Breland and Keith Urban have teamed up for the new collaboration “Throw It Back,” a club-ready mix of guitar twang and propulsive hip-hop beats. This song follows the pair’s Big Beat-indebted collaboration “Out the Cage,” which appeared on Urban’s album The Speed of Now Part 1.
Built around a banjo and guitar riff that bears a passing resemblance to “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Throw It Back” is a showcase for Breland’s many and varied vocal talents. There’s the countryfied twang he used in breakout hit “My Truck,” of course, but also an airy, impossibly high falsetto, as well as a menacing low, clipped delivery that he uses for the rapped choruses. “Drop it low, you can blame it on the Jack/Slow it down, girl, I’m tryin’ to make it last,” he sings, ultimately hoping to feel his own affections returned.
For his part, Urban provides a soulful verse and lays down some tricked-out banjo work that almost has a synthesized quality. A release notes that “Throw It Back” was the first song Urban and Breland worked on together.
“You’ll be able to feel my and Keith’s energy flowing not only on the song but in the video, which we helped shape together as well,” Breland said in a release. “With the world finally opening up, and live music coming back, I feel like we’ve got a real summer anthem on our hands.”
Earlier in 2021, Breland released the single “Cross Country,” which he updated as a duet with Mickey Guyton. On August 9th, he’ll perform with Guyton at the 2021 CMT Music Awards. His headlining Cross Country Tour kicks off in September with a performance at Bonnaroo 2021.