The Brothers Osborne and the Problem with Hard Booze and Hot Women

Thanks to the influence of massive male mainstream artists like Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney and Toby Keith, country radio has become saturated with songs about hot women and hard booze — some good, more bad. So when a duo like the Brothers Osborne comes along with a song like “Rum,” it’s apt to be met with skepticism.

On first listen, “Rum” seems right at home with the sort of beachfront bender fare that Jimmy Buffett descendants like Chesney or Zac Brown might sing about, and the title is so generic as to be off-putting. But the melody is catchy as hell, and gets catchier with repeat spins. Then, when you let the lyrics sink in a bit more, it reveals itself to be a song about using booze and sand to reignite the magic in a long-term romance or friendship.

“Stay a Little Longer” is the other ready-made hit on the Osbornes’ self-titled EP, due out September 9. It’s about a hot, budding romance, with ripped-off shirts and machismo that’d be at home in a Luke Bryan ditty.  But in the Osbornes’ hands, the protagonist becomes increasingly enamored of his female counterpart’s more multidimensional attributes. There’ll be no hittin’ and runnin’ when the rooster crows. Instead, he’ll stick around like a gentleman — even if his intentions weren’t so gentlemanly from across the bar.

When singing about booze and women, it’s critical to articulate the nuances of both. Too often, they’re treated as red Solo cups–there for a night or a beer, then discarded and forgotten. The Osbornes, thankfully, tend toward a more respectful embrace of these elixirs, while too many of their peers reduce them to tropes. Elsewhere on the EP (in particular, the languid “Love the Lonely Out of You), T.J.’s bluesy baritone, blended with John’s loose guitar solos, are reminiscent of another fraternal duo: the Allmans.