Lonestar celebrate 20 years of music in 2012. Of course, Richie McDonald stepped aside to pursue a solo career for four of those years, but the accomplishment is still noteworthy. Their new song ‘The Countdown’ reminds fans how how sharp the group is musically and how tight they are vocally.

Longtime fans of the group will enjoy the uptempo love song, as it sounds like it could have been recorded on any of their previous seven, McDonald-led studio albums. Above everything else, it’s clear the foursome — including Dean Sams, Keech Rainwater and Michael Britt — are having fun again.

Five long days to you I spend / Three thousand miles just to get to the one / You know you’re the one / It’s just five more miles, four streets ahead / Three stop lights ’til I, I get to the one / You know you’re the one,” McDonald sings during the chorus.

Lyrically, the song is folksy without being corny. Strong melodies have been the backbone of Lonestar’s biggest hits, and ‘The Countdown’ is easy to find yourself humming along to after it finishes.

The second verse goes: “Halfway home don’t know if I can last / Down another cup of coffee, put your picture on the dash / Burnin’ both ends and I can’t go too fast / I can feel the rhythm of the wheels goin’ round / I play our song and I turn it up loud / Every turn, every town every city every minute I’m counting.

Unfortunately, this single may get lost amongst the stacks of songs awaiting radio airplay. While it’s fun and uptempo, those aren’t hard qualities to come by. There’s no urgent reason for anyone but Lonestar’s biggest fans to want to hear the song over and over again. It’s a tight mix, but it lacks that vague quality those in the biz call “heat.”

3 Stars
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Listen to Lonestar, ‘The Countdown’

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