Zach John King’s I’m What You Get Is an Ambitious Debut That Pays Off

Review by Lauren Page | @LiveWithLP

Zach John King's debut album I'm What You Get is out now.

There are debut albums, and then there are debut albums that arrive with 20 tracks, Brooks & Dunn, Brent Cobb and Bayker Blankenship in tow. Zach John King has never exactly been one for doing things quietly.

Over the last year, the Georgia native has gone from one of country music’s most exciting emerging names to an artist very firmly carving out his own lane. Now, after months of teasers, singles and a pretty rapid rise, his debut album I’m What You Get is finally here.

And 20 tracks for a debut? It’s a gamble. But somehow, actually no, not surprisingly, Zach John King has pulled it off.

The title track sets the scene perfectly. I’m What You Get feels almost like a mission statement for the record, introducing an album that spends a lot of time looking backwards: at where King came from, the mistakes made along the way and the person he’s becoming. The line “born again sinner till the day I die” probably sums up the world of this record better than anything else could.

Previously released Run For Them Hills remains one of my favourites. It’s fun, upbeat and unmistakably Zach, while Whiskey Lying taps straight back into that sound fans have come to know him for.

Of course, there are some seriously impressive names joining him too.

Way To Go featuring Brooks & Dunn is every bit as good as that combination sounds, while Choppin’ Wood with Brent Cobb might just be the collaboration you never knew you needed. This is windows down, sun shining, winding-road country music. Their vocals complement each other brilliantly, and having Brooks & Dunn and Brent Cobb on a debut record feels like a pretty big testament to the kind of artist Zach is becoming.

Then there’s Life Behind Bars with Bayker Blankenship, a collaboration I always love to hear. When I spoke to Zach at Stagecoach earlier this year, he told me the track had come together while the pair were over in Europe for C2C - making finally hearing it on the finished record that little bit sweeter.

But some of the album’s best moments come when King slows things down.

How To Not, a tribute to his dad, pulls firmly on the heartstrings without losing the vocal character that makes Zach so recognisable. Beneath The Pines surprised me even more. It shows a softer, romantic side of his voice we haven’t heard nearly enough of, and it works beautifully.

Then we get to Shoulda Coulda Woulda.

If I were putting money on one album track taking on a life of its own, it would be this. It’s ridiculously catchy, feels made for a crowd to scream back at him and has already earned a permanent place in my playlist.

You might be reading this thinking, surely, she’s spoken about her favourite so far? Somehow, it still isn't my diamond of the album.

That goes to Lose You. It’s a slight turn from what we might expect from Zach John King, but never strays so far that it stops sounding like him. It’s catchy, immediate and exactly the kind of track I can already picture myself singing at the top of my lungs whenever he

finally makes his way back across the Atlantic.

Little Bit Stronger is another standout. The strings are a brilliant addition; there’s a proper country twang running throughout and lyrically it’s one of the strongest moments on the record.

If there is one criticism, it’s that the sequencing towards the latter half gets a little too comfortable. Homegrown Heaven, Sunsets In Georgia, High Like Her and Happy For You bring the energy down in fairly quick succession, and mixing those quieter moments between some of the bigger tracks might have helped a 20-song record move even more effortlessly.

But the final track makes a convincing case for the journey.

What I’m Giving Up feels like exactly where I’m What You Get needed to finish. Lyrics, strings and the range in King’s vocals all come together on a song that encapsulates so much of what this album is about: growing up, finding yourself, figuring out what matters and making your mark.

Releasing 20 tracks as your debut is ambitious, particularly when Zach John King has already built so much momentum without a full-length record behind him. But I’m What You Get proves there’s far more to him than the songs that first catapulted his name into the spotlight.

It’s fun, reflective, occasionally heartbreaking and unmistakably Zach John King.

Hats off to Zach, because I’m What You Get has landed firmly among my favourite country albums of the year.

Now I just need that UK and European tour announcement..

I'm What You Get by Zach John King is out now