Lots of pleasant surprises came for me on Friday, not least the release of two new Florida Georgia Line songs into the atmosphere that are actually pretty decent. Before we go any further, I can see how both of these songs, especially “Simple,” will be polarizing, and I am in no way suggesting these will be universally liked, but I will say that to refuse to listen because of the artist is not the right way. As a reviewer, I am excited when artists I have previously hated or openly criticized give us something better–there’s no place in the critical realm for hatred of artists specifically on principle, and if FGL or anyone else releases better music, it’s only an improvement for the genre we all love. Like what you like, but always keep an open mind.

“Simple”

This one is the official single, and basically, Florida Georgia Line decided to go full-on Lumineers with this. You can see immediately why I said it will be polarizing; this sound breeds conflict as much as anything FGL have previously recorded. It’s like pop country with a bluegrass influence, with a banjo driving the song instead of being buried in the mix and thrown in just as a token country instrument.

Lyrically, it’s about as simple as the title suggests, painting a picture of a love that’s easy and doesn’t need anything complicating it. They talk of once living on social media, obsessed with “who all gives a damn,” until they realized life’s about the little things. It’s a message many will be able to relate to and which should be expressed more often in a time where people live on their phones and the Internet, and many are more comfortable behind their screens than actually communicating with others face-to-face. There’s also the fact that people don’t go outside and absorb nature because they’re glued to technology–in the end, the sunsets you saw will matter more than the Twitter likes you received, and so many people have lost sight of that. This song isn’t deep at all lyrically, and the spelling out of “simple” in the chorus is pretty annoying, but the message is strong and timely.

The spelling can be pretty obnoxious, though, especially at the end of the song. Tyler Hubbard is still an underwhelming and frankly annoying vocalist, and as stated, the lyrics aren’t earth-shattering by any means. But it’s a catchy, solid song from the duo nonetheless. Not amazing, but a pretty good song and certainly one of their best singles in a good long while.

Rating: 6/10

“Colorado”

Now we come to the one I’m most excited about, “Colorado.” I wish they’d have waited and released this one as a single as well instead of including it in with “Simple” like some modern-day version of a B-side on a record.

From the opening lines, “I got friends from Colorado, I got friends from Tennessee, so I got something in a bottle, and i got something from a seed,” I was a fan of this song. That’s just a really clever hook, and “Colorado” goes on to be about the narrator using whiskey and weed to help him get through a breakup after being engaged. Whiskey and weed are never mentioned, though, except in the outro where they’re called “Jack and Jane.” The metaphor there is that Jill, his fiancée, “ran away,” but “Jill’s got nothing on Jack and Jane.”

There’s an ironic resemblance to “Simple” in this song, although the subjects are basically the opposite. In this one, the narrator is “drunk up in the Smokies on a Rocky Mountain high,” with “no cars, no bars on my phone.” I don’t think it was intentional, but it’s interesting that both of these songs forsake technology.

Vocally, this one does suit Tyler Hubbard better, and surprisingly, Brian Kelley actually gets solo lines in the bridge. Like “Simple,” this song also features country instrumentation and fits nicely in the pop country realm.

“Colorado” is a catchy, lyrically smart offering from fGL with a clever hook and some actual organic instrumentation. I wish this had been chosen instead of “Simple,” or at least that they’d saved its release and made it another single, but it’s still a really good song from this group and for this listener, my favorite FGL song since “Dirt.”

Rating: 8/10