Album Review – Sam Barber’s “Restless Mind”

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#570.15 (Singer/songwriter-inspired Americana) on the Country DDS.

It’s truly hard to quantify what kind of transformational impact the career of Zach Bryan has caused to country music, and to music in general. Irrespective of what you or anyone else might think about the man or his music, the Zach Bryan phenomenon has been beyond revolutionary in a way that it might take many years or even decades for us to truly quantify or appreciate.

Part and parcel with this phenomenon, and speaking to its reverberative impact has been the coattails that have formed behind Zach Bryan over the last couple of years, with performers clearly inspired or outright copycatting the Oklahoma songwriter in style and approach cropping up all over the place, while also forging incredible success all on their own. Chief among them and leading the pack is the wiry, sullen-faced songwriter from eastern Missouri named Sam Barber.

Starting on Tik-Tok in 2021, Sam garnered a strong, grassroots following from uploading videos of cover songs, and eventually his original material. Some singles, a couple of EPs, and a distribution deal with Atlantic Records followed. Now we are finally staring at proper debut LP in the form of the 28-song Restless Mind, combining some previously-released material like his massive Certified Platinum hit “Straight and Narrow” with plenty of new songs.

Similar to Zach Bryan, it’s hard to understate just how massive the appeal for Sam Barber has become. Similar to Zach Bryan, experiencing Barber live is to witness many younger fans singing all the words back at the stage. Without even a sniff of radio play or a mainstream media push, Sam Barber is offering direct support to headliners at festivals, selling out theaters, and making major label talent rosters jealous.

That’s not all that’s similar about Zach Bryan. You listen to Restless Mind, and you could easily be convinced it’s a Zach Bryan album. It’s not just the moody, brooding, and often messy, unedited song material. It’s the phrasing, the cadence, the way Barber purposely makes his voice fail at the end of verses, and sometimes goes to a growl in the chorus.

In certain ways it feels insulting to draw such direct comparisons between two performers, but it would also be irresponsible to not point out the eerie similarities. If it wasn’t for Zach Bryan, there would be no Sam Barber. Or at least, he wouldn’t sound like he does, or he wouldn’t be nearly as popular as he is. It’s Zach Bryan who built the appetite for this musical approach out of whole cloth.

And make no mistake about it, Sam Barber is not alone in rising up to fill this appetite. He’s is just one of many. Those paying close attention know that Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”—which is the biggest song in all of 2024—isn’t built off of the appeal for Shaboozey or even the 2005 J-Kwon song that it’s derived from. The appeal comes from it’s similarity to Zach Bryan songs.

There are four major influences among the artists revolutionizing country at the moment: classic country revivalists, Tyler Childers-inspired Appalachian artists, 3rd generation Texas/Red Dirt performers, and those that sound so similar to Zach Bryan, that is what what your musical brain latches onto almost immediately, and won’t let go of. It’s as if Zach Bryan is his own genre.

Zach Bryan has always been music critic kryptonite, because none of the conventional rules apply to him, and a similar assessment can be made with Sam Barber. But there are some significant differences between the two. Where Zach Bryan’s last two albums have sidestepped any outside producer, Sam Barber has been working with Eddie Spear, who along with producing albums from Cody Jinks, Colby Acuff, and others, also helped produce Zach Bryan’s Quiet, Heavy Dreams, American Heartbreak, and Summertime Blues.


Along with producers Joe Becker and Carrie K, they create more depth, structure, and variety for Sam Barber’s songs compared to Zach Bryan’s most recent output. If nothing else, they make sure the guitars are in tune. This isn’t “country” music any more than Zach Bryan is country music, which Zach Bryan himself says, “It’s not.” But it’s still more country than it is anything else.

Where Sam Barber gives up ground as a Zach Bryan scion is in the songwriting itself. Where even on his worst days Zach delivers incredible lines bursting with insight and/or emotion, Sam Barber constantly feels like he’s stretching to complete a thought, sometimes failing to rhyme, with some lines composed to feel deep, but don’t really say much of anything when dissected. Sometimes Barber lands a blow, but after 28 tracks, you start the see the repetitive mechanics behind his approach, and the holes.

Also, where Zach Bryan will pull from a broader palette of inspirations such as nostalgic reflection or involved travelogues, at 21, Barber just doesn’t have those resources available to him yet, so it’s heavy doses of heartbreak and mental anguish tied to young adult relationships.

And here we are again making side-by-side comparisons between Sam Barber and Zach Bryan, which is not where any artist should want to be. They should stand on their own two feet, and set their own narrative. Zach Bryan faced comparisons with Tyler Childers when he first emerged, though not as severe. But here is Sam Barber on Restless Mind covering Tyler’s “Jersey Giant.”

It’s not that Sam Barber is unskilled or lacking talent. And it’s definitely not about failing to touch a nerve and resonating. He’s done that in spades. And there are a few moments on Restless Mind where Barber surprises you. The song “Gambler” is curious with the guts it displays compared to his other songs, and is produced by Pat Lyons, who is known for working with Colter Wall.

But similar to Zach Bryan, the critics and criticisms of Sam Barber don’t matter. Because similar to Zach Bryan, Sam is resonating with listeners on a deep level, and doing it with songs that are raw and uninhibited about sharing intimate feelings, and in a way audiences connect with. Ultimately, little else matters. It’s not that the criticisms for Sam Barber and comparisons to Zach Bryan are unwarranted. It’s that they’re irrelevant.

Sam Barber is still very young, yet he’s amassed a significant fan base that if he plays his cards right, will follow him where he goes. But the whole Tik-Tok thing isn’t as potent as it was a year or two ago when Barber first released “Straight and Narrow.” It’s now harder to leverage social media to create a viral song, or a viral star. Meanwhile, the Zach Bryan doppelgangers are piling up behind Sam Barber, while the appeal for Zach Bryan is subsiding itself from some of the wrong turns he’s made.

Soon, the public will move onto the next hot thing, in music, and in social media. And the question for Sam Barber and others will be if they can prove to have an appeal all their own.

6.5/10

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