Country Things Vol. 2 (Wheelhouse, 2020)

Vol. 2 of Granger Smith's "Country Things" leads off with "Man Made" a clever track, which posits that men may have made the world, but the women have made the men. He has a writing credit on five of the seven tracks. Per usual a few are by his alter ego Earl Dibbles. Jr. Typically, Mr. Dibbles typically tries way too hard to convince the listener that he belongs in the genre. In the first 60 seconds of "Diesel," he's got "his overalls on and a good dip in." The cliched lyrics are somewhat redeemed by the hard rock arrangement reminiscent of Brantley Gilbert. "Workaholic" has a unique calypso vibe, but does not sonically overcome the tedium of a work ethic that purportedly as strong partying on the weekend as well as at his day job.

"Buy A Boy A Baseball" has the most personal feel and seems to be a type of coping mechanism a father's for enduring the pain of the unthinkable tragedy of the loss of Smith's son, who died in a drowning accident in 2019. Released in two parts, both volumes are equal on fun and drama

Chances are if you like what you heard on either one, you may be inclined to purchase all 16 songs. It will be a little more expensive considering it's in two parts. The songs are distinct enough to have worked as a single album and not get lost as Smith had feared.