Following a newly signed record deal with Sony Music Nashville and an invitation to make his debut at the Grand Ole Opry, Colby Acuff is back with his fourth studio album, Western White Pines.
The record comes just a year after Acuff’s latest entry, Honky Tonk Heaven, which contained hits such as the title track, Honky Tonk Heaven and Bad Day to Be a Beer.
Western White Pines was teased back on Jan. 29 with the release of the title track with Acuff expressing that it was his favorite record he has made thus far.
In the five months leading up to the album’s full release, Acuff released the nostalgic Boy and a Bird Dog and the barn burner, Playing God Again, in anticipation.
In an Instagram post promoting the record’s release, Acuff expressed that the songs reflect him as a person and where he’s from.
“This project is a collection of songs that I believe make up who I am, and where I’m from. It’s my contribution to what I believe is the sound of the American west.“
The record is exactly what you would expect from Acuff. There’s plenty of fiddle and steel throughout the tight, 10-track record. Much like Noah Kahan’s Stick Season which feels like Kahan taking you directly to his home in Vermont, Western White Pines takes you directly to Acuff’s home in Idaho. Many tracks have a Western feel that feels at home with many Colter Wall songs.
Acuff co-wrote all 10 songs with seven of the 10 being written completely independent. The Idaho native balances the album expertly with rowdy, introspective, romantic and nostalgic songs interwoven throughout the tight tracklist.
Additionally, Acuff also released highly cinematic, visualizers for all 10 songs on Western White Pines that are available on his Youtube channel right now.
Listen to Playing God Again, Outlaw in Me and All I Got here: