Rating: NN
I like my country more in the alt vein than what’s trendy in Nashville. Music City caters more to the likes of native Albertan Paul Brandt, who trades in new country sounds but keeps the Garth Brooksisms to a minimum. Double-platinum sales and a 2002 country album of the year win haven’t slowed him down, and his latest is a highly polished, ballad-heavy contemporary country workout. The cover of Convoy is a riot and The King works well, but Brandt quickly falls into the syrupy clichés that epitomize today’s Nashville country.
Catch Brandt tonight (Thursday, July 1) at Sunnyside Park.