Dierks Bentley

Oh, cheesy radio country. Dierks Bentley has proven with his most recent album, Home, that he's adept at it. Lyrics such as "5-1-5-0/Somebody call the Po-Po/'cuz this love drives me crazy" and instructions to "leave your Iphone at home because, baby, we're going out tonight" grace songs with titles such as "Diamonds Make Babies." There are a few sweet bluegrass moments ("Heart of a Lonely Girl"), but it's hard to take it seriously when Bentley sings "the hurtenist thing in the whole wide world is the heart of a lonely girl." Home isn't as much as a pure expression of art as it is the execution of a formula. From the thank-yous in the liner notes that mention the U.S. Military (I don't know how they would have been instrumental in Bentley releasing this album, but fine) to the production that's so safe and slick it's boring, Home is more and no less than proxy music for people too lazy to look outside major record labels for new music.