Red dirt roads and endless swaths of farmland pretty near write country songs by themselves, but it takes someone like Prince Edward Island’s Nolan Compton to really drive it home.
With his latest single, “Unbelievable,” Compton does just that. He channels the energy and influence of his heroes- people like Merle Haggard and George Strait, but tosses in plenty of current taste and style as well. What we’re left with is a summer sing-along that could chart on any country station anywhere.
Slated to be a part of Compton’s 2022 release, Born and Raised, “Unbelievable” began its life the way so many country songs have; reflecting on past relationships. It shows a level of maturity, however, when the 25-year-old acknowledges that although the relationship ended, it got him to a place he needed to be.
“I was in a bit of a rough patch before meeting her,” says Compton. “I wasn’t making the best life decisions, but during our time together, she helped me get back on track and focus on what’s truly important. Even though we aren’t together anymore, I appreciate all the moments we once shared.”
The irony through all of that hardship, of course, is that we’re left with a snapshot that we can overlay onto our own experience. We can relate to it, and in many cases, it helps us in our own times of strife.
Nolan Compton knows this, and so he lends us a bit of his experience in the hopes that it helps us push through ours.
“Unbelievable,” however, does a fine job of masking any kind of sorrow its lyric may indicate. Its call-and-answer interplay between electric guitar and fiddle immediately gets the foot tapping, and when Compton starts singing you’d bet your potato farm that you were in Nashville, and not Morell, PEI.
In fact, this track has all the polish of a Nashville production; a great snare sound (Elijah MacDougall), sizzling guitar licks (Jason Barry), tight harmonies (Jon Matthews/Roland Beaulieu), and a dancing fiddle throughout (Shane Guse). Compton has been able to use his classic voice to pay homage to those that came before him while tipping his Stetson to those he hopes to stand among today.
Produced by multi-award winning producer Jon Matthews of the Sound Mill Recording Studio, this is a song that Nolan Compton stands firmly behind, and if you’re one of the lucky ticket holders for his August 27th single release show at the St. Peter’s Courthouse Theatre and Museum (St. Peter’s Bay, PEI), you will too!