At 33, Niemann is a reformed hat act with wildly catholic taste, and his second major-label LP subverts mainstream country tropes while chatting them up at the bar. The title track is a semi-rapped manifesto with Beck flow and an irresistible twang-pop chorus. And "Only God Could Love You More" suggests country weepers secretly crave sly drum programming. Who knew?

Listen to "Shinin' On Me":

“Let My Love Open the Door”

A peppy, hopeful love song, "Let My Love Open the Door" became a U. S. Top Ten hit for Pete Townshend in 1980, anchored by the kind of repeating synthesizer figures that he'd used in some of the Who's recordings in the previous decade. Although Townshend brushed the song off as "just a ditty" in Rolling Stone shortly after its release, in 1996 he revealed it was about love of the holiest sort. "It's supposed to be about the power of God's love," he remarked. "That when you're in difficulty, whether it's major or minor, God's love is always there for you."