When it comes to country staples, Justin Fancy doesn’t excel in just one niche. His debut album, Sure Beats A Good Time, combines the fun energy of contemporary country and pairs it with deeply personal and honest lyrics.
The album joins the growing ranks of the homespun projects that have become increasingly common since the beginning of the pandemic. As his original plan was to record the album with fellow Newfoundlander Clint Curtis at Sevenview Studios, Curtis ended up remotely putting the finishing touches on the album. The drive to finish the project anyway paints an image of resolve that, upon listening to the finished product, definitely comes through in context.
Fancy’s dedication to writing songs that are relatable and down to earth is very apparent on this record. This mission is driven by his earnest voice and lyrics poured straight from the heart. He emphasizes his priorities right from the title track that opens the album. Fancy rejects stereotypical country clichés of rowdy Friday nights drinking beer. The calm simplicity of his current life is all he needs. Similarly, “Your Memory” has Fancy insisting that he’s never going to worry about writing songs of what-ifs.
“What I wanna write about, comes from the heart, and the way things oughta be,” Fancy sings.
Though that’s not to say he is writing with regret. Fancy takes time to stew in memories of past relationships. Rather than what-ifs, though, he deals with “what could have been?” Fancy explores tougher times with his quintessential country breakup songs, “Makes Me Wanna” and “Stop Lovin’ You”. Both tracks have Fancy singing of the perseverance needed to move past heartbreak. Though they definitely exist in sad memories, there’s a sense of hope and determination all the same.
The album closes out with “Lovin’ Man”, a tribute to humble beginnings as a musician and the musical heroes who have inspired him. Most of all, Fancy quite literally sings praises to his father, someone to whom he owes his ability to play and his capacity to love. Things come full circle as he vows to pass on the same unbreakable bond to his own daughter. It’s a meaningful cap to the album – the final thread of him stitching his heart onto his own sleeve.