This is a romantic album, as the title
Love Will... suggests: sweet, soulful, and slow, almost entirely ignoring the honky tonk that was once
Trace Adkins' stock in trade. In its stead comes a duet with
Colbie Caillat, a singer who has nothing to do with country, and a cover of
Exile's disco-country classic "Kiss You All Over" cut with the group itself, two indications that
Adkins is mining a distinctly smooth and seductive territory, one that sonically could cross over into the pop mainstream if it weren't for his burly baritone, a signature that keeps him planted in country. This is country music but it's rooted in the masculine slickness of the heyday of urban cowboy. The occasional slight Auto-Tune placed on
Adkins' voice strongly signals this album was cut in the present day but, otherwise,
Love Will... plays a bit like a throwback to the glory days of soft country, crossed with a little bit of new millennial production flair (chiefly achieved in the echo, ringing, single-note riffs that are there for texture, not hooks). Perhaps
Love Will... doesn't make itself known the way earlier
Adkins records did, but this is charmingly low-key and suggests a nice mature second act as a crooner for the singer. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine