Colt Ford
decided to call his 2019 album
We the People
because he wanted to remind a divided country that they're united as Americans.
Ford
's intentions are admirable, but he doesn't really set politics aside. A few cuts after "We the People" comes "Red, White, Blue and Blessed," a sunny ride through the small towns across the U.S. that makes plain where he resides in terms of the urban and rural divide. Of course,
celebrates that he's a redneck on the first line on "I'm Still Me," the song that kicks off
. On "I'm Still Me,"
indulges in the country-rap that made his name, but soon enough he's spending as much time crooning as he is rapping, a sign that he's now a decade into his musical career and firmly within middle age. Along with this acceptance of being 50 comes a collection riddled with sentimental ballads and rockers that keep their rowdiness in check. Which means that even though
seems to offer more of the same, the execution makes the album feel a little gentler and softer than what's come before. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine