Album Review: Old Dominion - “Time, Tequila & Therapy”

Nashville’s most-awarded band of the past half-decade returns with their fourth full-length album which features “I Was On a Boat That Day.”

There’s just something about Old Dominion that makes their music immensely enjoyable. With 8 #1 hits to their credit, the band behind several melodic hits is back with a new record which blends several sonic sounds into a record born during the pandemic to something that can only be described as yet another triumph in Old Dominion’s career.

“No Hard Feelings” is the song which gives Time, Tequila & Therapy it’s title and it’s about overcoming a breakup with a positive outlook and wishing nothing but the best for a former lover. It’s a sing-a-long ready song which is juxtaposed with the opener “Why Are You Still Here,” where they muse about an ex and why they’re still where they are. Lead single “I Was On A Boat That Day” is a clever take on the “she left me” theme so common in country music. The lyric simply says that the narrator doesn’t know what went on when she left because he went out on his boat with friends as she left him.

There’s more than a little country soul on “Lonely Side Of Town,” a song which features Gladys Knight in a duet with lead vocalist Matthew Ramsey. It reminds me of some of the great records my parents played when I was growing up. Fresh and familiar at the same time. “Drinking My Feelings” features the harmonic lyric rhymes the band has long been known for, especially when writing with frequent collaborator Shane McAnally. Radio should want to play that one for years to come while “Walk On Whiskey” has a breezy Ronnie Milsap-like melodic feel to it.

Old Dominion built its name on the types of songs which are featured on this record (check out “Ain’t Nothing Wrong With Love” and “Something’s The Same With You” in addition to previously mentioned songs) and that’s ultimately what works for Time, Tequila & Therapy. It’s a record that demands your attention. It’s a record that entertains and it’s right up there with the best of the contemporary country music records to be released in 2021.

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