Valley Road - EP

Alabama-bred Riley Green isn’t strictly a traditionalist, but he does have those tendencies, from the time-tested country themes and outlooks in his songs to the vinegary drawl in his enunciation. His Valley Road EP includes acoustic renditions of several tunes from his 2019 debut album Different ’Round Here, including its title track, whose muscular expressions of rural pride have softened into something closer to sentimentality. Green has swapped the rock drive of the original version of “There Was This Girl” for hurtling guitar licks, and “I Wish Grandpas Never Died,” with its yearning to see familiar joys and comforts carry on uninterrupted, lends itself to the stripped-down treatment. “Better Than Me,” a song he shared on Instagram while sheltering at home during the 2020 pandemic, embraces the suddenly slowed pace of life.