Montgomery Gentry

The desperado duo's fourth long-player kicks off with the laid-back trot of the subtly patriotic "Something to Be Proud Of," which sounds more like John Mellencamp than any other post-9/11-themed country hit. The rest of the album's loaded with the warm tones of traditional instruments and soulful harmonies

In this duo's hands, country is like sport: Montgomery Gentry's best songs sound like
stadium cheers -- raucous and unruly. And so it goes with "If You Ever Stop Loving Me," a
romp about redemption following an emotionally hardscrabble upbringing. Lumpy ballads
hold the group back, but when it tackles the fragility of masculinity -- country's secret
underbelly - it wins, especially on the morbid "I Never Thought I'd Live This Long... More >