Single Review: Florida Georgia Line - "Cruise"

2012 has already been a strong year for newcomers. First Kip Moore scored a breakthrough, then Hunter Hayes, now its Dustin Lynch and Jana Kramer. Greg Bates appears to be following a similar pace, and Casey James, Thomas Rhett, and The Farm have made their name with minor hits. Soon, you can add another name to that list – Florida Georgia Line. The duo (which features Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley) has already built a strong road following with their brand of rock-country that falls somewhere between Jason Aldean and Brantley Gilbert. Their debut effort, “Cruise” has already taken the charts by storm, leaving little doubts to the duo's ascension.

Lyrically, Cruise doesn’t bring much to the table. A pretty girl, a truck - just your average countrified southern lust story. But lyrics aren’t what make or break up-tempo driving songs, the catchiness of both the hook and melody does. And in terms of melody, you’ll be hard pressed to find a melody more likely to get stuck in your head than this. It’s the kind of song that makes your head bob without you even realizing it. The production is loud, but not Brantley Gilbert loud, and has a pleasant groove that fits the song well. Florida Georgia Line has taken what works for artists like Aldean and Gilbert, and clearly it’s working. The song has zipped into the top 20 in just 10 weeks (the same number of weeks as Toby Keith’s new song), a remarkable achievement considering how long it has taken other new acts to break in in 2012. If this song is any indication, country radio may have found a new big player.