Luke Bryan Serenades Summer & Skin Cancer in “Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset”
Apparently there is a hard and fast proviso in the mainstream country music bylaws stating that artists signed to major labels must release a torpid, moronic ode to coincide with the official observance of summer each calendar year. As certain as the changing of the seasons themselves, you can be rest assured that when planet Earth’s northern hemisphere is most inclined on its axis, you’re about to get your ears bleached by inane dribble about beach babes and backroad tailgate parties, full of nostalgic refuse, or shallow iterations of itineraries centered around being drunk near bodies of water.
Over the years Luke Bryan has been one of the most steadfast observers of this natural summer phenomenon, and one of the season’s greatest offenders. Whatever good will Luke accrued with his last okay single “Most People Are Good” is expended pretty quickly when you get a whiff of his bid for 2018 summer radio dominance, “Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset.” Though the use of electronic beats is relegated to the beginning and end of the song and otherwise gives way to innocuous country pop production—and the verses are inoffensive stock about remembering hanging out with some babe during a summer retreat—the vacuous chorus is where you get sideways with this thing, and feel like you’re getting docked IQ points for every second that ticks by within its audience.
We’ve all pulled the stupid move of getting a terrible sunburn because we forgot to sunscreen up, and some of us are destined to do this annually the first time bare skin meets blazing sun. But you learn dammit, at least you hope you do. You don’t pull the same dumb maneuver 90 straight days in a row until Labor Day saves you from invariable carcinoma, unless you’re the protagonist and love interest of Luke Bryan’s latest single. Then you’re stuck like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day doing the same dumb shit repeatedly every day, and in the case of “Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset,” reveling in it and recollecting back upon it fondly.
Look I get it, there’s something about the summer—especially when you’re young and unattached to responsibility—that makes memory stick to the inside of the skull, and over time makes it warm to recollect upon, especially if you got laid. It’s most certainly more fondly remembered than the middle of fall when you’re fighting through midterms and acne breakouts during your sophomore year of high school.
The overall story of this song is fine, and the melody fits the style and season of a middle-of-the-road pop country song. But songwriter Ryan Hurd should have spent less time snapping haughty Instagram photos for Maren Morris (they’re married, you see), and worked harder with co-writers Zach Crowell and Chase McGill to make a chorus that doesn’t completely suck the life force out of anyone with the intelligence enough to not repeatedly get a sunburned every single day like a brain dead moron.
You are what you eat, or listen to. And Luke Bryan has made lethargy and lack of learning capacity a fashionable consumable in this forgettable and regrettable track, not to mention its promotion of poor skin care habits to the populous. It will probably be a super-hit because it’s Luke Bryan singing it, but for “Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset,” September can’t get here quick enough.
June 21, 2018 @ 8:12 am
Mindless background dribble for a commercial or while shopping at Walmart, but still leaps and bounds better than Walker, Kane or A.J.
June 21, 2018 @ 8:12 am
My wife (who rarely comments on music) heard this song the other day on our local mainstream corporate station and simply said “I HATE THIS SONG” . Made me laugh to see it here today.
June 21, 2018 @ 12:40 pm
Lol!
June 21, 2018 @ 8:33 am
“you rolled in, in a little red Honda” Bwahaha!
June 21, 2018 @ 2:39 pm
This cracked me up also. The guys always tool around in Ford F150’s, but this girl only gets a puny little Japanese car.
June 22, 2018 @ 3:50 am
Do I dare admit to being a Honda owner in here?
June 21, 2018 @ 8:56 am
Are you more offended at the lyrics or the celebration of burnt, bare skin? I agree it’s a stupid song. But I see it as maybe Luke Bryan’s first big turd. I don’t see it going to Number 1. Maybe I’m wrong.
June 21, 2018 @ 2:29 pm
So I just looked up his singles, thinking Light It Up must have bombed. But, no, it hit number 1. He hasn’t had a single that didn’t hit number 1 since That’s My Kind of Night got to number 2 in 2013. Ugh.
