Jordan Davis comes of age on new album ‘Bluebird Days’ and shows the world the type of mature, meaningful and melodic songwriter he is.
Jordan Davis quit his job at an environmental company in Baton Rouge in 2012 and moved to Nashville to follow the call of his first love, music. Growing up in Shreveport, Louisiana, Davis, his father and his brother Jacob would religiously listen to artists like Kris Kristofferson, John Prine, and Jim Croce. Another influence was Davis’s uncle, Stan, who was a writer in Nashville in the 80s, scoring hits like ‘Better Man, Better Off’ for Tracy Lawrence.
By 2018 Davis was blowing up, with hits like ‘Singles You Up, ‘Take It From Me’ and ‘Almost Maybes’ bringing his and his co-writer brother’s brand of catchy, snappy Pop/Country to the attention of the masses. It was, however, the mega hit and gut-punch of a song, ‘Buy Dirt’ that propelled Davis to a different level in 2022, winning the CMA Song of the Year award. (Although, we still feel ‘Church in a Chevy’ should have been a mega hit too and often wonder why such a great song went largely unnoticed!)
You’ll find ‘Buy Dirt’ closing down ‘Bluebird Days’, the last of the 16 tracks. This feels appropriate for a song that has run its course but is still a major defining moment in Davis career. The rest of the songs on offer on this rich, deep, meaningful album swing between catchy, infectious numbers with Davis’ snappy lyrical delivery and deeper, more personal reflections on love, life and the whole damn human experience. It feels like ‘Buy Dirt’ has opened a door for Davis to be this sage like character, guiding his listeners and offering them wisdom through all of life’s tricker events and transitions. It’s a fine look on him too.
If it was the snappy cadence and Pop sensibilities of Davis’ early hits that made you fall in love with him then you’ll find plenty to enjoy on ‘Bluebird Days’. Album opener, ‘Damn Good Time’ begins proceedings in a ‘this is how the start of a hangover feels’ kind of mood. Laid back grooves and ear-worm melodies get things off to a really strong start. Davis’ most recent number one, ‘What My World Spins Around’ and ‘You’ve Got My Number’ keep the mood buoyant. The former has a chorus breakout that is going to slay in areas across the world this year whilst ‘You’ve Got My Number’ could easily have been lifted from Davis’ debut album with its ‘Singles You Up’-esque invitation to hook up and infectious chorus.
The real heart and soul of ‘Bluebird Days’, however, can be found in the multitude of songs that impart a kind of grace and wisdom on the listener. ‘Money Isn’t Real’, a restrained, gentle song about going to a rich guy’s funeral and looking at all the empty chairs feels like a melodic sermon on what the most important things in life are. ‘Part of It’ deals with a father in verse 1, a grandfather in verse 2 and the understanding of where you come from and where you are going. ‘Sometimes life takes care of itself,’ Davis offers on this relatable song about the vagaries of life.
Davis’ grandfather features front-and-centre on the heartfelt ‘Fishing Spot’. This is a mature, restrained song that will make you want to sing along whilst wiping the dust away that has suddenly found its way into your eyes. Jordan pays tribute to his grandfather by taking time to go to the man’s favourite fishing spot. ‘Instead of standing next to your stone,’ he sings, ‘I’m standing on your rock, catching up with you at your fishing spot.’ ‘Short Fuse’ sees Davis holding a mirror up to himself as he urges both himself and the listener to have a little more patience and grace. Tasteful, ethereal female backing vocals elevate this intriguing song as Davis sings about letting go of things we can’t control and urges you to ‘take a little more walk in someone else’s shoes.’
The three biggest impactful songs, aside from the ubiquitous ‘Buy Dirt,’ on ‘Bluebird Days’, however, are the title track, ‘Sunday Saints’ and ‘Next Thing You Know’. The latter might well be considered as the most obvious follow up to ‘Buy Dirt’ and will hit home with a hammer-like impact. It tells the story of a relationship, from first date to old age, with a deft hand and lyrical skill that is hard to find these days. Tender, impactful, melodic, ‘Next Thing You Know’, the story of ‘how fast life can go down here’, is a nailed-on, future number one for Davis and his fellow writers Greylan James, Chase McGill and Josh Osborne. ‘Bluebird Days’, meanwhile, one of seven tracks Davis has written with his brother Jacob, deals directly with the their parents’ divorce. It’s a Bluesy track about the loss of childhood innocence. There are raw, honest emotions on display across the whole of the song. ‘Two hearts fell in love and two hearts grew apart, they went their separate ways and our bluebird days went dark,’ Davis sings as we go deep into the hidden trauma that events like a divorce can leave lingering behind for years.
‘Sunday Saints’ is the last of the trio of big-impact songs. This would make a great single too as it’s an incredibly relatable, everyman kind-of song about everyday life. ‘We’re the don’t stop believers, the somewhere in-betweeners, the Saturday sinners and the Sunday saints,’ Davis sings, encapsulating our differences and similarities in one, three minute Country blast of wisdom that would also sound awesome on FM radio too. What a rare gift this talented songwriter and his team of contributors have.
Throw in the delightful, Eagles-esque ‘Tucson Too Late’, a tale of a man chasing a departing girl across the desert and you’ve got another 3 or 4 bona-fide number one hits-in-waiting on ‘Bluebird Days’. The problem for Davis is not going to be ‘what’ to release to Country radio during the life-span of this album, it’s ‘how’ to release the amount of songs that deserve wider public acclaim before the need to follow it up with another, fresher set of songs. Good luck MCA Nashville and UMG!
‘Bluebird Days’ is the story of a songwriter opening the door to all his emotions and experiences and inviting us all to share them with him. Jordan Davis seems to have hit both a commercial and creative payload with ‘Buy Dirt’ and this has enabled and empowered him and his fellow writers to dig deeper, further and faster into their feelings. It’s a tremendously impactful set of songs that hold a mirror up to our own lives and experiences. It challenges us to be better husbands, better sons, daughters, friends and lovers as it meanders its way through the choppy and often turbulent waters of the human experience. Oh, and it sounds bloody great too! What a terrific combination.
Tracklist: 1. Damn Good Time 2. Money Isn’t Real 3. Tucson Too Late 4. What My World Spins Around 5. Sunday Saints 6. No Time Soon 7. You’ve Got My Number 8. Next Thing You Know 9. Fishing Spot 10. One Beer In Front of the Other 11. Bluebird Days 12. Part of It 13. Short Fuse 14. Midnight Crisis (feat. Danielle Bradbury) 15. What I Wouldn’t Do 16. Buy Dirt Record Label: MCA Nashville / UMG Release Date: 17th February Buy ‘Bluebird Days’ now
