Everything on
Hardy's debut album,
A ROCK, is stylized to be in all caps, which is a fair representation of his post-bro-country.
Hardy isn't one for subtlety. When he writes a party song, it's doused in beer; when he's writing a ballad, it's sticky with sentiment. It's a tactic that brought him a fair share of success as a songwriter, particularly with the tunes he penned for
Morgan Wallen and
Florida Georgia Line.
FGL hangs heavy over
A ROCK, partially because
Hardy sings in a flat affect that recalls those of
Tyler Hubbard and
Brian Kelley, partially because the melodies also follow a line as straight and open as an interstate.
Hardy doesn't quite sing with the slight grin of
Tyler and
Brian, though, nor does he have the good sense to lay back and cruise. He pushes as hard as somebody who decided to stylize his debut album all in caps would, and
Joey Moi's production follows suit, pushing every element to the forefront, so everything is louder than everything else. It's a hyper-stylized, hyper-aggressive version of commercial country at the dawn of the 2020s, but it also feels somewhat old-fashioned, thanks to an overreliance on melodies that sound like
FGL B-sides. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine