If you haven’t already discovered the Canadian-born, Nashville based Josh Ross yet, his debut album, Later Tonight, is an on-fire, on-repeat energy that you need in your head and your heart.
With the smooth lyrical delivery of Kane Brown, the storytelling of Dierks Bentley and a Lewis Capaldi vocal capacity, Ross has a stellar stadium career ahead, after only five years in the business, with this anthemic-leaning catalogue of fifteen tracks; heartbreak never sounded so good. The drums, the production, the vocal control all blend to make Later Tonight one of the albums of the year, and one of the hardest reviews I’ve ever had to write – I couldn’t stop playing the songs long enough to write the words. But I gave it a good go.
The album title, ‘Later Tonight’ starts slow and builds in layers through a production level that I would usually shy away from – I’m a fiddle and steel lass at heart – but Ross’ deft lyrical ability and a sound that would keep an orchestra busy set the tone for the majority of the album.
The high energy continues musically on current single ‘Hate How You Look’, with a juxtaposition of super controlled vocals opening the first of the anthems, before kicking up a storm – in my research I found the stunning live CCMA 2025 performance, where Ross took home five Canadian Country Music Association awards including Entertainer of the Year and Single and Video for ‘Single Again’.
The music slows briefly for the next few tracks, starting with ‘My Side Of Town’ the impact of vocals developing as the story, and more familiar country sound, unfolds at where friends side with a heartbreak. ‘Leave Me Too’ brings the piano forward, edging the curses from vocals that remind me of a Capaldi delivery. As the drums and guitars kick in, the chorus becomes a hook you don’t want to shake. ‘Half Lit’ grapples with the low business of a break up via the blues, when you just can’t quite let go of a relationship; an eighties rock guitar drives the sentiment home.
The ‘Mad At Me’ ballad, which echoes Kip Moore’s ‘Wish it Was Me' in sentiment, signals the beginning of the end of the broken heart, along with the eighties rock ballad sounding ‘Break My Heart In Two’ which could be right out of ‘90s Bon Jovi.
Nashville’s favourite drink gets the blame in a fun way on ‘Whiskey You Do’ the first song on the album co-written by Ross. The energy segues into the absolute tune that is ‘Single Again’, which is going to feature high up on my Spotify list in December, likely because of the addictive lyrics, “I got that same ole Tennessee/615 that you used to hit up/Half past where you at pick me up” – the moment you karaoke that in the right order for the first time is, to coin Gen-Z, a vibe. Too right this song hit the number one spot in Canadian Country and US Country Airplay
The next three minutes of the album are worthy of a Lewis Capaldi album, the stunning stripped back piano ballad ‘Songs You Gave Me’, which my words won’t do justice to. If you don’t listen to the whole album (and why wouldn’t you?) listen to this song.
Akon joins Ross on ‘Drunk Right Now (Na Na Na)’, for a country party, and is an interesting bookend to the album ballad closer, ‘Scared of Getting Sober’. Both songs have that heartfelt impact that music crowds chase, from one of the most exciting artists to emerge in the last five years.
‘Later Tonight,' produced by long-term collaborator Matt Geroux, is an instant classic jam that’s perfect for tailgate parties, festival fields and football stadium floodlights. Ross co-writes on several tracks, including the epic ‘Single Again’ (which I spent the summer of 2025 chasing on country radio in the UK) as well as ‘Whiskey You’ and ‘Songs You Gave Me’ and I’d like to see more of his songwriting on a second album that I’m already excited for.
Catch up with Josh Ross at the end of October two London shows at the iconic Camden Assembly; the continuation of a beautiful friendship with UK crowds, please and thank you.
Track list: 1. Later Tonight 2. Hate How You Look (Nicholas Sainato, Chris McKenna, Jessica Farren, Christian Yancey) 3. My Side Of Town 4. Smith & Wesson 5. Leave Me Too 6. Half Lit 7. Mad At Me 8. Whiskey You 9. Break My Heart In Two 10. Single Again 11. Songs You Gave Me 12.Namin' Names 13.Drunk Right Now (Na Na Na) with Akon 14.Nobody From Nowhere 15. Scared Of Getting Sober
Record Label: MCA, Mercury Nashville, Universal Music Canada, and CORE Records Release date: 19th September 2025 Buy now
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