Here and Now Kenny Chesney Artist

{|Here and Now|} is something of the inverse to {|Songs for the Saints|}, the quiet 2018 record that began {|Kenny Chesney|}'s association with {|Warner Brothers Nashville|}. By opening the album with We Do, a rallying cry for his No Shoes Nation -- ... Read more

{|Here and Now|} is something of the inverse to {|Songs for the Saints|}, the quiet 2018 record that began {|Kenny Chesney|}'s association with {|Warner Brothers Nashville|}. By opening the album with We Do, a rallying cry for his No Shoes Nation -- a song that seems designed to kick off an arena show -- {|Chesney|} sets the expectation for breezy fun. Despite a couple of moments of twilight contemplation, such as the quiet closer Guys Named Captain, {|Here and Now|} generally delivers on this promise of a party, but occasionally the good times arrive with a bit of a melancholy undercurrent. Certainly, this is true of Everyone She Knows, where the slick surface disguises how its protagonist never feels in step with the crowd, and Wasted isn't a beery bash but a reflection of a life cheerfully frittered away. Maybe some regrets flow through these tunes -- and You Don't Get To is one of his best breakup songs -- but {|Chesney|} is sincere when he sings that his favorite place to be is the here and now. He's settling into a middle age where he doesn't stretch himself musically -- these rockers, radio-ready pop tunes, beach anthems. and back porch ballads are firmly within his wheelhouse -- but does explore different emotions, giving {|Here and Now|} a quiet but real resonance. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine Less