Zachary Lane Bryan, a name recognized by many, but not truly “known”. His music has been heard by millions, but has touched the hearts of a select few. Born into a military family, Zach was born in Okinawa, Japan. Shortly after, Zach moved to Oologah, Oklahoma, where he would find his roots and grow up the “red-dirt” way. Zach received his first guitar at fourteen, and quickly learned how to play sweet and slow melodies which could wow crowds. When Zach turned seventeen, he followed in line with his father and enlisted into the Navy. In an interview with Joe Rogan, Zach claims this profession caused mental difficulties which led him down a path of depression and anxiety. These mental issues led to him recording songs he wrote as his form of therapy. Drenched in sweat, Zach would sing his heart out and post them to Twitter where, at first, he was receiving little to no attention. He was fine with this, however, until one day when the spotlight grabbed ahold of him and he blew up into a man who related to tons and tons of men in this world. Zach would go onto release “DeAnn”, named after his late mother, in 2019, which included many songs from these recordings. As time has gone on, we have seen the many personalities of Zach. From the deep and meaningful tones of “DeAnn”, to the springy, more peppy sound of “American Heartbreak”. This recent joyful mood of Zach was met with the breakup of him and Deb Peifer in May. Shortly after, we were met with an Instagram post stating “This next one is for me.”  What could this mean?

On the morning of August 25, 2023, Zach released his self-titled album to the masses. As you click play, you hear a quick guitar riff which leads into a deep, meaningful poem shows you Zach’s opinion on the media and the pressure some artists have in the industry, but Zach expresses how his fears have been conquered through his life experiences. The quote which sticks out to me is, “I do not and will not fear tomorrow because I feel as though today has been enough”. This shows how Zach has matured in life and how he stays positive through thick and thin. The next song, titled “Overtime”, brings some older Zach melodies mixed with trumpets and drums to create an upbeat masterpiece showing his true Oklahoman colors. Next up is a change of scene with “Summertime Close”. This song shows his longing for company represents the before mentioned breakup. Within the lyrics, we can feel how his life has changed as he has to remember what life was like alone. The last song of the introduction is “East Side of Sorrow”. In this song, Zach digs deep into his main problems in his life. His service in the Navy, the death of his mother, and the loss of one of his crewmates all left him wondering why. This question gets answered in the chorus as he turns to God, which gives him the hope tomorrow will be better and life will move on. “Let it be and let it go.”

Within the next section, we are under the impression life is still hard for him. The first song on this group is titled “Hey Driver” and features The War and the Treaty. The song mentions the recurring theme of his loneliness and his frustration on the events which “God has put him through”. This song opens up his feelings of depression and his urge to give up. The album takes a turn, however, with the song “Fear and Fridays”, which bears the same name as the opening poem. This is where Zach expresses his denial of the situation, and acts like his ex is going to come back no questions asked. This song shows his fear in life is the ending of their relationship. The stages of grieving are truly hitting Zach as we enter the song “Ticking”. This song reveals he is planning on cutting off everything has a place in his heart in order to be happy. This mindset causes him to tremble in his words and allow the listener to feel his sorrow. Zach finally moves on from the parting and describes his feeling in “Holy Roller”, which features Sierra Ferrell. In this song, he expresses how he may be a troubled man, but he “found God in your eyes”. This quote reveals God indeed gave him a gift for all of the hardships Zach went through.

The next section of this album digs deeper into Zach’s personal issues. Opening with “Jake’s Piano”, he talks about his problems with alcoholism and smoking led his ex to break up with him. As the song goes on, Zach reveals he has been trying to contact her, but he realizes he has changed as a person since they got together. With these issues, Zach reveals more about his time in the Navy in “El Dorado”. In this song, he writes a letter to one of his crewmates who served with him. As writing the letter, Zach drives to the town to find out his crewmate has passed away and is memorialized outside El Dorado, cementing his legacy will live on. Doubling down on his alcoholism, Zach dials into the previous relationship in his song “I Remember Everything” with Kacey Musgraves. Within this, he dials into the memories they had, which leads to him realizing their relationship relied on alcohol to stay afloat. After all of the therapy the last songs did, Zach takes on a lighter note with “Tourniquet”. In this song, Zach takes the place as the therapist in his new relationship, and offers to help fix the problems his new lover has, claiming, “I bandage up your body and your bones and your bad days too.” 

The last section of the album opens up on a light note with “Spotless”, featuring The Lumineers. Within Zach’s new relationship he wants to solidify even with his name and fortune, he has done some stupid things in life, and he does not expect her to be perfect either. He clarifies he prefers the truth over love.

 As the album closes, Zach thinks back to his life in Oklahoma with “Tradesman”. Here he expresses his desires to get out of the spotlight and live carefree in his small town. Working trade and living a normal life are all he wants in life. With this longing for Oklahoman life, he does one final love song towards his new lover expresses his attraction to a simple country girl who can live a small town life. In “Smaller Acts”, he describes how he does not have to do extravagant things in order to please her and shows his gratitude towards her. To cap off the album, Zach ends it with “Oklahoman Son”. This song reiterates when he gets back to Oklahoma, all of his problems drift away. He describes his hometown and how he grew up, which causes him to remember all of the memories as he drives through. He reminds himself “You are the Oklahoman Son” 

Looking back on this album, I realize how true this feels. His longing for a simpler life mixed with his raw and unfiltered vocals show his true passion for where he came from and what it did to him. This album truly was for him, as he used this to shout out his feelings and insecurities about life in order to create a masterpiece for his listeners. Overall, I put this album among the best of his works. As of right now, Zach has finally made his way back to Oklahoma and pushes for people to find their happy place as he says, “You can’t hide where you’re from”.