Zac Brown Band - “The Comeback” Album Review

Story posted October 20, 2021 in Arts & Entertainment by Madison Imber.

Zac Brown Band is back and better than ever with their latest album “The Comeback,” bringing a mixture of emotions and stories through each unique song on the record.

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Zac Brown Band now has eight studio albums to their name. Being one of the most commercially successful country groups, the band is led by Zac Brown and accompanied by Jimmy De Martini, John Driskell Hopkins, Coy Bowles, Chris Fryar, Clay Cook, Matt Mangano, and Daniel de los Reyes. The ensemble band unites again for this record to incorporate themes of togetherness and love.

This latest album “The Comeback” places heavy emphasis on the traditional elements of country music while also bringing a refreshing sound to some of their songs, such as “GA Clay” and “Don’t Let Your Heart.”

Beginning with visually led songs like “Slow Burn” and “Out in the Middle,” the album begins with and keeps the instrumentals consistent throughout, with common country elements such as background violin, focus on the guitar and heavy percussion.

“Us Against the World” marks the shift in the album to more story-based lyrics. This song stood out in that it is about young lovers chasing dreams, which can be relatable to a younger audience.

The album has a great balance between fun, light-hearted lyrics and emotionally striking lyrics. “Wild Palomino” is one of the first songs on the album to bring this new theme of love and passion. The melody is much slower, like “Any Day Now.”

Standing out the most in the record, “Stubborn Pride” is a seven-minute heartfelt message about helplessness within feeling in love. This song contains one of the greatest guitar solos on the entire album.

The other half of the album brings about themes of togetherness and hope, which is very appropriate given society is in times of uncertainty from the COVID-19 pandemic. “Don’t Let Your Heart” is the song that exemplifies this theme the most while also including a unique piano melody to the background.

“Same Boat” is also under this umbrella of coming together. It also is a callback to one of Zac Brown Band’s greatest hits “Chicken Fried” with its instrumentals and melody.

The album wraps up effectively with “Don’t Let Your Heart” by reiterating the overall themes of the album in simple yet impactful lyrics. “The Comeback” song goes with this theme, making it appropriate to also be the title of the entire album.

One thing the album could have improved upon is bringing a more unique sound. While Zac Brown Band is more country-focused, most of the songs stuck to similar instrumentals. Every now and then there was a new sound for the listener, such as the heavy emphasis on electric guitar in “GA Clay,” but a greater variety could keep listeners more tuned in and prevent it from becoming just background noise for someone.

The vocals are consistently very impressive on this album. Zac Brown, leading vocalist, maintains his voice’s strength and uniqueness with every song, no matter how different each one is from one another lyrically and instrumentally. His vocals are one of the most admirable aspects of “The Comeback.”

Overall, this album does a fantastic job of incorporating themes of hope and love into the central message of society sticking together through hardship and uncertainty. To keep the album from being repetitive, emotionally driven slower songs are spread evenly on the record, bringing more variety.

For their next release, Zac Brown Band should stick to themes of hope, love togetherness and more in their lyrics, especially in today’s developing world. More songs like “Any Day Now” that are incredibly emotional evoke the biggest reaction, which is ideal for more people to listen and enjoy.

Bringing a mix of fun and emotion, “The Comeback” is yet another great album hit for Zac Brown Band. Country lovers will likely be big fans of this release and add it to their collection of favorite country projects.

Rating: 7/10

Reviewer’s Favorite Track: “Wild Palomino”
Reviewer’s Least Favorite: “Love and Sunsets”


Madison Imber is a second-year majoring in public relations. To contact her, email