Zac Brown Band, "You get what you give"

ZBB is one of the hottest acts in modern country right now, in fact they're so hot they even open for Kings of Leon.

When I first heard this record, I wasn't sure why they were given all the praise they've received. At first, it sounds like soulless, radiofriendly commerical country music with vague influences from bands like The Eagles.

But the more I listen to them, the more I like them. Not only for them being brave enough to experiment musically. Anyone can play an unexpected cover at a concert, but ZBB experiment with ska on the track Who knows and why not? If ska can go latin, jazz, punk or even folk, why not country? Willie Nelson did, after all, make a reggae album the other year. Is this a new trend? If it is, I like it, ZBB comes across sounding like Madness at times. Good stuff!

No, it's also the fact that they're good at their trade in the more regular songs as well. If you like your country music a bit poppy, then this is one record you don't wanna miss. They're good at what they're doing, I just don't appreciate it that much.

However, if the music is a bit bland, then their lyrics save the day. I'm from Skåne, the southermost region of Sweden and we get to live with the same prejudices about us from the northern Swedes as the Dixies have to live with from the Yanks. I can really relate to the lyrics, which are cleverly manufactured. It's the little man's point of view which comes across in their lyrics. This fact saves ZBB from becoming just another mediocre radio act  to my ears and propells them into one of the best modern acts out there.

It's a good record, but unfortunately, it doesn't quite live up to the expectations The Foundation sat. The opening track, Let it go, is the closest thing to a smash hit in my ears and perhaps they should have saved it for a bit longer into the record. Now you just get a bit let down from expecting the following tracks sounding like the opening one. But what do I know? The kids today download their fave tunes and don't give a darn about succession on an album.

There is nothing compared to Chicken Fried on this album, but it's still a decent record which deserves 69.8% in level of satisfaction.