Old Dominion's new single "No Such Thing As A Broken Heart" finally has the band headed in a lyrically interesting direction. Of course, the five-piece features some stellar songwriters. But this single finally feels like a song saying something worth listening to.
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"No Such Thing As A Broken heart" is their first new single since debut album Meat And Candy. And for the most part, the band clings tight to the things that make them undeniably catchy. They craft smart music. The production is pop enough for today's mainstream country world, but also rock enough to retain some edge.
But now they're actually singing songs with a message. And not about, you know, snapback hats and imploring girls to break up with their boyfriends.
"No Such Thing As A Broken Heart" starts by referencing the famous "Jack and Diane" from John Mellencamp, wondering if they ever made it, or if middle America swallowed them up. The song touches on the difficulty of love and parenthood.
But ultimately, lead singer Matthew Ramsey offers the message that you have to "love like there's no such thing as a broken heart." Because bad things happen, and good things end, but ultimately you can't let the eventualities of life stop you from living.
And the band's sense of humor is on full display with the song's artwork, which is a broken-hearted Sasquatch. "No Such Thing As A Broken Heart" represents the better side of pop country. A band that flirted dangerously close with bro-country rebounded to offer something that, while far from traditional country, feels genuinely sincere. And worth listening to.
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The more you know about Old Dominion, the more you root for them. Comprised of a few hit songwriters like Matthew Ramsey and Trevor Rosen, the band shopped their stuff around Nashville tirelessly for almost a decade. Imagine writing big songs for other people but being told you're not good enough to write them for yourself.
The band eventually landed a deal and worked their way up the radio charts. Old Dominion's new single, new music video and new album should certainly endear them to a bigger swath of the mainstream country-loving crowd. The song also comes at a poignant time. The band, which also includes Geoff Sprung, Whit Sellers and Brad Tursi, recently canceled two concerts and a No. 1 party after revealing one member lost an immediate family member. They also performed the song during the 2017 ACM Awards in Nashville.
