Luke Combs’ new album “Gettin’ Old” is an exceptionally developed album that provides a window into Combs’ life as he’s matured as a person and as an artist. His last album, “Growin’ Up”, highlighted Combs’ goals and what he was aiming to accomplish as a newly established mainstream country artist. 

“Gettin’ Old” is a reflection upon his last year in the industry and how much he has changed since then. He illustrates how important the values and lessons that one grows up with are and how he didn’t really appreciate them until he couldn’t experience them anymore.

“This album is about the stage of life I’m in right now,” Combs said in an instagram post prior to the album’s release. “It’s about coming of age, loving where life is now but at the same time missing how it used to be, continuing to fall for the one you love and loving them no matter what, living in the moment but still wondering how much time you have left, family, friends, being thankful, and leaving a legacy.”

Combs stuck true to this message and emphasized these key points in his life, while bringing the usual topics of a country song – bars, girls, and a small town life – to his audience in an intriguing way. This 18 track project details these goals through masterly crafted lyrics with a concrete meaning behind them, all projected through Combs’ emotion filled and powerful vocals.

The opening track of this album, “Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old”, exemplifies the fact that life moves quickly and that as you continue to grow up, time becomes more valuable. The resonating message projected in this song is that you need to take advantage of the time that you have and be thankful for the opportunities that have been given to you.

“Back 40 Back” is an incredible song that provides a common theme of country music – a small town life – while also highlighting the concern that society is always moving towards the next big thing without appreciating the journey to get there. Combs conveys his desire to return to this small town life through deceptively sad lyrics as he longs to return to a life that is no longer attainable.

This album is and will continue to be a huge success for hardcore dedicated country music fans, although many fans that only dabble in country music could find this album a little hard to listen to in their free time. If one hasn’t experienced much of what Combs talks about, these slow, reminiscent tracks could seem less appealing on a daily basis.

Regardless, “Gettin’ Old” is a beautifully written and produced album that sacrifices radio appeal to communicate Combs’ refreshing outlook on the lessons he’s learned over the last year, and demonstrates his appreciation for the things that are often taken for granted in life.