Hotter When The Sun Goes Down

Eric Church “Chattanooga Lucy”

Eric Church’s Mr. Misunderstood is a “surprise record,” and the product of rapid creativity – ten songs written and recorded in less than a month. You can hear that in the music, particularly in the way a song like “Chattanooga Lucy” has this feverish immediacy. Like a lot of country musicians, Church is a musician with a high level of craft, but nothing about this song feels fussed over or over-considered. It’s exciting to hear a guy trust his instincts so much, and to go out on a limb stylistically and come out with a funk/gospel/country hybrid that doesn’t seem forced in any way. The urgency of the track suits the “forbidden fruit” theme of the lyrics really well, too – you get the sense that when he’s singing about hooking up with this girl that he’s risking a huge mistake at any moment, and that just gets him more excited.

Buy it from Amazon.