MGK keeps trying this fling out with country music, even if it doesn't seem to make much sense. Regardless, he commits to this next phase of his music career. Now, he's bringing on a little help in Jelly Roll for some credibility. Moreover, they're teasing a snippet, clearly inspired by a John Denver song we all know and love.
Recently, MGK posts a teaser on Instagram of a new song releasing on July 26th. There, it spotlights police arresting a mopey Machine Gun Kelly and the pair looking down at a casket going into the grave. Additionally, a snippet of the song plays, singing, "Lonely road, take me home. Take me home, lonely road."
MGK and Jelly Roll Trying Their Hands at 'Take Me Home, Country Roads'
I can hear the collective groaning from here. Yes, 'KellyRoll,' as they're describing themselves, has the audacity to try and cover John Denver's 'Take Me Home, Country Roads.' Luke Combs managing to pull off a cover of "Fast Car" like the hundreds of other artists before him tried is a miracle in itself. However, MGK doesn't exactly have that sort of luck.
It sounds as bad as you might imagine it. MGK sings in a deadpan angst that adds no emotional weight to its source material. I can only imagine the kind of loud, bombastic belting Jelly Roll is going to try when he hops on. Quite the flacid attempt at 'country' from Machine Gun Kelly.
This isn't the only time MGK tries his hand at a country or a folk record. Try his take on Zach Bryan's 'Sun to Me,' an equally amateur record where Kelly lacks any conviction in his voice. Moreover, the cynicism strikes just as hard here. Evidently, he sees the emergence of country and the steadfast fanbase that comes along with it. No one cares about his rock revival attempts anymore. Naturally, he trades in his punk aesthetic and electric guitar for a Carhartt jacket and an acoustic one. It doesn't sound good but it's not stopping him.
It all strikes me as alarmingly disingenuous. Clearly, MGK battles some sense of an identity crisis. I mean, why else undergo all these musical transformations? Evidently, he's not doing this out of some artistic merit. He hardly roots himself in any sort of genre with love and care because his ideas are so painfully bland. As long as it gets himself a decent number of streams and a steady paycheck, MGK can be anything you want him to be. However, I will respectfully sit this one out.
