Fired Up

From his position in country radio’s top tier, Houser spends his fourth album singing about driving, dating, and drinking while recalling wilder days: “A little bit older, a little Budweiser,” as he puts it in one working-stiff rouser. Opener “Back” sparks nostalgia through “a rolled-down window” for his bad-to-the-bone youth, and in “Senior Year” he’s at the wheel reminiscing about his letter jacket. If “Hot Beer and Cold Women” and “Whiskeysippi River” find him hungover, a woman’s blue eyes in “True” make it all worthwhile.

Randy Houser may remain on independent label Stoney Creek for 2016's Fired Up, but that doesn't stop him from swinging for the fences.