Zach Bryan surprised fans today with the release of a new EP “Boys of Faith” less than a month after the release of his self-titled album in August..
Earlier this week, Bryan took to Instagram releasing clips of three new songs that he had been working on for the past week. Fans didn’t expect that only a few days later those songs would be released in their entirety. This EP contains five tracks and features duets with indie artists Noah Kahan and Bon Iver.
Although I personally love all five tracks, “Sarah’s Place” featuring Noah Kahan and “Pain, Sweet, Pain” were the two standouts.
“Sarah’s Place” is a beautiful duet with Noah Kahan. A Zach Bryan and Noah Kahan collaboration was something I was hoping for ever since their performance of Bryan’ song “Revival” they did at this year’s Lollapalooza festival. The upbeat production of this song is different from each artist’s usual sound, which is refreshing to hear. The song is reminiscent of the good times and meaningful relationships they once had at “Sarah’s Place.” The drums and the guitar used in the low-key production gives the song a lively feeling, emphasizing the message of the song in a positive way.
“Pain, Sweet, Pain” is another uptempo jam that talks about learning from the hard times you face and personal growth.The message of this song I thought was similar to Bryan’s “East Side of Sorrow” featured on his self-titled album. Both songs encourage listeners that things always get better. The usage of the fiddle and guitar creates an uptempo and brings in a Bluegrass element to the song. The Bluegrass elements to this song are something not typical to Bryan’s usual music.
