Dreams to Dream

Jake Owen may have found early success with beachy party anthems, but the long-time country star has plenty to say about life’s less glamorous moments on this eighth studio album, which marks his first release as an independent artist. Produced by Grammy winner Shooter Jennings (Brandi Carlile, Tanya Tucker), <i>Dreams to Dream</i> is a vibrant and vulnerable portrait of an artist navigating middle age, and shows a new side of the “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” hitmaker. Songs like “Long Time Lovin’ You” remind that Owen is one of the genre’s finer vocalists, as his reedy voice dips into and glides back out of a lower register with agile ease. “Middle Age Crazy” is a welcome addition to the small but vibrant canon of country songs about aging, while “Wrinkle in the Road” makes peace with the passage and ravages of time. Closer “So Long, LA” splits the difference between mournful and hopeful, as Owen recounts returning home to Nashville with a “brand-new fire” burning in his heart.