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Cody Johnson - Banks of the Trinity:
Track Ratings:
1. Horseback - 7.6/10
2. Hello Lonesome - 7.2/10
3. Fool Proof (feat. Brothers Osborne) - 7/10
4. Take Me Back (Leave Me There) - 7.1/10
5. Banks of the Trinity - 7/10
6. I Want You - 3.7/10
7. I Have - 4/10
8. Bible for a Boy - 5.4/10
9. Kissing a Married Woman - 6.4/10
10. Every Man - 4.8/10
11. Motel Miss You - 8/10
12. Shoot the Bull (Luke Combs) - 6.8/10
13. Cricket on a Hook - 4.9/10
14. Time Bomb - 8/10
15. Thank Somebody Country - 5.4/10
16. Yippy Oh Ty Hey Hey - 7.1/10
If you like "Banks of the Trinity", listen to:
Braxton Keith - Real Damn Deal
Muscadine Bloodline - The Coastal Plain
The Red Clay Strays - Grateful
Eric Church - Mr. Misunderstood
Chris Stapleton - Higher
Colton Moore & the Clever Few - Handshakes & Faith
On May 17, Cody Johnson won ACM Entertainer of the Year. Just over a month later comes Banks of the Trinity and for all its dips and falls, it does entertain.
The opening trilogy of playful, guitar-heavy tales is an impressive start. 'Horseback' is perhaps the most tongue-in-cheek, rodeo-ready track of the year, before we're led into the album's intended expansion of emotion with 'Take Me Back (Leave Me There)'. It's an almost-Stapleton-sounding track, but CoJo's unmistakable delivery keeps it firmly rooted in his signature style.
It’s at this point that the album heads downhill, rather quickly. Lead single ‘I Want You’ is a “for-better-or-worse” love song, unfortunately in this case, it’s for much worse. With cliches pulled out of an encyclopedia of country tropes, 'I Want You’ feels laughable in comparison to 2023’s ‘The Painter’, the result being a mere pastiche.
The thread of masculinity that characterises much of the Texan’s releases is made forcefully clear as he teaches his son about what a “real man” should be on ‘Bible For A Boy’. The personal anxiety on ‘I Have’ is addressed flippantly, almost hidden by generic percussion and with the underlying sentiment of “I’m every man I’ve ever been”, there’s little forward-looking growth to be found.
It’s not until we reach the Luke Combs feature that the big hitter of the album appears, and even that feels a bit forgetful. We’re not talking Luke Bryan ‘Fish, Hunt, Golf, Drink’, but it is a string of country cliches - clumsily tied together by some arena rock guitar and big vocals.
Pair it with ‘Thank Somebody Country’ and it all gets a bit too obvious. This wouldn’t be the first time that a blue collar anthem demanding celebration of hard working country folk has been written in an air-conditioned room full of Nashville’s biggest songwriting names. Likely a hit for the Honkytonk Highway crowd, it’s a little uncomfortable when you see it beyond its very thin surface.
As usual, Johnson’s saving grace is his voice, one that makes love songs seem genuine and country days feel longed for. ‘Time Bomb’ reaches out for The Red Clay Strays gospel-leaning audience, a promising signal that Johnson has the potential to do some Eric Church adjacent sonic exploration.
The honky-tonkin, half-step melody built ‘Motel Miss You’, meanwhile, reminds us of Johnson’s capability to fit in the neo-traditional revival.
Banks of the Trinity is an album by a CMA fest headliner, made to be played at Nissan Stadium. Made to entertain, but perhaps not move.
6.3/10
Daisy Innes
You can listen to my favourite from the album, 'Time Bomb', here:
