Tim McGraw – “Top of the World” (Singles Going Steady)

The electronic leanings near the song’s opening scared me at first, but this song is relatively enjoyable. I’m still not the biggest fan of the synth that was invoked into the vocal at most points, but McGraw handles himself well given his dealings with the modern country devil – at least it isn’t thematically encompassing trucks, or, you know, turning a cornfield into a party. A mellow, everyman love song that I’m sure could light up country radio pretty strongly given McGraw’s status as a mainstay. I wouldn’t ever outwardly choose to listen to it, but I wouldn’t necessarily change the dial if it were to come up either. Like the song’s disposition, my reaction is nondescript towards it all. — JONATHAN FRAHM [5/10]

Cliché, cliché, cliché, cliché. Strained sincerity. Song title. Repeat. Sure Tim McGraw sounds like a nice fella. Nothing offensive here. Just a bunch of strung together worn out sentiments about how special a relationship can be. You and me against the world, or maybe with the world–it doesn’t matter, babe. You gotta have Faith. Tim does, so you can breathe easy and expect the song to ride up the country charts because, hey it’s Tim, and it’s a love song. — STEVE HOROWITZ [6/10]

I refuse to rate country music until any of its vast arsenal of artists do one thing that can qualify as rhythmic consequence. Until then, you’ll be sitting on the bottom of the cultural junk heap. — TIMOTHY GABRIELE [2/10]