Eurovision 2016 performer Douwe Bob has released his fifth studio album 'Born to Win, Born to Lose'.
The artist represented The Netherlands in Stockholm with 'Slow Down' and finished 11th place in an era synonymous with country music for the Dutch.
It's no surprise that he has continued with this genre but 'Born to Win, Born to Lose' is influenced by more than just "country".
In a interview with 'Het Parool' he talks about his musical beginnings saying,
"I'm from the Limewire generation. We could download stuff, you know. I just typed in sixties, seventies, country or Americana on the computer and was presented with thousands of songs. I dug deep into that. Headphones on, a kid in the candy store."
And that 70s "Americana" meets "country" genre is the closest you can come to describing this album.
Somewhat of a mix of Glen Campbell meets the The Eagles meets Merle Haggard, the latter two of which he names as some of his "teachers" (or inspiration).
Stand outs on the album for hooky, well structured songs that even non-country fans can enjoy would be the the title track 'Born to Win, Born to Lose' as well as 'Ready or Not'.
The bluegrass inspired 'Amsterdam' is at real treat while 'Can't Seem to Get It Right' and 'Was it Just Me' falls into the deep and meaningful bucket.
But every emotion, genre and instrument of the "Americana meets country" genre is covered from gospel, to blues and even the mariachi rich track 'Mexican Sun'.
But there is no doubt that "country" is at heart of Douwe Bob's music and this album, his pet shi tzu (who we all saw in the vote reading of 2017) is even named after the country music legend Tammy Wynette.
It is also is his first album without his long-standing band (who he performed with at Eurovision) as he wanted a new perspective on his music saying it was "Time for a breath of fresh air, you know. The musicians I play with now are also a lot younger, more of my own age."
His last four albums have made the Top 10 in The Netherlands, we will find out later this week if this breath of fresh air can repeat that success.
Listen to the album on Spotify or order copies and merchandise from http://www.douwebobmusic.com/
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