Album Review: Storyline by Hunter Hayes

He may have started recording long before her -- as a Louisiana wunderkind, he had a pair of records released when he was just nine and ten -- but Hunter Hayes emerged in the 2010s as the first genuine post-Taylor Swift artist in country music. Hayes followed her footsteps in the sense that he hid neither his youth nor his careerism, allowing his songs to have an open-hearted adolescence tempered by hooks designed to fill stadiums or at least occupy constant space on the airwaves. All this was evident on his eponymous 2011 album -- the major-label debut with Atlantic that effectively acts as his overall debut -- but it's in even stronger play on its 2014 sequel, Storyline.

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Hunter Hayes' single "Invisible" is an anomaly on today's country radio – the rare song that treats high school as something more than a golden age of bonfires and first kisses. On his second album, it sits in the middle of 14 tracks with clean arrangements and twangless vocals that could carry the singer-songwriter beyond country radio altogether. The Barenaked Ladies-style speak-singing of "Tattoo" might play with contemporary adults, and the optimism and harmonies found on tracks such as "Wild Card" sound like they could someday turn the 22-year-old artist into a genuine pop star – but only if he outgrows his belief that in order to be serious, you have to be humorless, too.

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When Hunter Hayes took to the Grammy Awards in January to premiere his song “Invisible” – a windswept power ballad in which the 22-year-old country singer describes the hardships faced by “outcasts and rebels” – your first response was: What on earth does this kid know about not fitting in? His self-titled major-label debut spawned two No. 1 singles, sold more than 1 million copies and earned Hayes four Grammy nominations, including one for best new artist. This is a modal window.

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