Brian Grilli, a name you probably know from opening for bands like Florida Georgia Line, Styx, Thomas Rhett, and Cheap Trick. The new summer album Deep South Symphony from Grilli which was released by the Spectra Music Group, is a fantastic blend of classic and modern country with the powerful guitar that gives a feeling of rock music. The album is full of songs that all fit together like pieces of a puzzle while also being their own individual star-studded moment. I have listened two it about 3 times and every time I notice something else that I hadn’t caught the last listen. There is undeniable emotion in every song creating a more personal listening experience. Each song tells a different story that seems to just blend into the next story even if they’re different topics.
Something I really enjoyed was that the song “Like a Glove” sent me on a nostalgia trip. It reminded me of when I would spend my summers in Minnesota with my Dad and we would blare music like this in his truck driving around the twin cities, alternating between the local country station and the 6 CDs in his car where we each picked three. While this made it a personal favorite for me a great story that was told was the song “Keep on Keepin’ on.”
The song tells the story of a girl who did him wrong, putting him down about his appearance and being himself, and eventually leaving him when he was at his worst. However, it isn’t a woe is me tale. Rather it’s a song that can give you a bit of a bounce in your step. Not just because of the beat and guitar riffs throughout but because he is saying that he is more than what some girl thinks of him. “I’m southern and I’m strong” shows how he is taking pride in himself and his strength when she would put him down about things. It is also a story of slight spite, making it more realistic especially with lines like; “Sittin down at the bar like you’re the Queen of Sheba” and “Tie my heart to a trailer pitch, drag it through the dirt you little b****” show the slight spite towards this kind of person.
The song “Obsession” was the most like my personal taste with the smooth guitar at the beginning and the more talking style to the vocals. It feels more emotionally raw which is especially rare to find in a second track on an album. It is the story of someone who is in a cycle with someone they care about where they are continuously getting used and then left again. Lines like “I inhale and I breath you. Yeah, you haunt me and I feel you” relate to this kind of situation because when someone is in that kind of cycle they are usually the only one with feelings in the arrangement while the other person has a little fun with someone else’s heart. It is refreshing to see this side of the experience shown in the country genre.
If you aren’t the type of person who would usually enjoy this kind of music I would still suggest you give this album a listen. I wouldn’t often listen to this but I am glad I did and it is definitely added to my playlists that I listen to daily. I think it’s safe to say you likely will too.
4 out of 5 Stars
By Rebecca Osier
