So is it a Happy Ending for Old Dominion?

By Keely Beecroft

The eve of release day felt like Christmas Eve – so much anticipation and excitement (well it did for me any way 😉 But will it live up to their massively successful debut album Meat and Candy?  My nerves were on edge as I waited for Happy Ending to download. Their strategy to release some songs early paid off as I had already fallen in love with those but did the album hang together? Well on first listen, I wasn’t sure, it was different… After the second and third listen…I was head over heals.

It feels like Old Dominion (OD) have grown, their trade mark clever witty lyrics are weaved throughout (thank god I hear you say) but it feels like there is a heavier dose of rock n’ roll. So here’s what I reckon, but you can make your own mind up…

I want to start with the biggest surprise of the album for me, when I heard “Can’t Get You”, for a moment I thought I was listening to the Foo Fighters. It a massive festival anthem, not a song that can be appreciated recorded in a studio. So I am not surprised why they chose to give us all a live version. I can’t wait till I am joined by thousands of you singing this song at the top of our voices.

The second biggest surprise came when I listened to “New York At Night” and I heard the sweet voice of guitarist Brad Tursi. A beautiful song which gives a whole new dimension to OD I really hope we hear more from Brad (not only because he is my favourite….).

My third surprise was hearing the harmonies of Little Big Town in “Stars in the City”. I bet it was an amazing experience writing with one of the biggest bands in country music.

After the surprises comes the warm fuzzy feeling of coming home. The trade mark Old Dominion songs we know and love – “Shoe Shopping”, full of some of their wittiest lyrics (If you have managed to learn the riff in shoe shopping well done as it is a hard one).

Musical poetry at its best.

A song that was unsurprisingly inspired by lead singer Matt Ramsey’s visit to a shoe store with his lady. Out came ‘If you’re shoe shopping, try me on for size’ – love it!

Another song in the classic OD style is, ‘No Such Thing As A Broken Heart’. The meaning behind the song resonates with me and I suspect it will for hundreds of fans. Countless people have had to ignore the natural warning signs and take the plunge, otherwise how would we ever fall in love?

So in my humble opinion, I think it is an outstanding album that shows Old Dominion are no flash in the pan – they’re are here to stay.

Amen to that!