With 2024’s Go Down Singin’, country star Chase Rice kicked off a new chapter in his career. The “Eyes on You” hitmaker had parted ways with the major-label system and wanted to reintroduce himself—something he continues on this ambitious and unexpected full-length collection. Written over the course of a few days after Rice performed at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, ELDORA was a team effort, with Foy Vance, Wyatt McCubbin, and producer Oscar Charles serving as co-writers across the album’s dozen tracks. Opener “Cowboy Goodbye” is a spare ballad that almost sounds like a demo, capturing the intimacy at the heart of the album’s creation. The title track is similarly unadorned, as Rice sings mournfully of hitting the road from Tennessee to the titular Colorado town. “Tall Grass” features contributions from Alabama-born up-and-comer Kashus Culpepper and “My Boy” singer-songwriter Elvie Shane, with the trio turning in a soulful account of wishing for a better world for future generations. Rice teams up with traditionalist McCubbin on “Two Tone Trippin’,” an old-school barnburner with electric guitar by Music Row mainstay Charlie Worsham. And Madeline Edwards joins Rice on “Country & Western,” a brooding ballad with sultry vocals and a mysterious vibe.