Hi, everyone. Bigthony Squeezetano here, the internet's busiest music nerd. It's time for a review of the new Zach Bryan album, With Heaven on Top.

With Heaven on Top is the sixth full-length album from this Oklahoman singer-songwriter country star, Zach Bryan. It was written and produced by him, also rumored to be his final record with Warner Music Group, but who knows.

In July 2025, Bryan released the "Madeline" single and announced he would be dropping an EP, but that never really came to be, and what was released instead was this new 25-song, 78-minute album without the "Madeline" single, mind you. Then several days after the release of this record, we got the acoustic variation dropping onto streaming platforms with 49 whole tracks. This record also debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

And as far as the major lyrical plot points of this record, he seems to mostly steer clear of his highly publicized breakup in 2024, as well as the big cancelation campaign to follow. The song "Skin" makes maybe the most clear reference to a romantic separation of some kind, with Bryan talking about removing a matching tattoo in a desperately self-destructive way that makes it a tough listen, even if there is some genuine heartbreak there behind it.

Because remember, this whole weird fallout that happened among some with Zach Bryan in the music space, this came with the promise that he would be retiring from music. But as of right now, there's no real confirmation as to whether or not that will actually happen, along with the master's degree he originally planned to get over in Paris.

Drama aside, though, much of this record seems to be Zach up to his old ways, but it's missing that spark that made his more critically acclaimed material so electric and also have an appeal that transcended the country sphere. For sure, at the end of the day, I still think there is something in this album for some of Zach's most hardcore fans, of which there are clearly many, and Zach is definitely not holding back with feeding them a lot of new material here. Plus, a lot of Zach's old bandmates have also returned for the recording of this album, too.

I would say his approach to lyricism this time around comes across a lot more meandering and diaristic, almost like he's not too worried about how this album is going to play outside of his immediate fan base and those who are most invested in him personally, because we do get a lot of songs here that are just packed with exposition, which is nothing new for Zach Bryan, but what many songs here lack is the focus that ties together the many reference points that he's bringing up in a given song.

So, the end result is a lot of material that comes across as convoluted or fails to make a meaningful point, like tracks such as "South and Pine", as well as the very hushed and quiet "Runny Eggs" in which we get a lot of lyrics that run sort of like a nostalgic collage of moments and aspirations. But what's driving it other than a vague feeling? I don't know.

There's also "Appetite", which I'm not really sure what's the selling point of this track other than the itching feeling of Bryan among all of the recording and traveling and performing, not really knowing why he's doing this anymore. The super half-hearted vocal performance on this track says as much, too.

When Bryan does have maybe a bit more focus on a given song, like "DeAnn's Denim", for example – a track that's obviously in reference to his family history, specifically his mother, who he titled his first album after – the wordplay here that the song is very much invested in, around DNA and family genes and denim, leaves a lot to be desired. This level of writing from Bryan is just confusing, given this is also the guy who wrote "Pink Skies," a track loaded with all of these vivid pictures and emotionally impactful moments, whose focus and purpose were clear without having to explain it too clearly.

But now instead, we're getting tracks on this album like "Bad News", a song that caused a bit of controversy prior to the release of this album because of a few spare lyrics where Bryan doesn't paint the organization ICE in a very positive light. It's funny thinking of all the commotion around this track, given that listening to the entire thing, this is very much not like a fire in your belly, fist up, protesting in the street song. It's more a lot of general allusions to just bad moods, bad vibes, bad surroundings, without any real definitive point to pull it all together, other than just notions of feelings around friends and the state of the country and love.

Again, one of my major issues with this record is the writing and Zach's vocal performances just feel a noticeable step down from what we've heard him do on his most recent releases. This especially feels hard to ignore, given his tendency to really pack his albums out with a lot of material, because we are still talking here about 25 tracks, 78 minutes of run time, which is a lot of just so-so songs to put together.

But in addition to this, a lot of the instrumentals leave me underwhelmed, too, because there are just multiple tracks on this thing featuring super bland, somber piano chords, the most faint, acoustic guitars imaginable, Zach Bryan at his most subdued vocally. It's hard to stress just how soulless and disengaged some of the performances are on this record.

Take the song "Drowning" for example. I know the musicians on this LP Zach has worked with before, but it sounds like he's playing with a bunch of musicians he pulled off the street. Not that there's anyone playing terribly on this song, but there's not a whole lot of detail or chemistry. It's like everyone's playing it as stiff and as straight as possible.

Then you also have tracks like "Slick Back", for example, which sounds about as exciting as a Wallflowers song, with Bryan singing like he's doing some half-asleep karaoke routine. The lack of anything emotionally captivating going on in many of these songs is something that even some of the big horn sections here can't fix, which for any other record from Bryan, I think would be a selling point.

But given the material at the core of these songs just isn't that strong, these over-the-top horn sections slathered in room ambiance and hopeful Obama-era indie vibes, is just not enough to move the needle. Be it on the song "Say Why" or "Dry Deserts" or on "Anyways", where for a while, Bryan favors this talk/sung approach, where it sounds like he's really not matching the band's energy, because this is one of the few tracks here where they are actually letting loose and playing a little wild.

Also, in terms of the macro picture of this record, it doesn't sound like Bryan spent a lot of time thinking about how this album would fit in with the rest of his catalog, how it might complement his other records or add to his overall musical run. There really isn't a lot of growth in his songwriting to note between now and 2024, because often across this record, I do catch what sound like recycled vocal licks, very déja vu chord changes.

Look, overall, this album is far from trash, far from terrible, that's for sure. I would much rather listen to this album over any bro country slop album any day. And, there are some high points here and there, like the moving and incredible poem that kicks the entire record off. The storytelling on "Cannonball" is legitimately moving and pretty focused as well. "Always Willin'" and "Miles" are two absolutely killer tracks, too, that could go toe to toe with some of the best stuff on Bryan's past couple of records.

But at the end of the day, to my ears, this project just pales in comparison to nearly everything he's done up until this point. It just feels like I'm being subjected to the residuals of what have made his past efforts so good, which is why I'm feeling a decent to strong five on this one.

Zach Bryan, Forever.