Well, lookee here: we give him his due!
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[5.86]
Thomas Inskeep: Chesney likes to go to the well of reminiscence a lot — he’s done it on 2001’s “Don’t Happen Twice,” 2004’s “I Go Back,” and 2010’s “The Boys of Fall,” to name just a trio of top-two country singles — but it’s something he does well because he makes you believe him. Lyrically, this song is no better than Miranda Lambert’s “Automatic,” but musically it’s the best single Chesney’s touched in years. Light and underproduced, this sounds worlds removed from bro-country’s hard rock drums and hot lixxx guitars. Well played, Mr. Chesney.
[6]
Anthony Easton: For someone who was a master of nostalgia, and especially sexually fueled nostalgia, and who used that mastery to further an explicit verisimilitude, this is the first Chesney song in this vein I just don’t believe. Considering that his last couple of singles suggested a move away from that genre, I wonder if he is worried about sales, and has returned.
[5]
Alfred Soto: I can’t resist the guitar pickin’ and banjo — the most attractive elements this consistent hack has paid for in years. He’s on Toby Keith’s American ride without noticing a single unattractive embellishment, without including a single WTF moment, which is why he’ll remain a consistent hack.
[6]
Brad Shoup: Has Kenny been listening to his Pixies?! Based on that jaunty, gothic chorus, I’d say so. It’s a list song, but like some of country’s thorniest list songs, it’s a series of sensations: some easy to unpack, some harder. The track is more spare than most anything he’s done, like “Wrapped Up in You” — Garth’s farewell single — but here it’s crawly banjos and campfire acoustics. It’s not punk in its delivery or its danger, but in its reportage.
[8]
Stephen Thomas Erlewine: While his mellow middle-age has yielded a handful of nicely subdued hits–“You and Tequila” and “Come Over,” both country number ones, are as good as he gets–it’s nevertheless something of a relief to hear Kenny Chesney light and lively once again. He may remain an affectless vocalist, rarely ruffled by either joy or sorrow, but the vibe on “American Kids” is ebullient, a mood that’s just right for the summer and, quite frankly, a welcome change of pace.
[7]
Patrick St. Michel: “Hey John, what are you doing tomorrow? Ah, yeah? Wanna come over and play Mario Kart? Awesome! Uhhhh, I should warn you though, my dad is having a bit of a…I guess you could call it a mid-life crisis. No, no, don’t worry too much…he’s trying to act younger, like when you come over he’ll probably talk about all the girls he used to date and offer you a beer. He’s gonna’ ask if you like Mumford and Sons or The Lumineers, and talk about how he’s ‘down’ with them. He’ll probably tell us we should be outside ‘living life, gettin’ dirty,’ just…just try to ignore him. Yeah…I don’t want to turn 40 either.”
[2]
Megan Harrington: I’m torn between surprise that I don’t mind the Coug reference and reflexive opposition to any Coug reference, ever. “American Kids” is rollicking summertime fun full of snappy percussion (handclaps and tambourine, which sound especially refreshing paired here) and lemonade sunshine (that’d be the song’s bluegrass element).
[7]