All of It (Warner Nashville, 2018)

Cole Swindell's" All Of It" is a little different from many of contemporary artists' current releases in that there is a whole lot of country - thematically anyway - in it. The 40-plus minutes are all about drinking, regret, appreciation of people who matter and breakups.

It starts off with a bang with the up-tempo rocker "Love You Too Late." The best track is its most poignant song penned by Jessi Alexander and Chase McGill, "Dad's Old Number," where a son habitually calls his hero father figure in times both good and bad only to apologize to the new owner of the digits since his dad passed on. Three drinking songs made the final cut, including the danceable anthem 'Sounded Good Last Night," the lighter "Reason To Drink" of which there are apparently many.

Swindell has proven himself very capable of penning both the heartbreak songs and the party anthems. category What's most appealing is how he can follow up a heart string tugger like "The Ones Who Got Me Here," a sentimental ode to those who meant the most to him, with "20 In A Chevy," which seemingly uses Auto-Tune and a little pop gloss to support his recounting a past relationship. without feeling disjointed. Save for the title cut with its prominent banjo, there is little in the way of traditional instrumentation, but Swindell is not a traditional artist. Having written for the likes of Luke Bryan and Thomas Rhett, he stays in that vein sonically. Within the 12-song collection, there is some rock, some pop and a little funk, and plenty of radio ready arrangements. For a guy who started his country career from behind a merch table, it's a very good effort and feels much more seasoned than his modest beginnings would suggest.