On Sept. 22, Zach Bryan’s fans woke up to a surprise EP release consisting of five new songs. “Boys Of Faith – EP” has a more upbeat tone compared to his last album, “Zach Bryan,” that was released just a month prior.
Out of the five songs, two of them feature another artist: Noah Kahan and Bon Iver.
The first song on the list is “Nine Ball.” The song is mixed with the sounds of drums, electric guitars, violins, a harmonica and an acoustic guitar. As the song goes on, the beat gets faster and Bryan’s voice grows with the power in it, then suddenly slows down for the end.
With the violins being emphasized throughout the song, the song sounds as if someone would listen to it in an Irish pub – not a country concert.
“Sarah’s Place,” featuring Kahan, is the second song released in the EP. The song overall could be considered a sad song because of the lyrics, but the way the two singers sing the song make it a catchy tune. The connection between the two voices fit well with the instruments they use throughout the song.
“We always knew you were the better half of our good times.”
Those lyrics have grown on Bryan’s fans as the main lyrics of the song. The two artists sing them together in unison to create a soft sound to back up the words they are singing.
“Boys of Faith,” featuring Bon Iver, could’ve been released with one of Bryan’s previous albums, “American Heartbreak.” It has the same theme of those songs compared to the other four songs that were released in this album. The use of piano, guitars and drums with the two hurt voices sound close to his most-listened to song “Something In The Orange.”
“Deep Satin” is the fourth song on the EP. The hurt and anger in Bryan’s voice progress as the chorus is sung. The song is mainly brought together by the use of drums and an electric guitar to build the vibe that is shown throughout the entire song.
The last song released is “Pain, Sweet, Pain.” Bryan sang this song in a faster tone with the help of aggressive playing of violins and guitars to mesh the song together. The song could’ve fit in with his old album “American Heartbreak” because of the similarities of some of his past songs like “Mine Again,” “From Austin” and “Open the Gate.”
Overall, the short, surprise EP has made Bryan fans go ballistic; however, they all sound as if they were extra songs that didn’t make the cut to his past albums. It could make fans wonder if he planned this surprise release or if he released these songs to get rid of the bad publicity he has received since Sept. 8 on the topic of his arrest.
