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Alexander Ludwig – ‘Highway 99’ review

Vancouver native Alexander Ludwig may be known to many people for his acting talents, appearing in the likes of ‘Vikings’ and ‘Bad Boys For Life’ but he’s also been writing songs since the age of 12. Following on from his breakthrough single ‘Let Me Be Your Whiskey’ in 2020 and his self-titled EP, now he’s releasing his full-length debut, ‘Highway 99’ – named after the road his family took through the Canadian backcountry to their cabin on Whistler Mountain, and where he first fell in love with country music.

The 16-song LP kicks off with ‘Sunset Town’, which sees Ludwig saying goodbye to a lover as he departs for pastures new. It’s a mellow track with some rock influences that shows off the richness and warmth in Ludwig’s tones and has touches of Dierks Bentley and Kenny Chesney about it (possibly due to co-writer David Lee Murphy, who’s a frequent Kenny collaborator and is one of Ludwig’s main collaborators on this album). The song is also full of details, especially in the chorus, and feels like something that will translate very well to audiences singing along live at concerts.

That very much sets the template for the rest of the record, which sees Ludwig singing about everything from small town life on ‘That’s The Life I Want’ to reminiscing on old romances in the nostalgic ‘201 Melrose Avenue’ and ‘Back’. Elsewhere, there’s touches of Eagles-esque rock on like ‘Summer Crazy’, whilst the swaggering ‘How It Rolls’ features a big singalong chorus and ‘Can’t Outrun You’ has a more downbeat, melancholy feel. Although Ludwig’s vocals make the songs very easy to listen to, the similar feel of a lot of the tracks mean that the album merges together in places and consequently it can feel like it blends into the background a little.

That said, there are moments where you see flashes of what the album could have been, particularly in the latter section, where most of Ludwig’s co-writes are. ‘Rough Around The Edges’ is an early standout, with a stomping, bluesy vibe, as is the rock and roll ‘That Kinda Love’ (which features the standout lyric ‘if hearts is just a game to you’). Meanwhile, ‘If You Don’t I Do’ sees Ludwig taking a slightly more hip-hop-influenced direction, with a distorted intro and plenty of twang, ‘Love Today’ has a great, high-energy feel with plenty of fun and joy about it and ‘Faded On You’ lets his vocals soar on its anthemic chorus.

Ludwig also really stands out on many of the album’s ballads, which give him more of an opportunity to show off the depth and soul in his voice. The bittersweet ‘After You’ highlights his emotional side (I particularly loved the line ‘mixing the beautiful with the blue’) as he yearns for a lost love, whilst ‘Malibu Blue’ has a lovely romantic quality about it and put me in mind of classic Elton John hits. I also loved ‘Let Me Be Your Whiskey’, which has a lonesome feeling in the melody and a really strong sense of connection. Ludwig brings the lyrics, about two strangers finding each other on a Tuesday night, to life and you definitely feel his emotional investment in the song in a way that isn’t quite so evident elsewhere.

The record closes with ‘Like She Wanted To’, a song about falling in love and meeting someone who changes your world. It very much feels like a departure from the rest of the record, with a beachy, piano-led melody and a lovely sweet quality about it. I felt like there was very much a genuine investment from Ludwig on the track and it ends the album on a touching yet positive note.

Overall ‘Highway 99’ is a solid debut from Alexander Ludwig that shows off his vocal quality as well as an ear for a good lyric and a rocking guitar riff that makes for a sun-soaked soundtrack to the last days of summer. However, I feel that the album suffers slightly from being overly long and quite samey in places, which means it never quite takes off. In my view, the album would have benefitted from being cut down slightly and including some more of Ludwig’s co-writes, as those were the moments where I felt he really shone. But he’s definitely got great potential and excellent vocal chops, and I’m interested to see what he’ll do in the future.

Track list: 1. Sunset Town 2. That’s The Life I Want 3. Rough Around The Edges 4. 201 Melrose Avenue 5. How It Rolls 6. That Kinda Love 7. Back 8. If You Don’t I Do 9. Summer Crazy 10. After You 11. Malibu Blue 12. Can’t Outrun You 13. Love Today 14. Let Me Be Your Whiskey 15. Faded On Me 16. Like She Wanted To Record label: BBR Music Group/BMG Release date: 26th August 2022

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Laura Cooney
Laura Cooney
Laura has been writing for Entertainment Focus since 2016, mainly covering music (particularly country and pop) and television, and is based in South West London.

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