Eric Church is undoubtedly one of the country music greats, releasing eight country-as-can-be studio albums since 2005, ultimately becoming a seven-time ACM Award winner, four-time CMA Award winner — including the 2020 award for Entertainer of the Year — and 10-time GRAMMY nominee in return.
It is clear that the North Carolina native has found success within the country music industry — with some of the most recognizable songs in the genre to his name, from “Springsteen” to “Drink In My Hand” and beyond — but this was not an easy feat by any means. Working at a furniture upholstery company and playing shows on the side, Church had to climb the metaphorical ladder to reach the point he’s at today, but the country music industry has changed drastically since his debut.
Nowadays, younger artists seemingly take the easy way out, using social media and the idea of “virility” as a way to achieve success, rather than putting in the time and hard work it often takes to create music that touches the soul. For example, a great deal of the songs featured on Spotify’s Country Top 50 chart have achieved success via TikTok — some even achieving said success before hitting music streaming services — such as Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” Dasha’s “Austin (Boots Stop Workin’)” and more.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Eric Church (@ericchurchmusic)
After releasing “Hands of Time” and “Bleed on Paper,” Church released his highly-anticipated eighth studio album, Evangeline vs. The Machine, today (May 2), describing the project as “one piece of art.”
“I believe in that time-tested tradition of making records that live and breathe as one piece of art. An album is the ultimate creative expression, and the way we consume art now just takes the edges off that creativity. It’s built to confine it, to choke it out. With this record, it’s really my way of fighting for the creative spirit, that spirit of ‘Evangeline.’ Because I know that where we are in the world, it probably shouldn’t exist. But it does. It can live here. It can run free here. And, the best music has to fight the hardest to get out,” he wrote in an Instagram post upon its release.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Kelleigh Bannen (@kelleighbannen)
Following the album’s release, Church sat down with Kelleigh Bannen for an episode of Today’s Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen, discussing faith, the connectivity of music and (of course) Evangeline vs. The Machine. Considering the fact that Church is “fighting for the creative spirit” with the release of Evangeline vs. The Machine, the topic of “virility” came up, with the global superstar alluding to the idea that young artists have lost the skills of songwriting and storytelling within the country music industry.
“The hard thing being a young artist is you try to come up with something that you know is going to be the most viral thing, and it might possibly be the worst musical thing any of us have ever heard,” he stated, and country music lovers are seemingly in agreement.
With Country Chord relaying this quote to their 652k followers via Instagram, individuals in the comment section sided with Church. “There is some terrible music out there for sure. Too manufactured and over-produced. I love genuine music by genuine people,” one fan dished, while another fan wrote, “Good music no longer is what makes you big now. Sad truth. It’s up to us fans to prop up GOOD music and not garbage.”
View the original article to see embedded media.
This is not the first time that Church has bashed on the craftsmanship (or lack thereof) of young artists, though, discussing the topic — as well as his early days in the country music industry — in an episode of the How Leaders Lead with David Novakpodcast back in June.
Kicking off the conversation, Church recalled that upon moving to Music City, he learned his songwriting skills from seasoned veterans in the country music industry — who he referred to as “all the old dogs in town” — honing in on his craft by analyzing the best in the business.
“That was my workshop. That was my woodshed… Every day I would go write with these guys, and I got better, and I got better, and I got better,” he gushed, prior to continuing passionately, “In those rooms, they challenged every idea. They challenged every turn of the phrase, and it taught me how to look at things a different way than I would have if I had taken a different path.”
After discussing his personal path to success, he doubled down on the comments he made to Kelleigh Bannen today, again referencing the touchy subject of “virility.” He explained, “A lot of new guys now, they skip that process. They go on TikTok, they write a song, it’s out. They never go through the craft part.”
Criticizing the new generation of aspiring country music artists, are songwriting and storytelling a lost cause within the country music industry? Church seems to think so, but we will just have to wait and see what the future holds.
In the meantime, country music lovers may stream Church’s newest body of work, Evangeline vs. The Machine, via their favorite music streaming service.
