Luke Combs
almost seems to be shrugging with the title
What You See Is What You Get
, a suspicion underscored by the album's perfunctory cover art. Neither suggest that
Combs
harbors any grand ambitions, an impression that isn't strictly true. The North Carolinian styles himself as a humble singer carrying on country traditions steeped in the sounds of the '90s but with roots that stretch back much farther. Certainly
leans into that heritage by inviting
Brooks & Dunn
to sing on the rowdy "1, 2 Many," one of many drinking tunes scattered throughout
. While he may kick up some dust,
is a sentimentalist, singing song after song about his home and heart. These are time-honored traditions in country and
never attempts to subvert expectations here, or even freshen them up. He aims straight down the middle of the road, adding a few layers of gloss and punchier rhythms to a formula he established with his 2017 debut
This One's for You
, with slight alterations in the production that amount to an album that feels clean, slick, and confident, and captures a singer embracing his burgeoning stardom. If there are any flaws to
, it's that its very length can work against it. At 60 minutes, the album runs through so many sturdy midtempo tunes about family, heartbreak, and love that the seams holding
' everyday persona together start to show -- all the variations on a theme can't help but reveal the calculation behind the image -- but taken on a song-by-song basis,
is a solid album, proudly made just the way they used to be back in the '90s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine