Bear Family Records
Country, 2022

Boy, it seems like actors are dropping albums more and more often these days. Let me guess: bored with their lockdown, these people ordered a lot of music studio equipment off Amazon or something, and discovered in the process that they have a hitherto undiscovered talent in music too?

First off, the necessary disclaimer: while I certainly appreciate the sight of Alexander Ludwig, I am not exactly appreciative of country music in general. Still, I give his debut album, Highway 99, a spin out of curiosity.

So, is he a great country singer?

Well, the best way I can describe the songs on this album is that they could easily be the result of programming an AI to come up with the most generic country tunes possible. Indeed, “generic” is what these songs are. They sound exactly like every other country tune out there, about the same old subjects such as making out under the night sky, making out in the summer, making out in the truck, and so forth.

It also doesn’t help that Mr Ludwig’s vocals sound curiously muted here. There is hardly any discernible emotion. For example, Summer Crazy is supposed to be an upbeat tune, but he sounds like he’s far more preoccupied in maintaining the twang in his voice than generating any excitement or sexiness in the vocals. I don’t want to throw up my hands and join a wet T-shirt, as a result; rather, I can’t help thinking that I’m listening to something purely made using AI.

In the end, the songs here are competent if absolutely generic and forgettable, but it’s hard to overlook the robotic vocals that are devoid of any passion or other types of emotion called for by each song.

Is this an AI experiment, or an actual album by a living, breathing human being? It’s hard to tell.

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