At least we can mostly agree on a Pistol Annie, though.
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[6.67]
Alfred Soto: Closer to the disco-inflected country of Ronnie Milsap than the trad kind, and Ashley Monroe is all the better for it. The call and response vocals in that outro? The bump ‘n’ grind side-to-side of those guitars? Yep, she’s on to something — maybe even great.
[7]
Edward Okulicz: Monroe’s taken her modestly boastful song about her purple patch and smuggled in some down-home wisdom for you to join in. She’s also imbued the song with one hell of a hip sway, practically strutting through it. She’s on to something clever too.
[8]
Anthony Easton: Well, this is her selling out record, or her wanting to get in with the Nashville elite record, or something else that explains how someone who wrote “Weed instead of Roses” could be as bland as rice pudding.
[4]
Thomas Inskeep: Hallelujah! It looks like, coming off her #1 duet with Blake Shelton, “Lonely Tonight,” that Monroe is finally gonna get some radio play of her own with this new single. Vince Gill is behind the boards here again, but this has got the early-’80s-country feel of his Kelly Clarkson duet “Don’t Rush” rather than the somewhat darker material of Monroe’s first album. Clearly Gill’s feeling influenced by Charley McClain and Eddie Rabbitt singles, and that does wonders for Monroe. Much like on the uptempo material by her band Pistol Annies, she really opens up here and you can hear the joy, and twang, in her voice. This is a positive song, and its good mood is inescapable. Welcome to the big time, Ashley.
[8]
Brad Shoup: The band’s got a fine little dancefloor shuffle going; Monroe’s just getting pushed here and there by that bullfroggy guitar. It’s like a perpetual motion machine that just makes shrugs.
[6]
Cédric Le Merrer: I used to be unable to drink a beer without some kind of sweetener. Now I still can’t swallow a Guinness but I also can’t drink a straight Martini anymore without some zest in it to bring a little bitterness. All this is to say this song may be too pop for some tastes but it has enough bitterness in the verses to strike the right balance for me.
[7]