Jason Aldean Looks Beyond Country Music on New Album
It looks like the drum loops and R&B influences that fueled Jason Aldean‘s latest hit single “Burnin’ It Down” aren’t going away any time soon. That slow-jamming, boot-knockin’ single sets the vibe for Aldean’s new album, Old Boots, New Dirt, which hits stores October 7th. Like “Burning’ It Down,” the LP, Aldean’s sixth, looks far beyond Nashville for its musical cues.
“I’m pretty knowledgeable in country music, and I’ve never once seen where it says, ‘Country music doesn’t have a drum loop,'” Aldean said in a statement to buzzfeed.com, which broke the news. With that in mind, the country singer — who’s currently riding a wave of 15 consecutive gold- or platinum-certified singles — fills Old Boots with pop hooks, R&B riffs and enough digital effects to fuel a night train. There’s a bit of classic country tossed into the mix too, particularly on “Two Night Town,” written by Grammy winners Brett James (who co-wrote Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel”) and Tim Nichols (who helped pen Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying”).
“No, [‘Burnin’ It Down’] is not Hank Williams Sr. or George Jones,” Aldean said, “but this also isn’t the Sixties and the Seventies. As great as that music was, you have a new wave of artists that were influenced by a whole different world of music, and country music is gonna evolve just like any kind of music.” Old Boots, New Dirt was produced by Aldean’s longtime collaborator Michael Knox.
Currently on his Burn It Down Tour with Florida Georgia Line, Aldean plays Charlotte, North Carolina, on Wednesday.