On June 8th, country singer Dierks Bentley released the 9th album of his career titled “The Mountain”. This 13 track album was inspired by Bentley’s time in Colorado, and you can tell by most of the tracks slow, heavy, calm melodies and lyrics.

There is also a visible mark left on the album by the Rockies. The song “The Mountain” refers to the mountains in Colorado and the song “Goodbye in Telluride” as Telluride is where Bentley and his crew developed and made the album.

The album begins with “Burning Man”, featuring the group Brothers Osborne. This song is more on the upbeat side yet with the feeling of a slow song. The fast tempo of the guitar adds a key piece to the song while Bentley’s lyrics depict the back and forth actions and feelings of a man. This song is a great start to the album and is a fantastic choice for any summer car rides.

Another highlight on the album is “Women, Amen” a song that was originally released as a single and the most popular song on the album. This is the song with the most emotion as Bentley gets loud and proud about exclaiming his love and feelings about women and some great guitar playing is included with a solo in the middle of the song. A lot of people enjoy this song and personally, it is not my favorite, but I do enjoy the track as well.

Next is “Nothing On But The Stars”. Bentley takes this slow track to tell the story of him and a woman having one last night together . Unlike other tracks, Bentley sings the lyrics at a slower tempo to really dig in the feeling the song is trying to give off. Especially when the chorus cuts out to just Bentley singing until the instrumental cuts back into the finish with a passionate ending.

“Goodbye in Telluride” is the 7th track on the album and my personal favorite. This song has slow and fast tempo with an overall smooth delivery of lyrics and instrumental. This song has Bentley asking a woman if she is going to end their relationship, do not end it in Telluride, Colorado which is Bentley asking for this perfect time not to end. I think this is the best song on the album for jamming out to, even with breakup lyrics because it has the best instrumental on the album with Bentley’s rhythm and upbeat singing.

The final song of the album, “How I’m Going Out”  does not end the album with a bang, but a smooth finish. Bentley sings about his past in a certain “town” and how his time of leaving the town is approaching and how he is gonna leave. This song has the best lyrics in the album, as I feel a lot of people can relate in some way of leaving something that they have had a memorable past with. It is a great way to end the album and a good listen overall.

Dierks Bentley’s “The Mountain” is a Hoodsie Ice Cream Cup of music with the best of two different feelings. For a slower, more sad feeling, there are songs on the album like “One Way” and “Stranger to Myself” and for a more upbeat, happier feeling there are songs like “You Can’t Bring Me Down” and “Living”. Overall, this album offers a little bit of everything for the listener and is one of Bentley’s best pieces of work.

Who thought something based of the Rockies could sound so smooth?

8/10