June 21, 2018 @ 3:43 pm
Light it up was a fake #1 though. That”s my kinda night was a big hit that I believe made it to #1 on the Hot Country Song.
Best believe they will gerrymander this garbage to the top in airplay.
June 24, 2018 @ 11:55 pm
That’s My Kind Of Night hit #1 on the Mediabase airplay chart, so it still counts.
June 21, 2018 @ 9:02 am
Ok but did he finish painting the lake house or not? But seriously, terrible boring song that my dentist will play on the house speakers at low volume as I’m getting a cavity filled.
June 21, 2018 @ 9:03 am
I wonder what goes on in the heads of b-pop (bro/pop country) artists when they make stuff like this. Is it something like this?
Nagging voice In head that is concerned with absence of fulfillment, doing something good, and dignity: “This is corny, watered down, formulaic shit. I should be embarrassed. I should try to do better than this. Look at all the other great country artists making good music right now.”
The winning voice inside head: “What are you going buy with all the $$$ you are going to make?”
June 21, 2018 @ 11:32 am
“B-pop.” I like that. Perfect description.
June 21, 2018 @ 9:04 am
This song is like those orange push-ups made in factories by the million.
You know: push in, fill up, push on, repeat.
June 22, 2018 @ 5:39 am
Terrible analogy! Pushups are fucking incredible. Luke Bryan? The polar opposite of fucking incredible.
June 22, 2018 @ 2:42 pm
You do you, Cleats.
June 22, 2018 @ 9:55 pm
Only 3 people like Pushups?? Maybe I do have terrible taste in snack food. Well, at least I still hate Luke Bryan’s music.
June 21, 2018 @ 9:46 am
When is this 40 something year old man gonna quit singing about shit that happened to him in High School? He’s a real life Uncle Rico!
June 21, 2018 @ 10:23 am
“How much you wanna bet I can still cast a fishin’ line over them mountains?” 😉
June 21, 2018 @ 10:47 am
Back in ’82, I used to be able to cast a half ounce jig a quarter mile.
June 21, 2018 @ 10:02 am
Unfortunately I’ve known quite a few who eagerly embrace getting sunburnt because they ACTUALLY say: “I’m a redneck! This is just how I roll!” =/
The track itself is pretty innocuous and forgettable. It’s certainly not one of the worst offenders out there. But if the fact Kenny Chesney is still singing about Spring Break knocking on 50 is any indication, we should expect a LOT more of this from Bryan before he ever makes a pivot to steady maturity.
June 21, 2018 @ 10:28 am
totally.
We should add Keith Urban to the list.
June 22, 2018 @ 6:56 am
With Keith Urban it’s even more sad. He squanders more talent than Luke has ever had.
June 22, 2018 @ 10:12 am
I agree.
Keith Urban and Luke Bryan should look into Brad Paisley. Brad Paisley usually delivers good quality songs. Moonshine in the truck was an epic fail but at least he improved since then.
June 22, 2018 @ 10:38 am
Good point. You can’t fault Brad for taking chances and delivering an occasional stinker, but he’s put out some good country music over the years.
June 21, 2018 @ 10:46 am
I like Luke Bryan and his newest album is one my favorites from his discography. There’s definitely a few songs I don’t care for, like Light it Up, but the rest are fun and enjoyable. Every weekend as my wife and I get within a few minutes of our favorite lake we play and sing along to Huntin’ Fishin’ Lovin’ Every Day. It’s a great way to get pumped up for loading the boat in the water at 5am.
As for this song, it’s silly and harmless. Not one of his best, but a long way from his worst.
June 21, 2018 @ 12:34 pm
Huntin’ and Fishin’ is truly an exception to Luke Bryan recent singles.
He jumped in the bro country rap train with FGL and became quite ridiculous and brought the quality down with him.
June 21, 2018 @ 8:39 pm
Really? Which would you say is Luke Bryan’s worst song?
