Zach Top- Ain’t In It For My Health
Label: Leo33
Producer: Carson Chamberlain
The sophomore national release of neo-trad revivalist, Zach Top arrives nipping on the heels of its 2024 predecessor, Cold Beer & Country Music, an upstart-label release that slowly but surely broke into the mainstream consciousness, before experiencing explosive buzz-worthiness when its second single, “I Never Lie” became both a radio and viral sensation at the beginning of this calendar year. Its success has established Top as one of mainstream country’s leading new acts, a refreshing feat given his unapologetically traditional sound, and making Top’s breakthrough feel like the pinnacle of the 90s country renaissance that has been brewing for the past several years.
Therefore, it should really come as no surprise, or disappointment, that Cold Beer & Country Music pretty much bleeds into Ain’t In It For My Health, with the successor proudly continuing the showcase of Top’s core strengths: rich twangy vocals, expressive phrasing, nimble instrumental dexterity, and production from Carson Chamberlain that, much like the sounds of the 90s era he served most prominently as a producer and musician during, is cleanly polished while still retaining all of its sonic country authenticity. That Top’s second album could be viewed as a carbon copy of his first is not a negative quality at this stage; he’s delivering the still-fresh qualities that his most loyal fanbase is hungry for more of, as well as the novelties that are just ramping up in terms of luring in new listeners. His music’s resemblance of the golden catalogs of neo-traditionalists like Alan Jackson, George Strait, Clint Black, Keith Whitley, and Tracy Lawrence fills a void in the mainstream country scene that has perhaps never been so dire: a purist capable of carrying the flag for country’s humble stylings into another new and vastly evolving period.
However in time, Top’s devotion to retro country could most certainly be viewed as both his greatest strength and his biggest weakness. And that’s not to say his sound itself is necessarily a pigeonhole. It certainly wasn’t for artists like Jackson, Strait, Lawrence and others who were able to build decades-long careers without every straying from their core sound. But, as I mentioned in the Margo Price album review posted earlier today, these genre-savior proclamations can become a curse; just ask your Easton Corbins or your Gretchen Wilsons. It’s a cure that can usually be overcome either by an artist evolving stylistically (in good and bad ways, see Young, Chris), or in the case of Top’s direct influences, on the strength of great songs. For me, this is the biggest challenge currently facing Zach Top as his career moves forward: writing and finding truly great songs and stories.
And that’s not to say he doesn’t have quality compositions here. Tracks like “When You See Me”, “Splitsville”, “I Know A Place”, “Between the Ditches”, and especially “Livin’ A Lie” are strong moments of songcraft and musical narration, and hint at the potential for elevated greatness. However, a good bulk of the material does feel like a checklist for country music tropes and signifiers: trucks, beer, women, fishing, etc., etc. He handles these areas well, and does capably avoid the cringeworthy levels of the bro-country movement he’s helping the genre recover from. These performances, particularly those like “Tightrope” and “Guitar” have no shortage of cozy charm and playful fun. Even the obligatory country-beach song, “Flip-Flop”, scores with its wordplay serving as a fun throwback to Blake Shelton’s “Some Beach”, a gimmick that was surprisingly not beaten into the ground on countless country tracks in the twenty years since.
But what Zach Top’s catalog will sorely need as he looks towards Album #3 will be those songs like “Midnight in Montgomery”, “Amarillo By Morning”, “Don’t Close Your Eyes”, and “Time Marches On” that transcended those singers’ careers from the novelties of neo-traditionalism to the greatness and long-lasting impact of legendary storytelling. The ingredients are cooking in Top’s repertoire, and while they are, Ain’t In It For My Health meantime will provide mainstream country-lovers with an undeniably satisfying and familiar platter of the entry-level genre signatures that they’ve come to appreciate, and have been underserved for too long.
Track Listing:
- “Guitar” (Zach Top, Carson Chamberlain, Tim Nichols)
- “Good Times & Tan Lines” (Top, Chamberlain, Wyatt McCubbin)
- “When You See Me” (Top, Chamberlain, McCubbin)
- “Splitsville” (Top, Chamberlain, Paul Overstreet)
- “Between the Ditches” (Top, Chamberlain, McCubbin)
- “Flip-Flop” (Top, Chamberlain, Overstreet)
- “Livin’ A Lie” (Top, Chamberlain, McCubbin)
- “Tightrope” (Top, Chamberlain)
- “I Know A Place” (Top, Chamberlain, Nichols)
- “She Makes” (Top, Chamberlain, Nichols)
- “South of Sanity” (Top, Chamberlain, Mark Nesler)
- “Like I Want You” (Top, Chamberlain)
- “Country Boy Blues” (Top, Chamberlain)
- “Lovin’ the Wrong Things” (Top, Chamberlain)
- “Honky Tonk Til It Hurts” (Top, Chamberlain)
The 706 
Leave a comment