“Tonight I dare you to dream, go on and believe in impossible things.” This is just one of the messages Brad Paisley gives on his new album, “Moonshine in the Trunk.” These lyrics are from a track called “American Flag on the Moon,” a song inspired by his son.  Paisley covers a number of topics on this album all connecting to his fans. He covers the four most important elements of country music: America, Jesus, drinking and love.  

Brad Paisley is famous for his summer anthems and like clockwork always releases the perfect summer song. It is no secret Paisley is infatuated with water and his latest summer anthem is no different. 

He achieved his goal of having a chart topping song, “River Bank,” that will be blasted at pools, beaches and rivers everywhere. “When life gives you limes, make margaritas.” “Limes,” a pseudo drinking song that is actually about living life with a glass half full rather than half empty. This song can make anyone immediately begin singing along to. 

The first track on the album “Crushin’ It” sets the tone for the entire album. It lets the listener know that they are gonna have a good time, drink, and have their worries wash as they are “crushin’ it.” 

The title track “Moonshine in the Trunk,” gives Paisley the chance to show off his famous guitar skills, but the song itself has no real merit to it, though it is the merit track. Carrie Underwood once again teams up with Paisley for “High Life,” a comical song about Chick-fil-A in which Underwood essentially is making fun of herself.  

A common theme in country music is a classic love song. “Perfect Storm” is Paisley’s, who says the perfect women is “sunshine mixed with a little hurricane.” “Perfect Storm,” will serve as Paisley’s second single and will hit country radio on Sept. 2. “Shattered Glass,” is a song Paisley dedicated to wife, actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley. This song is not a traditional love song yet it is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. 

Paisley pours his heart out about how proud he is of his wife’s accomplishments and how much he believes in her. “Cover Girl,” is another notable song about Paisley’s appreciation of women.  

“Moonshine in the Trunk,” consist of 15 tracks including a bonus track titled “Me and Jesus.” Paisley always includes a gospel track on his albums. This track is very different than most of Paisley’s up-tempo songs. It is a live version of Paisley sharing his relationship with Jesus with just a simple acoustic guitar. 

While Paisley definitely has some hits on this album, make no mistake, there are a few songs that missed the mark. “4WP,” “Gone Green” and a 54 second track entitled “Jfk 1962,” really served no purpose besides causing confusion. “Country Nation,” gave the perfect opportunity to tie together the entire album, though  the song does not live up to its lofty title.     

“Moonshine in the Trunk” is an album that Paisley wanted to focus solely on his fans. He did not want to focus on what was mainstream or what the record labels wanted to hear. This played a large role in Paisley’s endeavor to leak his album slowly before his Aug. 26th release date. 

He enlisted the help of many of his celebrity friends, such as Ellen Degeneres, and his platform as judge on ABC’s “Rising Star” to get his songs out to his fans against his record labels opposition. Fans could watch the controversy unfold as Paisley shared the backlash from his team on his Twitter account. 

After 15 years in the business, Brad Paisley shows no signs of slowing down as “Moonshine in the Trunk” is his 10th studio album. This album is a feel-good party album which Paisley says, “I am going to say what I want to say, and this album is what I want to say right now.”