Same here. In my opinion, they could do no wrong up through their 2004 self-titled album (which I can't believe isn't available digitally even to this day). View From the Bottom was fine. I don't know if this album is "really bad" though. I mean, I can hear good melodies and songwriting throughout these songs. So, for a country fan, maybe this is a really good album. I'm just not a country fan, so I cringe hearing this stuff. I think it would annoy me less if they sort of went the Americana route or something, and AJ didn't fake a country accent the entire time. If you read one of the handful of interviews with the band over the last month or so, they are pretty clear why they went this route. They don't think rock sells anymore, so they migrated to country fans, who still buy a lot of music.
...I can almost guarantee that country radio won't touch this/that this experiment doesn't garner them any new fans or additional attention.
It isn't as catchy as I thought it would be and it is definitely their weakest effort but there are still a few songs to enjoy :: I don't think it is really bad. There are still a few catchy tunes on it FAST did pretty well on Country radio if I remember.
I see why you're pointing that out, and I can't find any evidence to the contrary so. Fair enough. But what did that song doing "pretty well" translate to? Playing second out of four bands on a bill featuring Buckcherry, P.O.D., and Alien Ant Farm. My point is simply that this is a failed attempt by the band to try and stay current and get new fans. Doesn't seem to have panned out.
830k in a year doesn't exactly scream an impactful hit. And I think country music videos do pretty well and that only has 30k views