level 13
Luke Bryan knows exactly why he's the biggest star in country music: Who else could sell an opener like "Kick the Dust Up,' an unselfconscious assemblage of arena-banjo, hip-hop sound effects and backwoods double-entendre? Or, one song later, "Kill the Lights," with its funk groove, disco strings and backwoods double-entendre? And then "Strip It Down," which combines lurid narration, an orgasmic guitar solo and, well, you get the idea. This album wasn't great because it showed some sort of newfound maturity; it was great because it didn't need to. Bryan is serious about not taking himself too seriously, and he understands that good country music doesn't have to sound like the good country music that came before. N.M.


