“Neon Light”
Blake Shelton
Written by Andrew Dorff, Mark Irwin, and Josh Kear
Brooks & Dunn made an entire career out of honky tonk puns and play on words. “Neon Light” is a throwback to those songs, with Blake Shelton previewing his new album with a song built around there being “a neon light at the end of the tunnel.”
To his credit, Shelton plays it subtle, with the song not having that arena-in-mind noisiness that has come to define today’s country music. But the song never quite gets out of first gear, either. Sure, the song didn’t need power chords and hair band chants. But it certainly would benefit from more aggressive fiddle and steel guitar.
We’re at this weird moment where a song’s country-ness is defined more by what’s absent than what’s present. If Shelton had twanged this one up instead of just toning it down, it would’ve been a better record. As is, it’s too bland. Not obnoxiously awful. Just bland.
Grade: C