Canyon-inspired by guitars as he deals with the aftermath of a relationship that finds him admitting, “I guess you really don’t love me, I guess you really don’t.”

Vincent Mason’s Can’t Just Be Me EP finds the young singer-songwriter wise beyond his years with a perfect blend of acoustic-leaning country.

Can’t Just Be Me EP Track List:

1. May Be (Vincent Mason, Jared Scott, and Brett Truitt)
2. Hell is a Dance Floor (Vincent Mason and Chase McDaniel)
3. Livin’ Proof (Vincent Mason, Forest Finn, Joe Whelan, and Brett Truitt)
4. Take Too Much (Vincent Mason and Bobby Hambrick)
5. Can’t Just Be Me (Vincent Mason)
6. Really Don’t Love Me (Vincent Mason, Forest Finn, and Jack Hummel)

Country Swag Picks:

1. Really Don’t Love Me
2. Can’t Just Be Me
3. May Be