Country music is going through a type of rebirth: a boom of young, talented singer-songwriters (like Kacey Musgraves) who write solid, observational lyrics over sparsely arranged and well-written chord progressions.

But the aptly named _Crash My Party_ demonstrates country singer Luke Bryan’s uncanny ability to interrupt any fun, exciting or even mildly entertaining affair.

Between the cliché, anthemic romp of “That’s My Kind of Night,” and the oh-so-subtle “Goodbye Girl,” Bryan does very little to dispel the notion that he is just another cheesy nu country abomination this time around. Instead, he settles on crafting a melodramatic and mediocre album out of the leftover scraps from his extremely underwhelming previous effort, _Tailgates & Tanlines_.

The biggest mistake perpetrated by the completely derailed project is difficult to pinpoint. The music does very little in the way of innovation and isn’t even particularly impressive technically, considering Nashville session musicians are some of the most skilled in the world. The lyrics are laughably awful and the song titles are written in seeming self-parody of the beer chuggin’ and truck drivin’ “good ole’ boy” persona Bryan portrays.

Still, if you’re a fan of his past work, _Crash My Party_ should help satisfy your hunger for new Luke Bryan material, with album highlights like the wobbly yet ambitious “Shut It Down” and the extremely sappy balladry of the title track.

Bryan’s commercial success proves what type of country is still on top: boring and bland instrumentation built on lazy and formulaic songwriting, all wrapped in an over-produced shimmer.

_MOVE gives_ Crash My Party _2 out of 5 stars._