Boys Of Faith

Does Zach Bryan ever sleep? The wildly popular country singer-songwriter is also wildly prolific, dropping this surprise quintet of songs just weeks after releasing his massive self-titled album, itself coming on the heels of the string of loosies and EPs Bryan released in the year since blowing up with 2022’s *American Heartbreak*. *Boys of Faith* opens with “Nine Ball,” a new song whose roots-rock production hews closely to *Zach Bryan* tracks like “Overtime” and “Fear and Friday’s.” The tune is also reminiscent of Jason Isbell, a major influence on Bryan—particularly *Southeastern* deep cut “Super 8,” with its devil-may-care attitude, and *The Nashville Sound*’s wistful “Last of My Kind.” Noah Kahan joins Bryan on “Sarah’s Place,” the “Stick Season” singer-songwriter lending harmony vocals and sounding like he’s having a great time doing it. Bryan teased the title track, a collaboration with Bon Iver, on social media in advance of *Boys of Faith*’s release, with the somewhat surprising pairing sounding like two sides of the same downtrodden coin. While that collaboration may grab all the headlines, the EP also boasts a recorded version of “Deep Satin,” a fan favorite song of Bryan’s that many fans begged for after it didn’t make the tracklist on that self-titled LP. Its studio incarnation crackles with the same urgency found in the live versions floating around online, with gritty, off-the-cuff-sounding production to flesh it out. Bryan closes *Boys of Faith* with “Pain, Sweet, Pain,” another deserving unreleased tune getting the long-awaited studio treatment.