Ben Gallaher 'Country in the House' Album Review

Ben Gallaher’s debut album, Country in the House is finally out. After releasing singles off the album for the past few months, the project dropped in full with its final three songs. Co-produced by stars like Mickey Jack Cones (Jason Aldean and Thomas Rhett), as well as Derek George (Randy Houser and Joe Nichols), this record is bringing the epitome of country music directly to the listener, as its title promises.

The album’s namesake, “Country in the House," is the first appearance on the album. It sets the tone for the whole project and lets the audience know what they should expect. Introducing his own relationship with country music is the perfect way to kick start the LP, it makes perfect sense as to why this is the titular tune. It starts with engaging guitar riffs that capture the audience's attention, and that pair perfectly with Gallaher's voice once it comes in. This guitar continues to shine with the epic solo it has before the quiet chorus. One of the most interesting parts of the song is how it ends. The guitar continues to stagger out after it’s lost its pitch, and it’s a way to keep the listener engaged even after the track concludes.

As one of the slower and more intimate songs on the album, “Roots Grow Down” is the perfect track to have in the middle of the album. It's one of the most honest on the album as Gallaher admits that he was saved by the person he’s writing about. He sings “I’m gonna love you / Gonna love you / Till the roots grow down around me." He feels comfortable enough to find stability with this person. The guitar, along with the lyrics, really helps to create a familiar, nostalgic feeling. Even the electric guitar soloing over the top feels personal and blends well despite its difference in texture.

The first of the new singles is a heartbreak song called “Lovin’ You Gets in the Way”. Angered by his lingering love for someone, Gallaher wrote this track as the perfect representation of the country rock genre. Starting off the song with a beat and a pizzicato guitar part help to create a darker vibe that can also be found in several other tracks on the album. This angsty instrumental part is complimented by the guitar soloing over the track, as well as the solo section. The band also helps to create tension between sections by building the drums and adding new instrumental parts. Gallaher’s smooth yet intense singing really compliments this tune and the intention behind it.

On “Damn This Truck" Gallaher creates a similar vibe in instrumentation to the previous new tune, but the lyrics are much more sensory. He carefully creates vivid imagery about the time spent in a relationship. Lyrics like, “He misses her perfume / And the way it would linger / He misses her feet up on the dash” make the audience have empathy for Gallaher as he croons. The most interesting part of the lyricism is the personification of the truck. The song describes the truck missing the girl, but really, it’s just the man talking about his own feelings through the truck. It’s a clever take on the classic shared experience of heartbreak.

In a change of pace from the other new tunes, the new track "Have You Ever" features Gallaher professing his love for someone by talking about all the experiences he has to offer them. When he sings, “Had a song written about you / Someone else’s world revolves around you," he’s admitting that he wants to be the first person to do these things for someone. The instrumentation in this song is lighter than the other tracks on this album, but still carries the same blend of country rock sound as the rest of the project creating blissful cohesion.

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