For those in need of encouragement to follow the heart, Rich Allen has a simple message: “Don’t Overthink This.”
In a new single produced in Nashville, country soul artist Rich Allen tells a familiar story. After your heart breaks, it can be easy to lose hope. We put up imaginary walls to protect ourselves from the fear of repeating the same mistakes.
But you can’t move forward in fear. At a certain point, you have to let your heart feel again. As Allen sings,
You gotta give in / You know you’ve gotta take a chance
Time to live your life / You know it’s time to dance the dance
Time to move on / Tear down the walls that you live behind
The fears that you built were just fears inside your mind…
Don’t overthink this
Anchored by a catchy electric guitar hook, “Don’t Overthink This” is rounded out by a foundation of bass, drums, mandolin, and country fiddle. Combined with Allen’s twangy tenor vocals, the song has a distinct and classic country sound in line with its Nashville production.
The single is the fourth track on the Country Soul EP. The collection is all about living for the moment, moving on from the painful past and embracing the beauty of life like it’s the first time.
The four songs cover a lot of musical ground. There are upbeat tracks like “Live For The Moment,” a reminder to those “working all day and working all night” that tomorrow is not guaranteed. There’s also the tender love ballad sound of “First Time,” and the Roy Orbison-inspired swing of “You’ve Lost That Feeling.”
This musical variety is a nod to Allen’s deep musical roots. Raised in Southern California, his country musician father put a guitar in his hands at the age of two. Now based in South Carolina, his musical journey includes a Pacific Northwest tour in the late 90s as part of a label deal, and then making inroads to Nashville by sending demos to studios where he maintains connections today.
Decades of songwriting have paid off. “When I write a song,” he says, “it's literally 15, 20 minutes because the idea is there and it flows.” After capturing the initial idea with pen and paper, Allen sends tracks off to his production team in Nashville, who help bring to life his projects like Country Soul.
Beyond his music’s high quality production, the stories on Country Soul ring true because they are based in Allen’s life. He wrote “Don’t Overthink This” on a flight from Dallas to Savannah, for his then-girlfriend (now his wife), as encouragement to overcome her doubts and fears and believe in love.
“You can sabotage the good things in your life by having to check a lot of boxes,” Allen says. “Sometimes you just have to go with it, and don't overthink it.”
Just before the final pre-chorus of “Don’t Overthink This,” a brief but tasteful electric guitar solo ends on a sweet and surprising note. It’s a reminder: no matter what happened in the past, life and love can still surprise you.
For everyone ready to give love another chance, “Don’t Overthink This” is the perfect soundtrack.
Stream Rich Allen’s “Don’t Overthink This” now at the links below.
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