Zach Bryan recorded an acoustic version of his new album because he was worried fans would call it “produced and s*****”.
The country music star’s new release With Heaven On Top dropped on Friday (09.01.26) and it will be followed by a paired down version which is due for release on Monday (11.01.26) which features stripped back interpretations of all 25 songs – and Bryan has revealed he came up with the idea to rerecord the tracks as a way to silence his critics.
In a post on Instagram, he explained: “I’m assuming this record is just like all the other ones and there’s gonna be a billion people saying it’s over produced and s***** so I sat down in a room by myself and recorded all the songs acoustically so I didn’t have to hear everyone whine about more stuff.
“There’s mistakes and I didn’t redo any of them but this’ll be out three days after With Heaven On Top drops tomorrow.”
He added in a separate post: “Acoustic version of the record drops three days after With Heaven On Top drops tomorrow. Hope you don’t hate it.”
The album features new track Bad News which caused a furore when a snippet was released last year.
Bryan seemingly takes aim at US President Donald Trump and the divided atmosphere in the US in the track but he previously urged the public to wait to hear the “full context” of the song before criticising it.
In a statement posted on his Instagram Story, the singer explained: “This shows you how a divisive narrative can be when shoved down our throats through social media.
“This song is about how much I love this country and everyone in it more than anything. When you hear the rest of the song, you will understand the full context that hits on both sides of the aisle.
“Everyone using this now as a weapon is only proving how devastatingly divided we all are. We need to find our way back.”
The Pink Skies artist continued: “I served this country, I love this country and the song itself is about all of us coming out of this divided space. I wasn’t speaking as a politician but or some greater-than-thou a******, just a 29-year-old man who is just as confused as everyone else.
“To see how much s*** it stirred up makes me not only embarrassed but kind of scared. Left wing or right wing, we’re all one bird and American. To be clear I’m on neither of these radical sides.
“To all those disappointed in me on either side of whatever you believe in just know I’m trying my best too and we all say things that are misconstrued sometimes.”
In a secondary story, the musician added: “I am SO proud to have served in a country where we can all speak freely and converse amongst each other without getting doxxed or accosted on the internet or worse; the violence and heartbreak we’ve faced in the last few months.”