When your second record begins with a song called “Hate Myself”, chances are it’s going to be confessional.
That is certainly the case here. A three-minute country-pop song about a broken heart and a relationship that has fallen apart, it opens Scared Of Heights by making it clear that Wyatt Flores has no intention of hiding.
“This is who I am now in 2026,” Flores says. He is still working through his struggles and mental health, but finally has the confidence to step back into music and believe in himself again. Those words provide the key to the entire record.
Produced by Charlie Handsome, who has worked with Post Malone and Morgan Wallen, Jacob “JKash” Hindlin of Dua Lipa fame and Gian Stone, whose credits include Maroon 5, Scared Of Heights expands Flores’ sound to include elements of early-2000s rock without sacrificing the vulnerable songwriting that made him stand out in the first place.
“Sober For A Month” finds him reasoning that if he stops drinking, he might get her back. After 31 days of “pissin’ lemonade”, however, nothing is any better, so it is back to the vodka. It is sad, funny and painfully human all at once.
Anyone who saw Flores playing acoustically when he supported 49 Winchester might be surprised by how much is going on here. “Drive All Night”, for example, has a genuine soul tinge, while “Not Good Enough” underlines the album’s preference for keeping things short and sharp. Modern country is seldom as good as this.
The songs appear to conceal some very real pain beneath their immediacy. The strings on the title track become a maelstrom, swirling around Flores as he confronts his fear of falling. His attention to choruses is noticeable throughout too, and “How To Let Me Go” possesses a beauty matched only by its superb guitar solo.
“Half The Man” is the ballad at the centre of it all. Flores is waiting to become the man his father is and hoping he can make his mother proud. There is nothing clever or guarded about it. Its power comes from the fact that he means every word.
“South Dakota” brings some light into the darkness. There is proper rock ’n’ roll drumming, organ, slide guitar and all the warmth of a summer breeze. Perhaps, for the first time on the album, there is even the possibility of happiness waiting somewhere at the end of the tunnel.
It does not last.
“Sleepless Lullaby” might be the darkest song here and perhaps the best. “Don’t close your eyes,” he sings, as though he cannot bear what he might see when he does. It is stark, haunting and impossible to shake.
“How does it feel to be fine?” is the equally arresting opening thought behind “God Forgives”. If the title suggests some sort of religious redemption, forget it. Its eventual payoff is far more bitter and personal.
“Runnin’ On E” sees Flores comparing himself with friends who now appear to have proper grown-up lives. It captures that strange point where everyone else seems to have worked out adulthood while you remain convinced that you have missed the meeting where it was all explained.
That anxiety runs through Scared Of Heights. By and large, these songs sound so bright and jaunty that it is only when you pay attention to the words that the extent of what is really happening becomes apparent. “The Way I Do” is a perfect example: catchy enough to sing after one listen, yet carrying considerably more weight than its surface initially reveals.
“Tulsa And Eleanor” almost brings everything full circle. She has left again, he cannot settle in Nashville and the same destructive patterns remain. There is no neat resolution because real life rarely provides one.
That is what makes Scared Of Heights such a brave record. Flores is bold enough to push beyond the acoustic country sound people might expect from him, but the real courage lies in what he reveals while doing it. Mental health, alcohol, loneliness, family, self-doubt and the fear of being left behind are all exposed beneath some of the most accessible music he has made.
Being brave does not mean being unafraid. Sometimes it simply means climbing anyway. On Scared Of Heights, Wyatt Flores does precisely that.
RATING 8.5/10
