Album review: Hard 2 Love by Lee Brice

There seems to be a lot of hype about this album as someone who liked Lee Brice to begin with, I was very interested to hear it for myself. I’ve finally sat down and listened to the whole thing in its entirety. And before I go into what I thought of the songs, I want to take a minute and say how much I like his voice. He has a great quality to it and so much power behind it, which is something I’ve always known about him, but it just seems so much more here. I don’t know what it is, maybe he’s getting more confident as an artist or maybe it has more to do with the songs themselves, but I’m not complaining. This guy has a big voice that has a hearty heaping of soul in it that I like a lot. I really think that I could listen to him sing just about anything and enjoy it. This means that we’re off to a great start here.

Vocals and music aside, there’s just something very likeable about Lee to me in general. I almost want to say that there’s a kind of warmth or something to him that is very much present in his music. He sings with a lot of feeling which is great in a time where a lot of people don’t – and for the record, I’m referring to music in general and not just country artists. To be totally honest, I mean it more so for other genres. This might be something I explore a little deeper at another time, but for now I’m going to leave it at that and get back to the man of the moment, Mr. Lee Brice.

Overall, I really enjoyed this album and find new things to appreciate about it with each listen. The production is great and there’s a lot of interesting things going on musically for me. I’m probably starting to sound like a broken record by this point, but there’s some very good playing here. And as I know I’ve said it other places, I’ve come to expect it. Musically, the musicians do a great job of highlighting Lee and the lyrics. Everything just fits together in my opinion. Nothing feels out of place when it comes to the music.

As far as the songs, I will go into them a little bit more after the cut the way I always do, but I do want to say that this is an album full of well-crafted songs. Many of which make you think. These songs have a lot of heart to them. Lee wrote or co-wrote eight of the thirteen songs on here, but they all come across as songs he could have written. He just makes the songs feel so personal that you’re left feeling like you just listened to a little soundtrack of his life. Most of the songs are mid-tempo, which only a few up-tempo tracks. If an artist is going to release an album like this, than all of those mid-tempo songs better be good because otherwise the listener could get bored. This is the kind of thing that works or doesn’t and Lee got it right. The songs are so well done and fit together so well, that you don’t really think about it. At least that was the case for me.

So yeah, I really like this album and am not surprised at the praise it’s gotten.

Let’s look at each song by itself, shall we? 

“Hard to Love” This is the title track of the album and his new single and is one of my favorite songs on here. This is coming from the perspective of a guy who finds himself to be hard to love and gives examples as to why he thinks so. It’s directed to the woman in his life, giving her credit for loving him in spite of himself. Now, most of the time, songs like this are given a hefty dose of attitude. As in a this is who I am, deal with it kind of thing. Not here. This is coming from a guy who is sincerely admitting and owning up to his flaws. And he’s apologizing for it. This is a beautiful song that is just so honest. Again, one of my favorites on here.  

“A Woman Like You” This was the first single off the album and what a charming little song it is. A song about a girl asking her guy what he’d do without her and for a second, it comes across like he’s about to get himself into some major trouble. I can see the danger flags starting to go up throughout most of the chorus, but he saves it by saying that he’d be looking for a woman like her. Crisis averted. This is a very sweet song and is one of Lee’s best deliveries on the entire album. It’s so sincere and well done. I really enjoy the music in this too, nice ending.

“That’s When You Know It’s Over” This one wins some originality points before the music even starts with the sound of a heart monitor beeping and then the music comes in and the beeping fades away. I really love how they did it too. How do you know when a relationship is over? Well, this song will tell you. For example, “When you don’t feel like you’ve been hit by a train at the sound of someone sayin’ her name anymore/  When you can drive down the road and not be afraid of what’s playin’ on the radio”. Very nice piece of songwriting here and this song does a good job in highlighting the power in Lee’s voice.

“Parking Lot Party” Time to kick things up a bit. I really believe that this song was at exactly where it should’ve been in terms of album placement. Actually, I’d say that all the songs are where they should be. Each song flows nicely into the next one. This is an ode to all the parties that take place in parking lots. This one feels really good to me, I like the groove it has going on. It’s also one of those songs that’ll get you singing along which makes me believe that this would be a great one to see live.

