Album Review: Andrew Pope 'Stoned On The One'

-Harriett

Alabama native Andrew Pope is set to release his full-length album, Stoned On The One on May 5th via Alacob Music.  Produced by Pope, the 13 track collection centers around life after the end of a relationship, the struggles of an artist navigating the early years of a music career, and the search for the way forward.  

If you spend a few minutes reading online reviews and other commentary on country music, you’ll no doubt run up on discussion of what is and is not country.  That discussion will not be necessary with this album. Pope has given us a stone cold, flat out country release from start to finish. Steel guitars and harmonicas, solid storytelling and compelling, earnest vocals combine for the perfect storm of traditional country goodness.  Whether it’s the slow burning honky tonk heartbreak of the title track, the stripped down acoustic quiet surrender and acceptance of “Whiskey Gets Me There” and “Even Ramblers Get The Blues” or the road-weary humor found in “Honky Tonk Tragedy” and “Wish I Was In Austin”, Pope delivers. 

The writing is solid on every track but showcased perfectly on the album’s lead single “Stormchaser”, released in 2016, with its vivid description of a person who is always rushing head-first into doomed relationships.   

“Radar flashing lipstick red, goodbye hanging on by a thread, in my head. I see the wall cloud overhead, let a man tell me this instead. Is she still lying in his bed? Who cares anyway?/Bring on the thunder, I’m addicted to the sound. Hit me with a lightning strike, I’ll ride it all the way to the ground.”
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Fans of Jamey Johnson and Chris Stapleton are sure to find a lot to like with Stoned On The One.  Find out more about Pope and his upcoming tour in support of the album at www.andrewpopemusic.com      

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