After years of infusing country music with sounds as disparate as disco and EDM on records like 2015’s Tangled Up and 2017’s Life Changes, Georgia’s Thomas Rhett returned to his roots with 2021’s Country Again (Side A). The son of ‘90s country singer and songwriter Rhett Akins, the younger artist goes for a bit of a throwback sound this time around, while he contemplates returning to a simpler life in the coming year. “It’s kind of a lot of looking back,” Rhett says about the album on the Big Machine Radio Release Special version, which includes commentary for each track. “But a lot of things I’ve learned over the last 10 years—becoming a better dad, becoming a better husband, becoming a better friend, better man—and so this collection of songs is exactly where I’m at today.” Aptly, the record opens with “Want It Again,” a wistful, mostly quiet song about the return of young love later in life, bringing the past back into the present. Subtle differences set apart two tracks about the places—literal and figurative—Rhett comes from: Over a dreamy arrangement, “Growing Up” identifies the ways he’s changed, and the more rocking “Where We Grew Up” big-ups small-town living. The soulful pop of No. 1 single “What’s Your Country Song” unpacks nostalgia in the context of the genre itself. Songs like “More Time Fishin’” and the rollicking “Blame It On A Backroad” celebrate the simple pleasures of being out in the literal country. On the album’s heartfelt title track, Rhett acknowledges his straying and sings about how good it feels to be “country again.” With 2022’s Where We Started, he made good on his word, opting to stick with plenty of down-home vibes.