“Don’t Believe Everything You Think” Adding a little bit of blues to the album, here, I’d say. Not a ton, but I definitely hear a slight blues influence. Lee apparently wrote this one about his relationship with his then girlfriend, now fiancée. She seems to be under the impression that the two of them are not on the same page in regards to their relationship and he’s telling her not to believe her mind comes up with. Trying to get her to think more with her heart instead of her head. This is another of my favorites, I think. I really like this one.

“I Drive Your Truck” Now, if that doesn’t tug at your heart strings, I don’t know what to say. It’s a song about a guy driving his brother’s truck after he’s been killed in combat because that’s where he feels his brother’s presence. Major kudos to the songwriters; Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington and Jimmy Yeary; for this one. It’s a wonderful song and one that could end up doing some big things. Some of the lyrics, “I’ve cussed, I’ve prayed, I’ve said goodbye/ Shook my fist and asked God why/ These days when I’m missing you this much”.

“See About a Girl” Written by Lee and Kyle Jacobs who, as you might be aware, is married to Kellie Pickler. Apparently Lee and Kyle were hanging out somewhere and Kyle had to take a break to call Kelli and “see about a girl”. And that proved to be the inspiration for this song here. This is a nice, easy laidback song that features some very nice piano playing and another great delivery by Lee. You can really hear the soul in his voice in this and I love that.

“Friends We Won’t Forget” Talk about songs that feel good, here’s another one for you. In honor of all the great times that they’ve had, even if their memories of those times are a little fuzzy if not nonexistent. It’s a song in honor of the friends they had those good times with, friends that they will never forget. I really like this one and am positive that this would be great live.

“Life Off My Years” Now we have a song that was written by Eric Church with a couple of other writers and the sentiment is one a lot of country fans will no doubt identify with. Namely that they would rather take years off their lives than life off their years. So if they do things that are maybe a little dangerous sometimes, well, that’s why. Better to have the experiences you want and risk losing a few years. This is a very tried and true idea in the country world and this is one of the better ones. Good song.

“Seven Days a Thousand Times” Quite possibly the most well written song on the album. It’s a story of a guy meeting a girl and spending a week with her on the beach and reliving that week a thousand times in his mind. This is one song where you really need to pay attention to the lyrics because they’re so good. So visual and what’s interesting is that it rained the entire week, but he didn’t care about her because he got to spend time with her. Some lyrical goodness for ya, “A Saturday downpour carved out rivers in the sand” or “by Thursday I knew everything about her/ And God, the last day I didn’t want to leave her/ The sidewalks and streets were soaked and the sky was gray/ but you should’ve seen her face, shining like that light house”. I could quote the entire song, I like it so much. If you, for some reason, could only buy one song from this album, this would be the one to get. I really love this one. Beautiful piece of songwriting.

“Beer” I’m starting to think that some people just have a gift when it delivering a song in the best way possible. Lee Brice is one of those people. This is actually my least favorite song on the album, but I really like the way he sings it. The performance completely sells this for me and I can see it being a fun one live.

“That Way Again” This one is yet another of my favorites, I love this one. First of all, I want to say that I think this is a beautiful arrangement. I love the strings in here and this is one of Lee’s best vocals on the album, if not his best. Fantastic delivery. This is a song about a woman who is missing the way her husband used to be and would give anything to have him that way again. She finds herself having coffee with another man, but ends up leaving and calling her husband. Telling him that “She don’t want to leave, she just needs him to be that way again”. This is another beautiful piece of songwriting. I can’t even say how much I want to see Lee perform this live because as good as his vocal is here, I’d bet that it’d be even more impressive live.

“One More Day” This is a song that Lee wrote for his fiancée and son as a way to thank them for supporting him and his career, even though it takes him away from home. In this song he’s telling them that he needs just one more day and then he’ll be home. This is without question the most real song on the album and was a great way to finish it up. Another solid vocal delivery and I like this one because it really shows off his range, from the soft and tender to the power and strength. This song ends with an excerpt of a phone call with his son and I’m going to totally honest and admit that it makes me tear up more often than not. It’s such an effective tie in the the lyric and makes the lyric more poignant, I’d say. It’s been real from the beginning, but this is another level entirely. Very interesting way to end the album, though the more I listen to it the more I believe that it was the perfect way to end it.

Yeah, this is a great album that I highly recommend getting. It’d be money very well spent.

Thanks for reading!