Single Review: ‘Cruise’ – Florida Georgia Line
12 years ago Liv Carter 1
Songwriters: Tyler Hubbard, Brian Kelley, Chase Rice, Jesse Rice, Joey Moi
After signing with Republic Nashville, country duo Florida Georgia Line sent their single, ‘Cruise,’ back to country radio. After just a few weeks, the song is, if you’ll forgive me, cruising up the charts making good use of the last few days of summer.
‘Cruise,’ tells a familiar story. The main character eyes a pretty woman on the beach, invites her for a ride, and they end up in a summer romance. With the verses written in the past tense, we are left to wonder about their current status.
In this very contemporary tune, the R&B influences are obvious in both the rhythm and the melody. It gives the song that uber-laidback quality that often characterizes popular summer singles (see also Little Big Town‘s ‘Pontoon’). The main problem here is the unnecessarily busy production which does its best to drown out a great set of vocals. As with far too many country songs, there is just too much music here. Producer Joey Moi did the same with some of Jake Owen‘s latest material and it is a shame he is not allowing vocalists more space.
The lyrics are, together with the main character, on the shallow side but they do avoid the most overused phrases, and it could have done without the frequent violations of basic grammar (‘her and I’?). But then there is the cute second verse and extended bridge to enjoy, and the, possibly unintentionally, quite hilarious pick-up line with which he tries to impress her, when he boasts: ‘this brand new Chevy with a lift kit/would look a whole lot better with you up in it.’
Despite its flaws, here is still too much to like about this song (or put differently, there is not enough wrong to dismiss it). ‘Cruise’ is one of those disposable-yet-enjoyable country summer songs which will not only enjoy a healthy chart run, but find itself on radio playlists for many more summers.
Liv Carter
She holds several certificates from Berklee College of Music, and a certificate in Positive Psychology from UC Berkeley.
Her main influences are coffee, cats, and Alexander Hamilton.
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