Texas-born Cody Jinks got his start playing in thrash metal bands before circling back to the country music he grew up with. His breakthrough album, ‘I’m Not The Devil’, was released in 2016 and hit number 4 on the US Country charts. Since then he’s gone from strength to strength, releasing a further four full length albums and winning over fans with his blend of country and rock as well as his distinctive vocals, and now he’s back with his latest release ‘Change The Game’, the follow-up to 2021’s ‘Mercy’.The 14-track project kicks off with ‘Sober Thing’, which sees Jinks in a reflective mood as he looks back on how drinking has impacted his life and relationships. There’s a real depth and richness to his voice over the acoustic melody, and the song takes on a quiet power as a result of it – you very much sense that whilst he could absolutely let rip vocally, his restraint makes the frankness of the lyrics even more potent. It builds into this huge, layered chorus with pianos before dropping away into a lingering finale, and stays with you long after that last note.
That blend of big finishes and self-awareness are two threads that run very strongly through the record. ‘I Can’t Complain’ is a strong example of this, pairing a driving beat with wailing guitars and provides a great contrast for Jinks’ gravelly twang. “The reasons I keep leaving are the reasons I can’t stay”, he sings, in a message of both self-acceptance and quiet defiance. You feel like this is an album where he really knows who he is and has accepted that side of himself, and in a way that makes it feel very comfortable whilst also keeping things fresh. Meanwhile, the sparse, stripped-back ‘The Working Man’ is a simple yet moving celebration of blue-collar folks “living on a dream and a cloud of dust”, with a massive singalong chorus and an earnestness in Jinks’ delivery that shows he holds the people who keep things running in very high regard.
One thing which also stood out to me is the range of styles Jinks employs throughout this album. ‘Take This Bottle’ had a soft, bluesy feel with its bittersweet story of lovers being unable to quite tear themselves away from each other and some beautiful harmonies between Jinks and Pearl Aday, whilst the cautionary tale of ‘Deceiver’s Blues’ was shuffling and funky in a Western-swing-meets-Stevie-Wonder way and ‘A Few More Ghosts’ paired a slinky bass rhythm with a dark outro as Jinks packed the song with vivid, unsettling details and trying to bury old memories. I particularly liked the 90s rock feel of the bright, lush ‘Outlaws And Mustangs’, a tale of growing up and letting go (“gotta see the world all by yourself and that’s alright”) that echoed back to Deep Blue Something’s hit ‘Breakfast At Tiffany’s’ and was helped along by a choir in the background, rocking guitar riffs and some of the best fiddle flourishes I’ve heard in a long time.
For me many of the strongest songs come in the later half of the album. The twangy title track sees Jinks go almost into spoken-word territory with his rapid-fire lyrical delivery over a punchy beat and a rattling guitar as he sings “all I ever really wanted was to sing and play guitar with my friends”. It feels like a fist in the air and two fingers up at the same time, and I think really sums up the energy of Jinks as an artist. However, he also shows he’s not afraid to experiment a little on songs such as ‘I Would’, which provides a twist on a classic love song with its steady, pulsing rhythm and swinging guitars alongside vocals that feel as smooth and warm as a glass of Tennessee whiskey. Elsewhere, the downbeat ‘Wasted’ feels like the first person version of ‘Whiskey Lullaby’, with Jinks’ voice going into Chris Stapleton territory as he sinks into the resigned but resolute persona of the song’s narrator, backed by weighty piano chords, whilst ‘Always Running’ is full of yearning as Jinks struggles with emotions but being drawn back to a lover. The song has a really cinematic feel about it, enhanced by the organ melody that adds a spiritual quality, and Jinks makes every word of it completely believable.
The record closes with ‘What You Love’, a classic piano-led advice song which sees Jinks sharing his words of wisdom as he advises listeners to pursue their passions ‘until it kills you’. It’s very much a hands-in-the-air, sway-along number but the introduction of spiky guitars and rich strings add an expansive feel to it and I really liked the uplifting, hopeful feel of the lyrics. Jinks finally lets rip on the belt in his voice with some impressively big notes towards the end, as well as an almost acapella section midway through, and it feels like a really strong note to finish on.
Overall Cody Jinks has delivered a strong album that shows off the depth and power of his voice as well as the range of influences on his sound, and this should surely win over new fans as well as giving long-time listeners more of what they love. The one drawback is it can get a little repetitive in parts in terms of the production – sometimes I’d have liked him to keep things simple rather than building up the instruments towards the end of every track, and I’d have loved to see him let go more vocally on some of the bigger ballads. But it’s a really interesting project that should definitely play well live (maybe on some UK dates at some point?), and I’ll be intrigued to see what direction he decides to go in next.
Track listing: 1. Sober Thing 2. Outlaws and Mustangs 3. I Can’t Complain 4. Take This Bottle (featuring Pearl Aday) 5. Deceiver’s Blues 6. A Few More Ghosts 7. Change The Game 8. I Would 9. The Working Man 10. Wasted 11. Always Running 12. What You Love Record label: Late August Records Release date: 22nd March 2024
