Shane O’Dazier – “I Hate This Town”

Songwriters: Shane O’Dazier and Randy Barber.

The debut single from Robbins Nashville recording artist Shane O’Dazier has a bit of a twist to it.

It rolls along like a typical celebration of small-town life until the first chorus, when the singer reveals that all the town’s charm dissipated when his wife left him. Where he once dreamed of raising a family and growing old (as his parents likely did), the constant reminders of his past relationship now leave him feeling stifled and eager to escape.

In other words, the twist is that he hates this town, which doesn’t come as much of a surprise considering that it’s the title of the song. Since the lyric doesn’t develop much beyond that initial bait-and-switch, everything after the first minute or so is mostly about repeating the chorus and being catchy.

Still, the hook is serviceable and O’Dazier delivers a thoroughly likable, if somewhat nondescript, vocal performance. If there’s nothing here to suggest that O’Dazier is the next Garth Brooks (we really don’t need another anyhow), neither is there anything to suggest that he couldn’t easily slip into radio slots presently occupied by like-minded neotraditionalists Jason Michael Carroll or Jake Owen given the right promotional push.

The middle of the road has its appeal. While many recent singles seem hellbent on failing in the most spectacular manner possible, “I Hate This Town” takes modest aim and achieves a reasonable level of success. The end result is probably generic enough to sound right at home in a Chevy commercial, but it’s also free from the grander pretensions that mar so many similar efforts.

The confidence and unassuming charm exhibited by O’Dazier make this a solid debut, albeit one that likely doesn’t show enough personality to win him many ardent supporters at this early stage of his career. As a starting place, though, this isn’t bad at all.

Listen: Shane O’Dazier – “I Hate This Town”