Life Rolls On
is an appropriately laissez-faire title for
Florida Georgia Line
's fourth album, a name that captures not just the laid-back vibe of
Brian Kelley
and
Tyler Hubbard
but crystallizes the duo's aesthetic.
Kelley
Hubbard
aren't especially concerned with pushing forward into new musical or emotional territory. They're so comfortable in their skin, they're happy to recycle old ideas, sounds, and hooks, going so far as to reunite with their old "Cruise" buddy
Nelly
for a remix of his "Lil Bit" at the end of the deluxe edition of
. It's been nearly a decade since "Cruise," so
FGL
's formula isn't quite fresh, plus the pair do sound older: they're a little bit slower and smoother than they were at the dawn of the 2000s, making music that veers toward adult contemporary even as it trades in skittish electronic beats and is basked in a digital sheen. Chalk this up to age but also the fact that in 2021, the duo are as much a brand as a band.
promise slick romance, gilded patriotism, happy hour anthems, and mellow party tunes, and that's exactly what they deliver on
-- nothing less and certainly nothing more. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine