Body Language

Body Language is Blake Shelton's first album in nearly four years, but you'd be forgiven if you thought it followed directly on the heels of 2017's Texoma Shore. Shelton spent the time between records firmly within the spotlight, retaining his pivotal role on The Voice (his teams always do very well), releasing a hits compilation called Fully Loaded: God's Country in 2019, and staying on the airwaves through duets with Garth Brooks, Trace Adkins, and Gwen Stefani. "Happy Anywhere," his second single with fiancée and Voice co-star Stefani, hit number one on Billboard's Country Airplay charts at the end of 2020, setting up the summer 2021 release of Body Language. The album, Shelton's 12th, is a good candidate for lazy, sunny afternoons. It's cheerful, clean, and slick, relying on breezy midtempo trifles rather than rockers or ballads. Naturally, there are some slow tunes -- the album ends on the quiet, reflective note "Bible Verses" -- but they're overshadowed by airy love songs and subdued party tunes. The proceedings are so friendly, it can be easy to forgive its cheeseball sentiments, at least when "Monday Mornin' Missin' You" is humming along. Listen a little closer and seams begin to show. It's hard not to think that the cornball "Corn" seems designed to be an industrial farming advocacy spot, while the line "You can make a man feel rich on minimum wage" seems unctuous when delivered by a millionaire. These are mere speed bumps on an otherwise smooth ride, a record carefully calibrated to keep Shelton in the upper reaches of the charts while not alienating a single one of his fans. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine