That tangent may lead you to believe that I don't like this album, but the placement of my monolog is merely a coincidence. This album isn't masterfully crafted by any means, but it isn't a complete pile of shit either. Since making his name in the underground by innovating a fun style of southern hip-hop, Yelawolf has hit a creative wall in his career. He signed to Shady Records along with Slaughterhouse as a part of the new fresh look for Shady Records. This translated into Radioactive which was quite simply a bad album. There were good moments, but the overall corniness of the album reduced it to near parody level. I was personally ready to dismiss Yelawolf as a failed project, but the next mixtape he released proved me wrong. Trunk Muzik Returns brought back all of his endearing qualities, as well as a lot of maturation in his style. There were multiple tracks in which he acknowledged the failure of his last album, and assured the fans that he wasn't done. Then talks began for Love Story, and I think everyone was expecting a return to the classic Yelawolf style that got him famous, but instead as singles came out, it became clear that this would be a country fusion album, something that really destroyed his last album. Despite that being the case, this time it sounded a little better. Just a little. Already my expectations were shot for this album, but I thought I'd give it a spin just for the hell of it.
This album starts out strong with Outer Space and Change both sounding a lot further towards the hip-hop end of the spectrum than country. He sounds like he is having fun, and we get a two song intro to what would be a very good album. After that though, there is a complete shift in tone when we hear American You. As much as I hate to say it, I like this song. I know that the production is embarrassingly simple, and the singing is mediocre at best, but there is just something fun about this tune. It's sarcastic and funny, and is the first glimpse into the singing alternative country style of Yelawolf, so it hasn't had a chance to grow tiresome yet. It's a pretty bad song all things considered, but I kind of like it. Whiskey in a Bottle shifts the tone of the album back to more traditional hip-hop, but the song is riddled with laughable lyrics. I don't care enough about the song to type them all out, but if you're curious enough just look it up, they are plain atrocious. The next song that had any impact on me at all was Till It's Gone, which also appeared on Shady XV, and with good reason. This song is the perfect mixture of the two styles on this album. It isn't an amazing song, but it is as good as it's going to get when playing around with hip hop and country. Devil in my Veins proceeds happens and really doesn't matter at all. I think it's mostly singing, but after hearing this album about six times I still couldn't really tell you.
If you are keeping up with the track list I'm sure you are eagerly anticipating the next one. Best Friend with Eminem is the absolute cheesiest song that has ever been put on a professional album. The hook is meant to be sentimental, but honest to God makes me laugh every fucking time I hear it. Yelawolf is absolutely horrendous on both of his verses, and while Eminem can obviously rap his ass off, but I really couldn't care less about what he is saying here. I'm not saying faith and music can't mix, but in this case it failed miserably. Following that we have Empty Bottles, and Heartbreak, which drag together pretty monotonously. Yelawolf has fallen into an almost exclusive singing style at this point, so the amount you enjoy the album at this point directly correlates with how much you enjoy his singing. I know some people love it, and personally I don't mind it, but I could completely understand hating it given that he has close to no skill in that regard. The appeal, I suppose, is that it is raw, and maybe endearing to some listeners.
The album's home stretch is far batter than the middle slump, with two of the lead singles Tennessee Love, and Box Chevy V playing back to back. The two songs are very different, but both offer some of Yelawolf's best work on the album. A few songs later we get Dissappear, which is another religious song, this one almost embracing its corny nature, and being told from the view point of a child making it much more passable than Best Friend. Fiddle Me This is the nondescript ending that this album deserved, as it flowed miserably, but did offer a sense of finality to this project. And finally, it's over.
Rating: 3/5
The songs on this album are all decent. I'd say "Best Friend" is the only one I would call garbage, while "Till It's Gone", and "Outer Space" are two of the few that I would classify as actually being good. The rest of the album has enjoyable moments, but is mostly just decent filler. The biggest problem with this album is that it runs for an agonizing 75 minutes. That's right, over an hour of this bull shit. For 40 minutes, I might like this album, but given the ridiculous length I can't give it more than just an average score. Yelawolf has regressed in musical quality in my opinion, but seems to have found his own lane, and a type of music that he enjoys making. If this is what he wants to do with his career, that's fine by me, but you can count me out. I can deal with this once as an experimental album, but it isn't something I want to make a habit of listening to. Some of you may really like this, but it's not for me personally.