Life is about the little things, which, according to this Dillon Carmichael song, include such simple pleasures as: a hot night, a cold beer, and a breeze through a screen door. "Don't complicate it / The secret to life ain't that hard," the 24-year-old sings on "It's Simple," his roomy baritone steeped in the kind of worn-in Southern warmth that makes every lyric sound a little sad.
Thematically, the track reminds me of a stone-cold classic by Faith Hill. Sonically, it fits in nicely with songs by the Brent Cobbs and Ashley McBrydes and Chris Stapletons of the world, artists whose slow and steady sing-a-longs regularly remind naysayers that country is pretty much as good as it's ever been.
"It's Simple" was produced by Dave Cobb, Brent's cousin. Its small town-set music video, debuting above, joins the canon of country clips in which a young protagonist — here, a boy on a bike with a portable tape player — turns out to be a stand-in for the artist himself. It's sappy, but it works. “'It’s Simple' means so much to me because it is about my home and reminds me to focus on the simple things in life," Dillon explained over email. "And this video could not capture the story of the song better. "
Dillon's debut album, Hell on an Angel, comes out October 26.