The first thing that you need to know about Zach Bryan's new EP Young Manhood & Other Donatable Organs is that he samples the late wrestling legend Dusty Rhodes' classic "hard times" promo on a song called "Robot Killed The Working Man." That's fucking awesome. I like everything about that.
Sorry. Had to get that out of my system. I will admit that the Dusty Rhodes sample is probably not the most notable thing about Young Manhood & Other Donatable Organs. For one thing, there's that title. That's quite a title. For another, there's the cover art, which appears to be one Zach Bryan shooting another Zach Bryan. And then there's the existence of "Lies," the promised duet between Bryan and Lana Del Rey.
Del Rey teased a Zach Bryan collab last month. She and Bryan wrote "Lies" together. Their chorus quotes Fleetwood Mac's "Little Lies," and the piano intro evokes Rihanna's "Stay." It's a big, sad, string-laden ballad about two people trying to convince each other that they're happy together even though they know they're not. Bryan really pushed himself vocally on this one, and he and Del Rey sound really, really good together. The combination makes more sense than I could've expected.
On first listen, the rest of Young Manhood & Other Donatable Organs is a typically strong effort from the ultra-prolific Zach Bryan, who co-produced the EP with Eddie Spear, a regular collaborator, and Jamie McLaughlin, previously best known for working with artists like Rod Wave and Brent Faiyaz. (A couple of years ago, I had a theory that Bryan was the white Rod Wave, so this checks out.) Turnpike Troubadours, the Oklahoma country-rock band who Bryan has long admired, appear on "Plainsman," a song that Bryan co-wrote with frontman Evan Felker. Opening track "Lodi When" has a whole squad of backup singers, including Grumpy's Heaven Schmitt and indie rock singer-songwriter Katy Kirby.
Bryan has been talking about this new EP since July, but he only properly announced its release earlier this week. The man's catalog continues to grow at an alarming pace. Earlier this year, he released the sprawling album With Heaven On Top, then followed it with an acoustic version of the same record and a few one-off singles. A few weeks ago, he wore a "Free Palestine" shirt while playing a show at Robert Kraft's stadium, an amazing rebuke to the ongoing Ed Sheeran/Macklemore saga. Hear the Young Manhood & Other Donatable Organs EP below.
The Young Manhood & Other Donatable Organs EP is out now on Belting Bronco/Warner.