Hallelujah Nights

With confident instrumentation and thoughtful, imaginative songwriting, the Nashville band’s debut album is an exhilarating take on country pop that forgoes bro-minded clichés. Producer Jay Joyce (Little Big Town, Eric Church) helps them zig when you think they’ll zag: There are sly tempo shifts (“Middle of the Night”), gutsy chord progressions (“Long Live Tonight”), and plenty of pop-rock spirit. “Born to Love You” blends driving electric guitar with rounds of high-pitched “ooh-oohs” in a track that begs to be performed live.