Dierks Bentley

“You better know the bottom if you want to be the climber.” With simple and clever phrases such as these, Dierks Bentley sings on the title track like a friendly taskmaster, riding alongside you on his bike while you train and train for the ascent. Word of wisdom are not just quotable, but singable, thanks to the wonderful rocking chords which back each verse. The guitar melody starts with a chain gang, stone-smashing pattern, where we hear the toil of that work before all gives way to this rising melody of release – allowing the listener to soar over whatever their particular obstacle is shaped like. The melody smartly breaks away into a freak-out jam designed to inspire us to push as hard as we can on the last leg of the challenge.

On the pulsating track “Burning Man”, Brothers Osborne add their country rock attitude to a motivational piece which encourages us to admit that we are all a mixed bag of results – some great attributes against some not so easy to deal with truths. The lyrics illustrate “I'm a little bit steady but still little bit rollin' stone / I'm a little bit heaven but still a little bit flesh and bone.” At some point, perhaps someone hated the fact that you were too wild for his or her taste. Be your own man with this rollicking anthem and remind yourself that your imperfections probably suit you just fine.

It is hard not to smile over Bentley’s love for his woman, in the romantic and explosive ballad “Woman, Amen”. Sentimentally, he thanks God for the blessing of a good woman, highlighting her outward and inward beauty, and recognizing that hers was the hand of destiny with the lyrics “every twist every turn of the way you made sure / all my roads led to home.” Other pop formulas excel on the life-affirming “Living”, which shows us the intimacy that exists between a man and wife on an average morning in the kitchen. Romance, inspiration, and pop sophistication make The Mountain a tall achievement.