Sam Hunt plays a man smitten in his new song Kinfolks, released on Thursday afternoon. Its the Georgia natives first release since Downtowns Dead came out in May 2018.
Hunt wrote the song with his frequent collaborators Zach Crowell, Jerry Flowers, and Josh Osborne, imagining a man who falls hard for someone and wants to give them a tour of his past. I aint never had a type, having a type takes two/but I know what I like, and youre the only one of you, he sings, simultaneously sly and vulnerable. Built off acoustic guitar arpeggios that lead into big, bright choruses of banjo, vocal snippets, and wah-wah guitar, its not too far afield from the all-embracing sound that made his debut Montevallo such a compelling listen, but this time the brooding is replaced by a cautious sense of optimism and a breezy acoustic guitar solo that takes the song home.
When I think of kinfolks, when I think of that phrase, says Hunt in a release, I think of my family, but also I think of my people back home beyond family. Its my buddies whove been a part of my story from the beginning.
Hunt has only released music sporadically since his 2014 album Montevallo turned him into a major star. In early 2017, he shared the confessional single Drinkin too Much, which he followed with the record-breaking Body Like a Back Road. In 2018, he took a turn back toward brooding with Downtowns Dead, though it wasnt a massive radio hit. In the meantime, hes stayed busy playing festivals, including a headlining gig at Stagecoach 2019.