V

Editors’ Notes That’s Goodvin, with a V. V also happens to stand for Victoria, Goodvin’s wife, who inspired not only the album’s title but a number of its songs, notably the pop-leaning lead single “You Are.” Goodvin may be best known for 2017’s “Lonely Drum”—the biggest Canadian country record of the past few years (included here in a sleek new “2.0” mix)—but he got his start writing for stars like Luke Bryan. He shares Bryan’s knack for small lyrical details and big, rousing choruses. Half the songs on V are stadium-ready sing-alongs, from the opener “Good Ole Bad Days” to “Free Beer & Free Bird,” which recalls Goodvin’s days playing in a cover band. And he’s just as effective when he zooms in for the smaller-scale ballads, whether the devotional “Serious” or the soul-searching “Bars & Churches.”