Hoof Tracks: With Heaven On Top by Zach Bryan

Zach Bryan’s sixth studio album, With Heaven On Top, is his most recent release in the past two years, consisting not only of 25 songs but also a re-recording of every song acoustically. The album was released through Belting Bronco Records and Warner Music Group on January 9th, 2026. 

Here is The Hoofprint’s review of some of our favorite songs off the album:

Say Why:

Using catchy, poetic, and emotional lines along with an upbeat back track, gifting listeners with a multitude of ways to listen to the song throughout different events, feelings, and situations.

Spent forty days walking and another forty high Just for you to give me forty reasons for goodbye/You said, “All’s not lost, just an eye for an eye”/Still drove forty hours and I’d drive forty more

5/5

Dry Deserts:

“Dry Deserts” gives listeners another way to connect with each song on the track through the storyline of the lyrics written by Zach Bryan. This song was first released to fans as a ‘raw’ track with just Zach Bryan’s voice and guitar, but when it was released on the album, it had the new addition of a punchy anthem . 

Would you swim up river when I’m surely on your mind/I want a sad song, that lasts all night/The wind blowing through all these palm trees, shaking bodies, under napalm skies

5/5

Appetite:

An up-beat energetic backbeat with emotional storytelling lyrics of struggles with publicity and fame. “Appetite” is one of the many songs on With Heaven On Top that display a strong story and emotions throughout the whole song, exemplified throughout a surging chorus.

Why am I always thinking ’bout things that really matter like, twin towers and satellites/The other I pack my bags quickly, toothbrush, combs, and my dogs with me/Playing shows to those who don’t care at all

5/5

With Heaven On Top:

Another emotional storyline explaining Zach Bryan’s personal experiences with a simplistic recollection of the events. The song provides a feeling of ‘life lessons’ for listeners, placing a connection between them and the artist, explaining the reasoning behind the title of the album.

And every hard time, song rhyme, friend you’ve got you’ll have, with Heaven on top/You can’t learn heartbreak from a poem/Gonna fight, gonna cry, gonna fall in love

4/5

Slicked Back:

“Slicked Back” is one of the most upbeat songs on With Heaven On Top compared to the rest of the track. While the song gives more of the original ‘country’ feel to the album, it continues to support the other songs from the album through emotional storytelling lyrics. 

But I’ve been working on myself all fall/I’m gonna start a riot from the edge of my bed/Used to know some folks who put it all online, but you paint landscapes in the evening time

4/5

If They Come Lookin’:
Giving a more laidback, relaxing tune to the album, “If They Come Lookin’” gives listeners just the connection they need throughout the album. Providing a balance between every track on the album, Zach Bryan was able to give listeners the ability to feel unified with at least one track from the set.

And Denison boys get meaner just when them trees get greener/ So if they come lookin’, tell ’em I’m on the run again Chasin’ the sun again out of my mind/ Crossin’ state lines again, prayin’ for more time

4/5

Zach Bryan notes of the new releases, “I pray these all end up meaning as much to others as they mean to me. Songs are living things, they want to be free and these freed me.”

Overall: 5 hooves