Sounds like a sophomore slump to me.

I love Dierks Bentley. I bought his first album, and loved it basically from top to bottom. What Was I Thinkin', How Am I Doin', My Last Name, I Wish It Would Break, and more...Dierks put out an absolutely fantastic debut CD. I hadn't nearly gotten sick of playing out that CD yet, when I heard this one was coming out. I was excited, because I really thought we were all going to see another superstar take off in country music.

From the first single, Lot Of Leavin' Left To Do, I was disappointed. It's an okay song, but not much more. Country radio and television got behind it, gave it plenty of airplay, and upon attempting to like it long enough...I halfway succeeded. I hoped for more out of the follow-up to his self-titled debut, but I was still going to buy the second album as soon as it came out.

The rest of the album gets more or less the same review from me...it's okay, but not much more. Come A Little Closer has a cool style and some nice bass running underneath it, but the overall song doesn't do much for me. The theme is similar to that of Keith Urban's "Raining On Sunday," just not done nearly as well.

Cab Of My Truck is a catchy up-tempo song; no real attempt at substance in this one, it's just a halfway fun party song. I can take it or leave it.

Settle For A Slowdown is a great track, definitely my favorite on the CD. He's watching his girl drive away for good, is hoping with all he has that she'll turn around, but he'd just settle for a slowdown.
I keep lookin' for the slightest sign,
That you might miss what you left behind.
I know there's nothing stoppin' you now,
but I'd settle for a slowdown.
This is an excellent song of heartbreak and regret. It's unique in style, solid lyrically, and the vocals are fantastic.

Back to another of the party songs, Dierks follows up with Domestic, Light and Cold. I don't know, this one works pretty well for me. It might be my strange affinity for cheap American beer, but I enjoy the song's concept, even if the lyrics are a bit on the weak side. This is one of the catchier tunes on the album.

Good Things Happen is a love song, one that I honestly find completely boring and worthless. Dierks is great at the breakup songs, and I'm sure he could do love songs well too...but he hasn't managed it yet. I skip this track almost every time now.

Down On Easy Street is actually a pretty cool song lyrically, about a guy who has struck it rich and made a great career, but is looking back with sorrow at the fact that he lost his girl in the process. She thinks he's living down on easy street with his big pile of money....he cleverly uses the double meaning that he is indeed "down" (depressed) on easy street. This track seems like it could've been a really good one, but it suffers from a weak chorus and a tune that's a bit annoying at times.

So So Long is kind of a weak attempt to recreate the success of his previous album's "How Am I Doin'." She was cheating on him, he's breaking up with her, and he's going to be happier for it...this is an often-used concept in country music, and I usually enjoy it, but the lyrics of this one are kind of amateur. Not really a bad track I guess, but overall a pretty forgettable one.

Good Man Like Me employs the bluegrass style (with the help of the Del McCoury Band) nicely. It offers a sound that's very unique from the rest of the album...Dierks sings about a woman who's leaving him, and he's asking her where she's gonna find a good man like him. Again nothing too groundbreaking, but I like the sound on this one.

Gonna Get There Someday is a strong, mature piece of work from Bentley. He's speaking to his late mother (no idea whether or not this is true or autobiographical), and talking about how he's still really sad and down. Things haven't gotten better for him, but he says he's gonna get there someday. Great emotional words, and I like the upbeat attitude that things will eventually get better. Good song.

All in all, this isn't a bad album, but it just doesn't stack up at all to his first one. That said, Dierks' guitar work, vocals, and style are still very cool, and I continue to fully expect a great career out of him; I just think this second album was a bit of a step back.