Album Review: Hunter Thomas Mounce- “Folks Like Me and You”

If you’re looking for an album title that perfectly describes the music underneath the cover, you won’t find one better than Hunter Thomas Mounce’s “Folks Like Me and You,” which debuted at number 10 on the iTunes country chart.

With its title pulled from the fan-favorite “True American,” Mounce’s 11-song debut album details the stories of what feels like the everyday person, and after finishing the album, you truly feel that you know Mounce much better than you did when you pressed play.

Appropriately leading off the album is “Can’t Get Enough,” one of Mounce’s signature songs, and the first song he ever wrote. The track, which is full of great fiddle and steel work, serves as a great starting point to the record. Complete with a fun story and a catchy chorus, “Can’t Get Enough” perfectly sits on the line of a classic country sound with hits of modernity as well.

Building off of the momentum of “Can’t Get Enough” is “Sweatin’ Beer,” with which Mounce showcases impressive vocal range in the first verse, and maintains it throughout with impressive vibrato. The acoustic feel to the song is excellent, and the steel guitar building on top of it adds another layer to the fun second track.

The aforementioned fan-favorite “True American” comes next. An excellent story song with a very strong chorus, the song features a great transition of the song’s story into the second verse; altogether making it easy to see why Mounce’s fans have reacted so positively to this song.

Track four brings the first “new” song on the release, “Staples.” The fiddle intro and first verse set a great tone, and with an outlaw vibe to it and a great musical build into the choruses, this song has the feels of an anthem. “Staples” is definitely one of the standout tracks on the album.

Mounce delivers another “new” song with “Younger Dumber Me,” which features a 90s-country feel. Complete with a very strong reminiscent lyric filled with clever wordplay, Mounce shines in his deliver of the song. Putting the song over the top is the bridge building into the last chorus, great stuff!

Mounce shows a different element of his voice on the next track, “She’s Still Your Girl.” With a stripped back recording that allows the sentimental lyric to shine, vulnerability drips through the speakers with this song, in the best possible way.

“Away” kicks the tempo back up a few notches. The most “modern” sounding song on the release, “Away” is another song that has an anthem feel to it. Complete with great lyrics and a nice musical build, “Away” is a song of and for the working man.

Following “Away” is another fan-favorite, “Me with Money.” A cleverly written tongue-in-cheek song, “Me with Money” features great harmonies and wordplay throughout. The continuity between choruses allows the song to flow very well. “Me with Money” is another standout track on the release.

A great opening dobro introduces “Trailer Park Lovin.'” This track features some of the most powerful instrumentation on the release, which is matched by Mounce’s powerful vocal delivery of the lyric.

“Fish I Can’t Catch” takes the tempo down in an excellent way. Before even listening, the title itself is intriguing. The steel guitar intro is awesome, and the way the melody builds into the lyric is very well done. The chorus is very memorable, and is another standout track.

Rounding things out is “Feelin’ the Fire Burn Out,” the only outside cut on the album, which was written by powerhouses Erin Enderlin, Luke Bryan, and Jamie Teachenor. This song has gotten off to a great start with Hunter’s fans, and features a great 90s-country feel. Complete with great analogies and a strong vocal, “Feelin’ the Fire Burn Out” closes the album in a strong way.

After the 11-song journey of “Folks Like Me and You,” you really feel that you know Hunter much better, and it is that relatability that will keep “Folks Like Me and You” blasting through speakers for years to come.