Song Review – Aaron Watson’s “Outta Style”
Look, if you’re truly an Aaron Watson fan, and you’ve been following him for a number of years, then you know instinctively not to get too overly worried about one particular song, or jump to conclusions that it symbolizes some sea change in his sound and he’s going to go all Nashville on our asses. Aaron Watson has always been a pragmatist with his music, straddling the lines between the creative and the commercial. That’s not trying to make excuses for him or playing favorites just because he a more likeable guy than some mainstream cad braying about chicks in bikinis and beer all the time. That’s just what Aaron Watson is: a tale of two styles.
The Texas country songwriter and performer turned Nashville upside down early last year when his record The Underdog went #1 on the country album charts way before this feat became something you expect from top tier independent artists. All of a sudden the title of the record came across as either poignant or ironic—or both perhaps—and Aaron Watson was being talked about as an independent artist with mainstream impact. Aaron Watson forged a template where independent artists no longer needed a major label or mainstream country radio to find major success. Thirty Tigers and a tireless management crew could get you there while the artist was allowed to keep control of their music.
And on The Underdog, like many of Aaron Watson’s albums before, he reached for the attention of average Joe music listeners with certain songs, and that’s the style of track you get in his latest single “Outta Style.” Just shy of the dastardly term “Bro-Country,” Watson’s “Outta Style” actually is trying to convey something, namely the story a man and woman who have a type of love that is able to endure trends and travesties, and the song uses a fiddle riff as opposed to synthesizer or arena guitar as its main style point.
Nonetheless, “Outta Style” is very list-like, with shades of Bro-Country, and fairly cliche lyrics. When listening through the first time, I had to shut it off when the chorus got to the part about a “Chevy” parking at the “levy.” You realize after subsequent listens the song purposely reconstitutes the lyrics of McLean, Steve Earle, and Mellencamp, so I’m not sure if it’s fair to call them as much cliche as just a bit tired. The hand claps will draw the ire of some as well, though others will find it as one of the more fetching parts of the song.
I would be lying if I didn’t say that repeat listens didn’t rehabilitate “Outta Style” to the “not that bad” category. Maybe it’s the fact that the fiddle is so out front that you forgive some of the other stuff, or maybe because Aaron Watson is a natural underdog you want to root for him. There is ample reasons to dislike this song for the folks that take music so seriously they find it worthwhile to seek out the opinion of music critics, but there are many average music fans who are just looking for something to tap their toe to that will appreciate this effort. Aaron Watson wants to speak to both sides with his music, and right now it’s time for the other side, which is usually the turn reserved for a debut single from an upcoming record.
Will Aaron’s new album offer atonement for a song like “Outta Style,” or at least alternatives? History would say that it will. After you hear a song like “Bluebonnets (Julia’s Song)” from his last record, Watson could release a techno version of “Achy Breaky Heart” and you wouldn’t care. One of the reasons some may be surprised to hear a song in this style coming from Aaron Watson is because they’ve instinctively skipped over the song or two from The Underdog that frankly are much worse than this.
We won’t know what we get on the new Aaron Watson record until we listen. But it’s a new day in country music, and an artist like Aaron—whose already risen a blip on the mainstream radar—could be in a real good position to make even bigger gains. What’s even more promising is that he may not need songs like “Outta Style” to do it. In a period where William Michael Morgan has gone #1 on radio, and is riding that confidence to release “Missing” as a single, it’s time for traditionalists to quit making excuses and compromises, and start showing a little resolve.
What’s going “outta style” is Bro-Country and songs that chase trends, while traditional country has once again proved to be the timeless influence in country music that always comes back to the forefront. This should bode well for an artist like Aaron Watson if he sticks to what he does best.
albert
November 14, 2016 @ 10:00 am
”I would be lying if I didn’t say that repeat listens didn’t rehabilitate “Outta Style” to the “not that bad” category”.
THIS is not mystifying in the least Trigger . Many jokes have been written about the ‘earworm ‘ nature of pop songs …and ,in fact , there have been many studies done about the hows and whys of this , of course . There’s a reason jingles sell products . When crafted correctly they are infectious and the MOST well-crafted take no time to embed themselves in our subconscious often against our will .This , of course , is the entire game when it comes to marketing mainstream music (promoting with the sole intent of making $$$$ off of a trend…. rather than enlightening , informing , educating , inspiring , intriguing , or even relating , God forbid , to most listeners ). And there is absolutely nothing wrong with understanding and employing the power of a well-crafted melodic hook when that aspect of the craft of songwriting is SUPPORTING the above -mentioned reasons for writing a song and NOT its raison d’etre . Most of today’s country music , of course is nothing BUT an attempt at a catchy ‘whoa whoa whoa’ or a syncopated groove or the all-too-familar-overused-dated and nearly pointless hand clap ‘machine’ ( the ‘musical ‘ equivalent of a sitcom laugh track but misused to the point of laugh-ability itself ).
