Back in The High Life

Blake Shelton - If I'm Honest (2016) {Warner Bros. 9362-49200-3}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 359 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 120 Mb
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© 2016 Ten Point Productions / Warner Bros. 9362-49200-3
Country / Country Pop / Contemporary Country / Neo-Traditionalist Country

Blake Shelton veered toward the somnolent on the quite pleasing Bringing Back the Sunshine so it's not entirely surprising its 2016 sequel, If I'm Honest, is a bit crisper and livelier. Some of this brightening in attitude may be due to him lightening his load following a much-publicized 2015 divorce from singer Miranda Lambert – certainly the title suggests it's time for the singer to get down to what's real – but the electronic sheen and good times also feel like a reaction to Shelton sliding too deeply into softness. If If I'm Honest is indeed a divorce album, it's a Back in the High Life, not a Blood on the Tracks: Shelton is seizing the day, embracing his new lease on life with renewed vigor and a new love, who just happens to stop by to sing "Go Ahead and Break My Heart." Gwen Stefani's presence offers a reminder that Shelton stars on the televised singing competition The Voice, and If I'm Honest is targeted more at the mainstream audience attracted by the show than country radio proper.