Review of: Girl Problems by Chris Lane

Before I get into my review of the new Chris Lane record, let's talk about pop country.

Country music, being the popular genre that it is, has not only captured the hearts of fans, but also sparked the creation of several radio stations. The airplay that some country songs received on these radio stations allowed country to access the Billboard Hot 100. In recent times, several artists have taken advantage of this and, with it, created a whole new, mainstream-friendly genre, pop country. Artists such as Kelsea Ballerini, Sam Hunt, Dan + Shay, have hopped onto the pop country trend to mostly huge success. Chris Lane is the latest artist to gain mainstream success with this genre.

So, how? How have so many artists gained popularity through one simple genre manipulation? The basic idea of this genre is that it has the potential to be relevant in the mainstream as well as be playable on country radio, hence giving it an extra push. One of the artists who I mentioned earlier who has taken advantage of this trend is Chris Lane. In 2016, Lane released a single called Fix along with a six-song EP of the same name. Four of the six songs made it onto the new record. The EP was widely criticised by country music enthusiasts for barley being country. However, for a pop album, I really enjoyed that record. So, I decided to check out Chris Lane's debut full-length album, produced by hit and miss producer Joey Moi Girl Problems. Was it any good?

Well, simply put, it was good, but not great. Chris Lane has put together a pleasant, but not amazing album. In fact, I would go as far to say that the Fix EP is more consistent at least than this new album Girl Problems. It has its highlights, don't get me wrong, but it also has its fair share of problems. Let's start with Chris Lane himself. He certainly has charisma, like on Fix, Let Me Love You, or Her Own Kind Of Beautiful, but occasionally he can come off as obnoxious, like on the worst track here, Who's It Gunna Be, where Chris Lane attempts to win over a girl by intentionally peer pressuring her to take him home instead of another unnamed guy, when the only line in the song that actually gives evidence as to why he would be a better choice than the other guy is 'And I've got what you like'. Obnoxious is an understatement really. It is not a particularly recurring theme throughout this record, but on this one song, it did frustrate me.

In terms of production, the album likes to switch between your 'regular' overproduced pop country sort of sound, breezy acoustic pop like on For Her and a more stripped back sound like on All About You and, while I understand the songs purpose on the album. It's a slow song in amongst a lot of overproduced pop country, but the lyrical content seems limited and pretty lousy. However, there is a song on this album that uses a lower tempo to its advantage. Back To Me is the example that I had in mind, and it is the lyrical content, particularly the honesty in the lyrics, that puts it firmly among the top tear of songs from Girl Problems. The lyrics speak about how Chris Lane's girl is looking to move on to a different phase in her life, one that doesn't involve Chris, or maybe no guy at all. But underneath all that, the lyrics highlight a glimmer of hope that she might come back. A hope that is translated in the glimmering instrumentation as well. The tone of the instrumentation combined with Chris Lane's softer vocal delivery gives this song a huge edge over songs like Who's It Gunna Be. There is one criticism that I have for this song that does make me a bit angry, and one that once I found, I couldn't ignore. There is a trap beat playing in the chorus. A hip hop based beat, playing in a soulful pop-country love song. It doesn't work. It clashes with the tone of the song that Chris Lane and his producers were clearly going for. It was almost as if the producers were aware that this song wasn't destined for greatness, and therefore, they just slammed the cheapest beat they could find over it to get it on the track listing as quick as possible. The fact that they don't even try to hide it by indulging the mix in melody makes this all the more infuriating. The song is still good, but realistically, it could have been better.

Then you come to the complete opposite end of the production style used throughout this album, and you come to songs like Fix. A decent catchy melody line anchors a strong hook and catchy melody line. But, in terms of themes, it's nothing that I haven't heard before. An issue that plagues quite a bit of this album. Especially on songs like All The Time which tries to express Chris' love for his girl, but doesn't do it in a way that is at all new or interesting in terms of the lyrical department. The distracting 'Aye Aye A' backing vocals are certainly not helping.

For Her tries to add some acoustic breeze to the instrumentation, but I would argue that Chris Lane's vocals sound better over greater instrumental texture than this like on Fix. One song that tries a similar production style is Her Own Kind Of Beautiful. While For Her went for light production, Her Own Kind Of Beautiful gets the balance basically perfect. Production that allows Chris to be expressive without sounding obnoxious. A catchy chorus that allows his emotions and feelings to flow freely. It works incredibly well, especially with Chris Lane behind the microphone. Maybe is similar in the production, but instead talks about the lead up to a break up with surprising detail where both parties could have tried harder. It's an interesting and enjoyable listen.

The title track Girl Problems is a simple song glorifying a girl with stupid lines like 'you're turning on everything but the light'. However cringeworthy that line is, it's clear that, not only am I not in the target demographic for this song, but that the track is clearly not trying to accomplish anything apart from Chris glorifying his girl, who he is clearly having a good time with. It's a fun song, but not in the top tier of songs from the album.

I've saved one of the most interesting songs to discuss for last in this review. The song that I am referring to is Circles which features MacKenzie Porter, a Canadian actress and musician who released her debut full-length self-titled album in July of 2014. I stand by my opinion of Chris Lane sounding better over slightly heavier production than this, but this sound seems to suit MacKenzie's voice more than anything else. The production has a certain elegance to it which I do like, and framing the song as a duet makes the song a lot clearer. It speaks about a relationship that both sides want to work, but neither are certain how long it will last. It's a nice touch.

In conclusion, there are some great moments on this album, but also a few moments that could have been ironed out. Overall, 3/5 seems like a fair score for Chris Lane's first full-length album.

Favorite Tracks: Back To Me, Her Own Kind Of Beautiful, Maybe

Least Favorite Tracks: Who's It Gunna Be

Overall Rating: 3/5

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