If you can judge a man by the friends he keeps – or, in this case, the special guests – then Zac Brown is king of the world. And on Love and Fear, the new album from Zac Brown Band, he acts like it too.
Marcus King shows up on “Hard Run”, Snoop Dogg drifts through “Let It Run”, and Dolly Parton appears because, frankly, Brown doesn’t care one bit what anyone – least of all me – has to say about his choices. He’s doing this entirely on his terms.
Brown says the album is about the duality in us all, the push and pull between the title emotions. And certainly the opener, “I Ain’t Worried About It”, one of the lead singles, plays in that sandpit. It’s built on that sentiment — there’s still so much good in the world, that sometimes all you really need is love — even if they never phrase it that way.
Marcus King’s star turn on “Hard Run” might come with a guitar solo, but it’s still a gentle thing at heart.
“The Sum” arrives with preacher-like fire – a real State of the Union moment – using a choir in a way only Zac Brown Band dare to. Johnny takes it somewhere different again. Then comes “Let It Run”, Snoop floating in like a cloud of smoke, delivering what amounts to a hymn to weed.
“Animal” is not the Def Leppard cover (sadly), but instead a pop-tinged, city-bragging, reef-tight tune. And speaking of guests, Dolly’s turn on “Butterfly” is brilliant – arranged like a rock song but with pure country heart.
“Give It Away” brings the fun, but the emotional centre of the record sits with “Thank You For Loving Her”, a proper heartbreaker dressed up with a horn section and a lump-in-the-throat sincerity Brown does better than most.
Then “Can You Hear Me Now” arrives with its own ache – and honestly, it sounds like something Kip Moore could have written on one of his moodier days. That gravelly, melodic, late-night tension is straight from his world, and it suits Zac Brown Band surprisingly well.
And this is where the duality really kicks in. Zac Brown Band are country, of course, but they’re also something else entirely – a band balancing the bamboo-thin line between tradition and evolution.
“Come To Me” feels like classic heartbreak too, the kind you can’t shake. The buoyancy of “Give It Away” is contrasted again by “Nothing’s A Coincidence”, which has a gentle, drifting air throughout. The shimmering rock of “Passenger” and its classy piano tinkle show just how carefully judged this album is.
It all ends with “What You Gonna Do”, which absolutely feels like the “first dance at a wedding” moment every modern country record is legally required to have. And this one will soundtrack thousands of them.
Here’s the truth: Zac Brown, like plenty of modern country stars, plays the numbers game better than anyone. Streams in their millions. Followers in their millions. Just look at this record – only out since Friday and already everywhere.
Love and Fear is a star-covered album from a bona fide modern great, and it proves once again that Zac Brown Band exist in a universe entirely of their own making.
Rating 8/10
