Zac Brown Band delivered their new album The Owl today (September 20) and it's about to take the already well-established act to new heights! The Owl is a follow-up to 2017's Welcome Home which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on Top Country Albums chart.
The first taste of new music from The Owl came when Zac Brown Band dropped their single "Someone I Used To Know" in December of 2018 and was written by pop superstar Shawn Mendes. It appears their 2018 CMT Crossroads episode which aired in June of 2018 left the guys inspired enough to work with each other again. "Somebody That I Used To Know" while written by Mendes, combines the harmonies ZBB fans have come to love with Mendes' infectious melodic stylings for a solid intro the new era.
"Somebody That I Used To Know" serves as a solid precursor for what fans could expect from The Owl as the new album features production by pop music chart toppers like Ryan Tedder, Skrillex, Max Martin, Benny Blanco, Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd and Andrew Watt.
Album openers "The Woods" and "Need This" carry that crossover appeal The Owl is aiming for while largely delivering a sound that stays true to Zac Brown Band. It's with track number three "OMW" that bursts the crossover floodgates open, this is where Skrillex enters to help the guys lean on their rock sensibilities while adding a flare for a sharply produced pop tune.
Trekking along we find "Me and the Boys in the Band" keeps ZBB in line, reassuring fans that while they're taking risks with The Owl, they're staying true to themselves. Then comes the Brandi Carlile collaboration "Finish What We Started" which features production and composition by Max Martin along with producer Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd. Writers on this collab also include Anders Peter Svensson best known as the lead writer and guitarist for The Cardigans, Johan Carlsson and Savan Kotecha who have collaborated with the likes of Ariana Grande and One Direction to name a few, and of course, Zac Brown is credited as a writer here. While "Finish What We Started" is packed with pop powerhouses it stays true to Zac Brown Band in the same breath.
"God Given" features many of the same composers and producers as "Finish What We Started" but leans even deeper into that familiar Zac Brown Band sound. It's truly quite astonishing how ZBB managed to weave so much pop influence into their music while retaining their sound. On "Warrior" the guys give us an anthemic song of resilience while "Shoofly Pie" keeps in tradition with their food-related hits like "Chicken Fried."
"Already On Fire" sees the pop stylings of Johan Carlsson, Peter Svensson, and Savan Kotecha take the reigns again alongside Zac Brown. It's an infectious feel-good moment splattered with funky production effects and laced with killer melodies, it feels like the perfect segue into the albums final moment. "Leaving Love Behind" dropped in July of this year and it serves as the albums closer, sounding a bit like an '80s powerhouse ballad built inside a shell of a Zac Brown Band number, it's quite the mover.
Ultimately, Zac Brown Band have given us one of their most ambitious albums to date with The Owl. A journey through familiarity while exploring bright new pop territory that should propel the band to a new audience while pleasing their core. This definitely feels like an award-winning body of work so don't be surprised if this album has legs and hits a high next year when it sweeps the GRAMMY Awards.
