Zach Bryan – American Heartbreak (Vinyl 3LP)

With the breakout success of his modern epic American Heartbreak, Oklahoma songwriter Zach Bryan cements his reputation as a bona fide country music superstar. The Navy veteran’s debut album for Warner Records debuted at No. 5 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart and No. 1 on their Top Country Albums chart. First and foremost, Bryan is a storyteller and American Heartbreak earns him a spot in the canon of great American narrative songwriters. The album has incited passionate and wide-reaching critical acclaim for its earthy sound and Bryan’s endlessly poignant lyricism, which evokes unforgettable vignettes of modern American life. It caps five years of living what Bryan himself has called, “a true tall-tale.” The album’s singles – the recently released “Whiskey Fever,” along with “Open The Gate,” “Something in the Orange,” “Highway Boys,” “From Austin,” “Heading South,” and “Late July” – have become events at Bryan’s spirited, Springsteen-esque live shows, inspiring fan singalongs. “Heading South,” the track that started it all, just picked up a Gold certification from the RIAA. As American Heartbreak and its numerous accolades testify, Zach Bryan is a once-in-a-lifetime songwriter, and his rise is only beginning.