June 22, 2018 @ 8:50 am
Light It Up is pretty bad, same goes for Country Girl and Move. Pretty much any of his more pop/bro-country hook up songs.
My all time favorite Luke Bryan album is the Farm Tour EP, I think that’s his best sound. But I really like the majority of the tracks on What Makes You Country, I think it’s a much more mature and well crafted album than the previous three.
June 21, 2018 @ 8:41 pm
I like Luke Bryan, too, because he seems to be genuinely nice. But this song is so bad…
June 21, 2018 @ 11:17 am
The song sucks, the chorus is annoying, and I don’t think I’ve given his latest album 3 spins. Too much other good music to listen to. Radio has to stop kissing this guy’s ass when he/they(the label) sends garbage like this to be added.
June 21, 2018 @ 11:40 am
Poor Back Street AJ. This is essentially his same song, but it will be a radio hit. Children should pay attention. If a no talent hack like Luke brayn can become a hit artist, you can accomplish anything.
June 21, 2018 @ 12:08 pm
“Focus-grouped” to death, call-out-scored, as vanilla as possible & soccer-mom friendly & forgettable pop-“country” stuff for summer-heavy-rotation. Next album the same song with another title…
June 21, 2018 @ 12:47 pm
are you sure Hank done it this way?
June 21, 2018 @ 2:21 pm
There is a lengthy article about Luke Bryan in Billboard magazine. He basically stated he thought it was time had come to focus on other subjects besides “backroads,” and the usual current day country lyric. Yet, he releases this song that is the worst thing on country radio. The thought of hearing “Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset, Repeat” a million times kills all of the good feelings I had for him during “Most People Are Good.” Say what you must, this song is as bad as Backstreet Boys attempt at country. Grow up Luke and leave the sorority/frat songs to guys half your age.
June 21, 2018 @ 2:32 pm
At least, and I know this is a big assumption, Luke Bryan seems genuine here…I tend to believe this song accurately reflects his mindset and experiences.
June 21, 2018 @ 8:42 pm
I don’t know about his experiences, but he always seems like a good guy.
June 21, 2018 @ 9:17 pm
Who gives a shit if he’s a good guy? You’re not BFFs.
This guy puts out insufferable shit.
June 22, 2018 @ 9:06 am
Obviously, I give a shit. I’m not asking you to even care.
June 21, 2018 @ 2:55 pm
Between FGL, Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt, and Kane Brown, I’m trying to decide who is your favorite. The past few months have seen more posts about those asshats. You should forget them and focus on the real music. Quit giving the mainstream more press. You have been doing this for a long time and you have a good core audience that you reach out to. I know for a fact that there are many others besides myself who are getting turned away from your site because your focus lately has been mainstream. Fuck the mainstream.
June 21, 2018 @ 9:09 pm
1) He’s answered this so many times I’ve started to feel bad every time he repeats himself.
2) He still posts a shit ton of content not about the mainstream. You can read those instead.
June 21, 2018 @ 9:19 pm
It is a statistical fact that there is no more mainstream coverage here now than in the previous 10 years of Saving Country Music. Saving Country Music was founded to do battle with the mainstream. That is its core function. The only thing that has increased over the last few years is features on independent artists. The reason people believe otherwise is because they’re literally blind to positive coverage, and attracted to mainstream coverage. That is the only possible way they could believe I talk about the mainstream more than they ever have. It’s not an indictment on me. It’s an indictment of themselves, and their own priorities.
June 21, 2018 @ 2:56 pm
Most of the classic country songs from the 50’s and 60’s were between 2 and 2 1/2 minutes long. Why must these mainstream hacks torture listeners with 4 minute songs that repeat the chorus a zillion times?
I actually listened to the whole song and was thinking “God, when is this gonna end?”
June 21, 2018 @ 10:01 pm
Because that’s all Mom/daughter combos can musically understand besides “he’s hot”.
