Full time Canadian rancher and part time country singer Colter Wall must have finally gotten time away from his ranch work, because he finally released another album.

Wall has really made a niche in country music as the “cowboy song” guy. There’s always one guy in country music for every generation that just really digs western music and only does that sort of sound. 

Marty Robbins did that in the 50s and 60s. The Highwaymen all dabbled pretty heavily in the genre, Willie Nelson especially so. Chris LeDoux did it in the 90s. Wall is that guy for this generation, and his new album “Memories & Empties” is just a continuation of that style.

I’ll admit I’m a bit biased. I’ve been listening to Wall’s music since I got put onto it in 2020, and I’ve liked it ever since. I really like this album, but this one is not his best. 

Colter Wall’s strength in all his music is his lyrics. A lot of these songs in this album are about being sad about a woman, and these ones kind of all sound the same. I might personally like them, but I’ll admit it gets a bit monotonous after a little while. 

The strength of this album lies in its second half. Once “Living by the Hour” blessed my eardrums I knew we were so back. People who don’t listen to Colter Wall also need to know that sometimes he does a song with a spiritual theme to them. They always slap. 

“4/4 Time” is one of those songs, this time about the narrator mourning that he’ll never make music as good as the music God put in the birds, but he hopes that God will settle for his “4/4 time.”

“The Longer You Hold On” is a pretty catchy song, and “Summer Wages” ends the album on an upbeat note.

If the album was just the last five songs, I’d give this a 10. But the first five songs are also on this album, and they’re really just ok compared to other Wall songs I’ve heard. This is a good album overall, but I would not suggest starting with this one if you’re getting into Colter Wall’s music.

Official Score: 6/10

Categories: Arts & Entertainment