Southerland ‘Boot Up’ EP Review

Sony Music Nashville’s powerful country music duo, Southerland, is made up of small-town Georgia’s Chris Rogers and South Carolina native Matt Chase. This team overflows with talent weaving intricate story-telling lyrics delivered in a unique vocal harmony complemented by a tradition-meets-modern-country vibe.

Poised to take Music City by storm, Southerland is dropping their anticipated 7-track EP today. Produced by Greg Bates, Boot Up showcases Rogers’ and Chase’s thriving aptitude for both writing and singing.

The first song is the title track, “Boot Up,” which sets the tone for a cleverly written EP that pays homage to the hard-working, all-American, small-town country folk. Right off the bat, Southerland shows off keen lyrical abilities employing “boots” to capture the hard-working country boy aesthetic. A splash of electric guitar adds to the high energy of this track and to its modern spin on classic country that is reinforced by the intricacy of the lyrics.

“It doesn’t matter if they’re steel-toe or snakeskin if they still brand new or all broke in…Wear ‘em proud like our last names. That’s just the way we were raised.”

The second track “Might as Well be Us” is another ode to tradition that doubles as a love song. You’ve never heard a country music love song as lyrically unique as this one. It starts off softer, sweeter, and more acoustic than the title track and paints a poetic picture of things being better “back when.”

“Everything used to go a little longer. Everything was built to last. Everything used to be a little stronger. Nowadays no it ain’t like that.”

The twist is soon revealed as this nod to tradition is weaved into lyrics that honor an old-school idea of romance—“Something’s got to hold together, the kind of thing that time can’t touch. Something has got to last forever, might as well be, might as well be us.” “Might as Well be Us,” is catchy and sweet and just the right amount of sentimental.

“Came out of Nowhere” is the third track that truly embodies Southerland’s talent as wordsmiths. Based on the title, the listener is anticipating a song about love or fame or some intense emotion that “came out of nowhere” or appeared suddenly. Southerland plays with the term ‘nowhere’ to lovingly describe small towns full of hardworking people. This track pays deep respect to people from ‘nowhere’ towns who make the products that people buy as if they “just fell out of thin air.”

“Came from a guy with his name on his pocket, a tow-door jump-start farm truck hauled it, seen nine states ‘fore you even bought it…You think it just fell out of thin air but it came out of nowhere…little towns, there’s a little few left around…Everything here starts from way out there.”

The fourth song on the EP shifts gears to something a little simpler, upbeat, and fun to dance to. “Dance” is the final unreleased track on Boot Up that still sticks to the EP’s theme by celebrating traditional country roots like two-stepping and trying to pick up a girl in a bar. The girl described in this song won’t be interested in drinks, pickup lines, or boys because she is there for the country music.

“She’ll be staying all night long, no you can’t go wrong when she wants to dance…You can roll the dice and take a try because she ain’t looking for a guy tonight ‘til she wants to dance, buddy that’s your chance’

Southerland rounds out their masterful 7-track EP with three previously released tracks that you probably already know and love—“Thing Is,” “Little Bit of You,” and “Along Those Lines.”

Listen to Boot Up here and to hear more of country music’s best new releases, head to our Playlists Page, and follow The Nash New Releases playlist on Spotify. For the latest in country music news follow The Nash News on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.

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