June 21, 2018 @ 10:49 pm
My theory is they did focus group testing and found that attention spans had degraded to the point where the chorus has to be repeated more times in a song for the average radio listener to remember it after the song is over, thus adding another 1-2 minutes to radio singles.
June 21, 2018 @ 3:11 pm
He shows promise for a hot minute that maybe, just maybe, he’s moving in a positive direction… well, guess he answered that question…
June 21, 2018 @ 8:25 pm
Eh, it’s ok. Not bad but not good.
June 21, 2018 @ 8:27 pm
Truth be told, I’m not surprised. And neither should anybody else be. Bromeisters like Luke Bryan aren’t going to change. Period. End of story.
June 21, 2018 @ 10:27 pm
so f—— generic ….so f—— forgettable
this could have easily been a Shelton song … nothing challenging about the ‘melody’ at all , how in hell does THIS get chosen ? how do even mainstream listeners stand for this over and over and over again ?
LB’s vocals have absolutely no character to them…..
June 21, 2018 @ 10:38 pm
what really blows me away time and time again is that THIS shit is what is keeping George Strait off the radio . that guy has more classic , more well-written substance- fueled songs on one album than LB has in his whole f—— catalogue . what the hell happened ???
your rating is too kind Trigger
June 24, 2018 @ 11:23 am
Hey guys!
A bit off topic here, but speaking of country radio:
I’m a Swede living in Austria, where country music radio is unheard of. I do have an internet radio though, but the problem is that I cannot find a decent station. It’s all pop/bro/super commercial “country” everywhere. Sure there must exist some better ones among all these hundreds of stations?
Is there anyone who could recommend me a radio station that broadcasts online and plays good, contemporary COUNTRY music?
June 25, 2018 @ 8:59 am
http://www.kwkz.com/ if you want to hear a terrestrial radio station. They have a good mix of old & traditional new country. They also play Bluegrass on Wednesday nights & Country Gospel on Sunday mornings.
June 25, 2018 @ 11:08 am
Thank you so much, will check it out! More recommendations are also welcome!
June 22, 2018 @ 5:42 am
Oh, and Trigger? The *ting!* you put on Luke’s teeth is priceless! Dead.
June 22, 2018 @ 8:52 am
Finally someone notices. I was so proud of myself 🙂
June 22, 2018 @ 9:13 am
I noticed something there but I wasn’t sure what it was and thought maybe it was a glitch of some kind. After this comment, I had to zoom in. Nice touch.
June 22, 2018 @ 10:56 am
I was hoping he’d put out a song like “Hooked on it” since that feels like a summer song and is definitely more fun than this one. “Sunrise…” doesn’t really make you feel anything. The only thing you remember after the song is over is “sunrise, sunburn, sunset, repeat” which is actually repeated 12 ones throughout the song. Keep in mind, the song has 36 lines, so this boring lyric accounts for 1/3 of the actual song. Talk about unimaginative and repetitive.
June 24, 2018 @ 7:33 pm
While I enjoy some of Bryan’s music, I heard this on radio the other day and i just couldnt believe he would release something this awful. This is a really REALLY bad song, really BAD single choice. I thought Kick The Dust Up was his worst offender, this bests it by a long mile…
June 24, 2018 @ 8:37 pm
The freaking music snobs that comment and follow all of Trigger’s insults like a herd of sheep is quite annoying. It’s a silly, catchy, harmless summer song and it grows on you. It certainly wasn’t worth writing an entire review of just to point out how much you hate Luke. I’m not a huge fan but I like some of his stuff and I just love this “bro country” category snob critics created. I’m sure all you guys hate Blake, Jason Aldean, Dierks, Jake Owen, etc… as well as Luke. Just enjoy what you enjoy and quit ripping on these guys just because they don’t meet some snobby standard of yours.
December 23, 2018 @ 10:57 pm
“It’s a…song that grows on you.”
Yeah, well cancer grows on you too. The similarity is that both Luke Bryan’s “music” and cancer are diseases.