Luke Combs is distinctly different from a lot of current notorious country-pop artists in the best way possible -- he remains true to his country roots by singing about the embodiment of being a good man, how to love a woman right and embracing blue-grass and honky-tonk melodies. Combs does not need the flirty lyrics or synthetic beats, as his hoarse and timeless voice is more than enough compensation.
Anyone who has seen Combs in concert knows all he needs to deliver just as sensational of a performance as pop and rock stars that have backup dancers and other advantages, is his band, a guitar, a cup of beer and his wife behind him.
Luke Combs’ latest project, What You See Ain’t Always What You Get is the follow up deluxe version of the album, to his preceding one, What You See Is What You Get, an album essentially full of hearty, legitimate country tracks and others that are intimate ballads. The most notable and acclaimed tunes are arguably the opener, “Beer Never Broke My Heart,” “Lovin’ On You” and “Does to Me (feat. Eric Church).
His newborn project however, is actually not so new. It instead is composed of all of the same 18 hits that can be found on What You See Ain’t Always What You Get, plus an additional 5 brand new tracks: “Cold As You,” “The Other Guy,” “My Kinda Folk,” “Without You (feat. Amanda Shires)” and “Forever After All.”
“Forever After All” was teased by Combs on social media, and fans were immediately obsessed, as they shared and reposted the trailer for the track. Its anticipated release naturally led it to be the most favored new song on the deluxe version of the album. It is common for Combs to share his love story with listeners through a series of songs, which is evident in the first released, “Beautiful Crazy,” then “Better Together” and now, “Forever After All.” Combs disclosed this in an Instagram post, forcing all of the pieces of the intentional puzzle together.
All three tracks are three of the most beloved, just like his fairytale with his wife, Nicole Hocking, is. “Forever After All,” is all about eternal and unconditional love. Combs sings the heartbreaking, yet beautiful chorus, “And I know there’ll be that moment / The good Lord calls one of us home and / One Won’t have the other by their side / But Heaven knows that that won’t last too long / Maybe some things last forever after all.”
Arguably, the other standout out of the new five tunes is “Without You,” another one about putting someone else before themselves, as both Combs and his wife do to each other. “Without You” and “Forever After All” are both subtler ballads opposed to some of his fun-loving tracks, but it can be seen that both types of songs excel well.
Another notable hit was “Six Feet Apart,” which was later added to the original version of the album amidst quarantine. Much of his inspiration came from the pandemic, missing those he loved most and wanting life to return to normal. This track was transformative considering it was one of the first songs about the coronavirus. As Combs said, “It’s a mystery I suppose / Just how long this thing goes / But there’ll be crowds and there’ll be shows / There will be light after dark / Someday when we aren’t six feet apart.”
When the pandemic and quarantine were still fairly new, this track was emotional as literally every person worldwide could relate to the feelings Combs sang about, while also feeling hopeful as he believes one day, the word will be as it was before.
Combs keeps on delivering, and his songs are always destined to be hits. As still a fairly new country artist, he has already topped charts and won countless awards, and he will be sure to continue to do so, especially with his newly released, wedding ready tune, “Forever After All.”
Combs still plans on touring this spring into the summer, with tickets available on his site.
