

Colt Ford steps into the first song of his fourth album with defiance. “Answer to No One” opens brazenly as the former golf pro turned country/hip-hop star declares that he’s a "shotgun toter, Republican voter" over a stomping beat lifted from Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” Guest vocals from JJ Lawhorn give the chorus a catchy melody. An Auto-Tuned Jason Aldean does the same for the chorus in “Drivin’ Around Song,” which would be a ballad save for Ford’s thick drawled rhymes in the verses. The banjos and distorted guitars keep the refrain of “Ain’t Out of the Woods Yet” steeped in old-school Southern rock, with ample help from Montgomery Gentry on the singing parts. Fans of The White Stripes will notice a similarity between the guitars on “Dancin’ While Intoxicated (DWI)” and those of “Seven Nation Army” (LoCash Cowboys and Redneck Social Club contribute R&B singing and counter-rhymes). Similarly, “50/50” borrows the riff from Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”—which is appropriate, since Ford threatens to beat up city slickers in the album’s only guest-free song.