Old Dominion

The country music world has long been a domain of specialists—where producers need to have different skill sets than professional songwriters, and session players than touring musicians. The five members of Old Dominion—Matthew Ramsey, Trevor Rosen, Geoff Sprung, Whit Sellers, and Brad Tursi—sort of backed their way into doing all of those jobs as a group. They started off the 2010s writing hits for other acts and occasionally teaming up to perform their compositions around Nashville, but found that they clicked as a band straddling the soft side of rock and the pop side of country and went with it. Their self-titled third album makes the things they’re most accomplished at—clever craftsmanship and polished interplay—seem easygoing, even effortless. “One Man Band” and “Hear You Now” are breezily articulate tracks, and “My Heart Is a Bar,” “I’ll Roll,” and the album-closing orchestrated piano ballad “Some People Do” find crisp new possibilities in familiar approaches. This set marks the first time the quintet has received producing credit alongside Shane McAnally.