Brand New Girlfriend (Curb, 2006)

Steve Holy hadn’t been on the country charts with any great success since “Good Morning Beautiful” in 2001. But he hit paydirt again on the title track, not a bad song with some Texas two-stepping fiddle amidst very silly lyrics (“playin' kissy-kissy, smoochy-smoochy, talkin' mooshy-mooshy bout nothin’”).

And that’s indicative of the entire 13-song disc. Holy fares far better when he goes for a more traditional sound than a modern one. One of the best is his take on “Good Night to Be Lonely,” co-written by Jason Sellers.

The big ballad “Come On Rain,” showcases the power and energy of Holy’s voice, which comes off as a less gritty Tim McGraw here. The throwback sounding “All for the Love of Sunshine” finds another good performance by Holy.

But another ballad, “A Cliff in Colorado,” is sung well enough, yet the arrangement proves unimaginative. Holy does not particularly improve upon Keith Anderson’s fast-paced “Wraparound” either.

It’s almost as if he is unsure which path he wants to blaze stylistically. Maybe having three different sets of producers didn’t help establish a Holy sound. The result is an album that doesn’t always work. In this disposable age, a more identifiable sound would have served Holy better because he shows ability on more traditional material.