CHRIS YOUNG - Right Now - RCA Records

With “Looking For You” and the David Bowie lifted “Young Love & Saturday Nights,” country superstar Chris Young attracted a heightened buzz over the past year with the promise of things still to come.

He’s now met that buzz and satisfied the itch of his exuberant fanbase when he announced earlier this week that his ninth studio album, the ambitious 18-track Young Love & Saturday Nights, will be arriving on March 22, 2024.

Swerving away from the rock edge of the albums infectious title track, he continues to tease expectations with his latest offering, “Right Now.”

Softening the pace, the pureness of the whispered hush in his baritone familiarity enhances each word as it strikes heartstring emotions as he brings us into the moment of confliction that yearns for what used to be versus moving on from what wasn’t meant to be.

“I know just how you’re feeling,” he sympathetically sings on the opening line, understanding his exes 2AM loneliness from trying to move on while leading to his own confession that he’s feeling the same way as he straddles the blurred line of how to go forward from here while punching the truth-laden chorus:

“We can’t bring ourselves to burn a bridge

We might have to walk back across

When it’s late, and we’re lonely, don’t wanna move on

And our pride is the only cost

'Cause that fires still burning

And I don’t think you wanna let it go out

So, if you won’t say it girl, I’ll say it

What are you doin' right now”

The second verse then paints the picture of what their night back together can look like, and how it can provide the cure for their growing loneliness, singing of letting her lay her head on his chest, him giving her his heart to hold again, etc.

However, in a dynamic showcase of songwriting craftmanship, one easy to miss line that’s reverberated in both the opening verse and the bridge changes our entire perspective; “I’m just looking for a reason to call you” he sings, skewering our thoughts away from thinking that this is a conversation that’s actually occurring in real-time to instead reveal that he’s in fact talking to himself, anxiously riddled about whether he should or he shouldn’t call her and have this exact conversation with her.

Chris Young has reached a level of success where anything that he releases is going to be met with anticipation, however, where many could rest on what they’ve accomplished and stay firmly in that comfort lane, he continues to challenge himself to find innovate directions within his signature feels while delivering strong songs that resonate deeply with the listener’s emotions.

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)

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