Dan + Shay, an American country music duo, released their newest album "Obsessed"June 3, 2016. Their lead single, “From the Ground Up,” was released in February of 2016. The moment I first listened to this album, you could say I’ve been "Obsessed." Ha ha ha, funny? I think so. Here is my personal breakdown of the album, song by song.
1. “All Nighter”
This song has a super energetic beat, and just makes me want to dance. I could definitely picture myself listening to it at a bonfire, but also jamming out to it (way too hard) in my car. My favorite lyrics from this song are, “Cause it's a finding her hand, taking a chance, starting a fire. This is an all-nighter.”
2. “Road Trippin’”
This song is extremely upbeat, and really takes the idea of country music being depressing, and completely contradicts it. It actually makes me want to get up and go on a road trip tonight. I think this is a very fun summer song, and I could definitely picture it being a radio hit this summer.
3. “From the Ground Up”
This song is absolutely beautiful. It has a calming, slow beat and absolutely incredible lyrics. It tells the story of a couple, so in love. It talks about their love and their future. My words cannot describe how beautiful this song is, so I highly suggest you listen to it yourself. Also, the music video is astonishing, and a real tear-jerker. I would love to be able to provide you with my favorite lyrics, but that would require me to quote the whole song. So please, do me a favor and go listen to it.
4. “Already Ready”
Despite the intense love I have for “From the Ground Up,” this is actually my favorite song on this album. This may be because I am way closer to relating to this, than I am a song about forever, with someone I love. This song has a calming beat. It is not necessarily slow, but definitely not upbeat either. It is about a man taking his significant other out to a party, and just talking about how he is already ready to take her home. However, it isn’t in a crude way at all. He is stating things that she does, and how beautiful she is, while also saying he’s ready to undress her. It is so tasteful and sweet, and I am so very fond of it. I also highly recommend this song. My favorite lyrics in this song are, “Gotta get you back in my shirt, get you out that dress, get you out those shoes that you like so much.”
5. "How Not To"
This song has a soothing and slow beat. I saw a video of an interpretive dance done to this song, and now that is what always comes to my mind when I listen to it. It is a song about a man after breaking up with women, saying he doesn’t know how not to think about her, want her, and be in her arms. I think that many people could relate to this song, and I could see it being the anthem for many people post-breakup. One of my favorite lyrics in this song are, “The time goes by and I still need you. Yeah, you're worth the heartbreak and the regret.”
6. "Lipstick"
This song has a slow beat and lyrics that really make you feel something. This song tells a story of a girl after a breakup. She is heartbroken and knows it. However, she is going through the motions of being OK, telling herself she can do it. She is being bought drinks, getting dressed up, and putting on lipstick, even though she knows it isn’t going to hide the pain that she is feeling. Lyrics that really give a good summary of this song would be, “She's putting on her lipstick, slippin' on her black dress, turning up the music, saying you can do this.”
7. "Round the Clock"
This song has such a fun beat. It just portrays a couple's love in such a fun and high-spirited way. It really makes me want to love someone in this way, and dance with them along to this song. However, regardless of my relationship status, this song makes me want to dance. My favorite lyrics are, “You make it easy, you get my heart beating out of my chest and the rest doesn’t matter.”
8. “Lately”
This song has a very lively beat. It is about a guy telling his girl how crazy he is about her, and complimenting her in so many ways. It is so sweet and fun. It really gives the impression that this guy is absolutely in love with his lady, and it makes me happy listening to it. My favorite lyrics are “Have I told that I love you, that you're funny, that you're sweet, and I love what's outside and everything that's underneath? Have I told you that I miss you every second I'm asleep and I love the way you smiling when I kiss you in my dreams?”
9. “Sway”
I would categorize this song as a slow song, but an upbeat one. I could picture a deejay saying “let's slow things down for a moment here,” and then playing this song. I think this would be a fun song to dance to, and would really make me want to do a lot of fancy spins, and then sway for a bit, to honor the title of the song of course.
10. “Obsessed”
This song has a bit of a jazzy feel and has very fun lyrics. This song is about a guy who is just absolutely, head over heels in love with his girl. This makes me want to dance, also. This song definitely deserves the honor of being the title of the album. It is not my personal favorite, but I think it is an amazing song, and really portrays young love at its finest.
I hope you enjoyed my feedback, and if I can give you any advice for this week, smile more, spread love and listen to this album. Really listen to it. It paints some beautiful mental pictures, and can really make you feel a variety of emotions. Enjoy! And be careful, you may get obsessed!