We are programmed to respond to ‘ catchy ‘ the way we are reprogrammed to respond to flashy looking cars and bigger and bigger trucks ( …no engine under that sparkly hood ?….no problem ..I love the colour and the way this thing LOOKS so COOL ) .
If we could just understand the above and demand as much substance as ear/eye candy from a ( musical ) product we’d be on the right track .
Jared S
November 14, 2016 @ 10:10 am
There are so many negatives in the sentence you quoted, I was thoroughly confused as to what Trigger was actually trying to say. I think it should have been “I’d be lying if I *said* that repeat listens didn’t rehabilitate…”
Stringbuzz
November 14, 2016 @ 11:24 am
IDK.. Sounds like typical Aaron Watson..
My wife will love it and I will be able to bear it.
I did get to see him on the last tour in this real small club and I liked him live better than the album cuts.
This is prolly the same thing.
BrettS
November 14, 2016 @ 7:04 pm
Agreed Stringbuzz. I think he puts out stuff that is pop country and it’s not my cup of tea. Although I really do enjoy a lot of his stuff at the same time. I saw him not long after Underdog came out at a small bar in Birmingham and had an absolute blast. He impressed me more so than some of the Americana acts I’ve seen in the last year or two and had way more fun. Just my opinion.
Jordan
November 14, 2016 @ 5:02 pm
Love Aaron Watson. But just like you said, he has a tendency to put out crap like this to catch attention then he’ll write a real good song like Bluebonnets. Underdog disappointed me quite a bit, but there were several on there that I loved, I own every album of his. Hope the album has a little less-tired lyrics and a tad more substance.
Chris
November 14, 2016 @ 6:49 pm
Sounds disappointing.
I will refrain from buying the next CD unless you give it a positive review.
Jacob Ware
November 14, 2016 @ 6:50 pm
Nah, he’s just doin whatever to keep attention. But everyone gets one. Why do people on the internet always correct each other’s grammar and punctuation like a fuckhead would do? Everyone uses the same medium that has some sort of retarded auto correct. And in the instance that a dude writes for a livin, he puts out 2-4 articles a day complete with graphics, videos , and links and it’s still not good enough cause a grammatical error.
H
BrettS
November 14, 2016 @ 7:07 pm
Reminds me a lot of the song ” That Look” that he released for his wife before Underdog came out
Vinnie
November 14, 2016 @ 8:24 pm
Wow you hit the nail right on the head!
I’ve been listening to him for years and even traveled to three states to see him live.
The new song came out and I couldn’t even make it past the fake drum tracks before I was shaking my head. Then the Chevy part hits and I cut it right off. I was so glad I didn’t buy this track.Then the next day I find myself humming the tune!
I am certain he knows just what he’s doing now.
JT
November 15, 2016 @ 4:14 am
Rather than review a crappy song by him, I wish you would write an article about his plagiarism and his refusal to acknowledge when he steals others material.
Trigger
November 15, 2016 @ 9:59 am
Yes, because this is clearly common knowledge, and not writing about it is an obvious attempt for me to brush something under the rug.
Something tells me if your concern was legitimate, you would broach it with a lawyer or a well-articulated email as opposed to snark in a comments section.
JT
November 15, 2016 @ 4:29 pm
While I am fully aware that I can be snarky at times, I truly wasn’t trying to be here. I really would like to see you do an article about this. I have posted lengthy responses in the past in reference to this issue but you never responded to them. I apologize for my snarkiness and will refrain from posting about this in the future.
Don
November 15, 2016 @ 6:36 am
Hey in this case it’s a Chevy Monte Carlo, and not a truck so he gets points from me on that. Everything can’t be serious all of the time, I like it.
JR
November 15, 2016 @ 2:59 pm
Taylor Swift has a song named Style on 1989 album and the last line of the chorus is “we never go out of style”. Jon Pardi has a song called Out Of Style on his California Sunrise album too. Both of the aforementioned songs are better than Outta Style which is obviously pretty unoriginal at this point. Can’t copywrite an idea but this one is played out.