Love, heartbreak, nostalgia or sex… pick one.
Benson Boone’s newest album is disjointed and all over the place. Rather than a cohesive series of songs, Boone provides a little bit of everything. The songs are mostly all good on their own, but don’t connect well as an album.
Maybe sporadic is the point of this album. Being human and living life is never linear. There are rising moments and pitfalls, highs and lows. Boone creates solid background music for heartbreak, loving in the moment and nostalgia.
Boone’s biggest hit thus far in his career is a song titled “Beautiful Things” with over 2 billion streams on Spotify. Many of the songs in this new album sound the same. He found a pattern that the masses enjoy and he is sticking to it. A slow introduction followed by a loud, screlting chorus. Two of the songs are outliers: “Wanted Man” and “Momma Song”.
“Wanted Man” is the typical sexy song that remains timeless. Audiences love a good steamy song, just ask Sabrina Carpenter fans. “Wanted Man” plays an edgier role than Carpenter’s music with a chugging rhythmic line played on guitar that is different from the rest of Boone’s album as well.
Bringing in a major contrast, “Momma Song” is bound to make audiences cry. The song goes out to Boone’s own mother and laments that she’s getting older. The lyrics are heart-wrenching, especially in the chorus, which concludes with the line “‘Cause I’m gonna need this when I’m holding pictures of you and that’s all I’ve got left.” The song is strong enough to bring a tear to even the most stoic of listeners.
“American Heart” has a few flops as well as bops. “Reminds of You,” “Man in Me” and “Take Me Home,” for example, are just okay. The three songs don’t have anything to set them apart from the average pop song. “Reminds of You” and “Man in Me” both come across as whiny break-up songs. There’s nothing wrong with a good break-up song, but these simply aren’t that good.
“Take Me Home” sounds like it’s trying to be a wedding dance, but it just keeps playing. The song features a ‘psych!’ moment where the music fades out for a moment and then comes back for far too long. It’s a solid attempt at something great, but it falls short.
Fear not, the album does have some solid bops! “Mystical, Magical” in particular already sits among the Billboard Hot 100 at 21, threatening to overthrow “Beautiful Things” as Boone’s personal top hit. “Sorry I’m Here For Someone Else” deserves the same recognition.
Both songs aptly fit the popular vibe of modern music. “Mystical Magical” should be the song the album is named for rather than “Young American Heart,” which is destined to fade quicker than the aforementioned. The song simply isn’t overly catchy. “Mr Electric Blue” is also worth noting as it brings a 50’s retro vibe to the album.
“American Heart” as a whole functions more as a concert set list than a cohesive album. It is a little all over the place. Rather than an album to listen to on its own and get lost in, the music is better fit for background music at a party or for studying. Since the music is so varied, there is a song or two for everyone.
