This article has been written in response to Maxim Mower's piece, ‘Luke Bryan's ‘Fish Hunt Golf Drink’ Isn't the Problem Everyone Says It Is. It's a Much Bigger One’. Read it here.

In a May 26, 2026 article, Holler's Maxim Mower published an article on Luke Bryan’s new single ‘Fish Hunt Golf Drink,’ which has caused much controversy in the country music community, especially online. However, where Mower sees the issue with this backlash, this author sees room for discussion.

The problem with ‘Fish Hunt Golf Drink’ lies in its apparent lack of effort on Bryan’s part. This is not to say that country needs to exclusively consist of intricate lyricism or groundbreaking territory in every artist’s new release, or that Bryan’s often-playful style of songwriting is less worthy of being considered art; as Mower says, there is need for both “introspective, weighty wordsmiths and the fun, party-ready hitmakers.” It is only to say that audiences expect effort from the artists they love. And they are quickly noticing that lines like “wake up, coffee / camo, climb tree” not only don’t speak to any effort in the writing room, they aren’t “party-ready hitmaker” lines at all. They sound like what ChatGPT would give you if you asked it for a list of “generic country activities.” Country, the rich lifestyles it was born from, and Luke Bryan fans deserve better than that.

The production doesn’t speak to effort either. It is exactly the same kind of pop-country instrumental we’ve been hearing since 2010. There’s nothing wrong with that either; it just doesn’t speak to anything unique about Bryan or his songcraft. Nothing in the instrumental sets it apart from any other country song on the radio in any real, meaningful way.

Furthermore, this style of songwriting is not new ground for Bryan. We’ve heard this exact kind of chorus from him before: see 2015’s ‘Huntin’, Fishin’, and Lovin’ Every Day’ right down to the mentions of paying for gas and/or bills in the first verses of both songs. Climbing trees even appears in the second verse of ‘Huntin’, Fishin’’ as it does in the chorus of ‘Fish Hunt Golf Drink.’

Now, anyone can have any opinion they like on ‘Fish Hunt Golf Drink’ - with heavy emphasis on any. You can adore ‘Fish Hunt Golf Drink’ and be perfectly valid in your opinion. But Mower says in his article that “to say that Bryan... doesn’t make ‘real country music’... is to effectively belittle millions of country fans by deeming your taste as greater than theirs.”

And, well, yes. This is simply what having an opinion on music can look like. If someone doesn’t like an artist you like, you might think, “Wow, they have terrible taste!” In no way is this “dangerous territory,” as Mower claims. It’s the nature of having an opinion that one thing is better than another - that one type of song is “real country” and another isn’t. This sort of mudslinging has gone on for as long as there have been musical artists and audiences. It’s a natural part of musical discourse.

‘Fish Hunt Golf Drink’ exemplifies a lack of effort that is plentiful in the music industry in the 2020s thanks to the rise of streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music.

As the drive to release as much music that appeals to the widest swathes of people possible has increased, it has only forced songs to become generic and pandering as a result. Country needs its individuality back. In the face of that, ‘Fish Hunt Golf Drink’ will not pass the test.

For more on Luke Bryan, see below: