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Singing with a notable but softened twang, Zach Top can echo Alan Jackson, a connection he leans into on "Sounds Like the Radio," a slice of 1990s nostalgia that doubles as a testament to the enduring power of traditional barroom country. Top specializes in this straight-ahead honky tonk, choosing not to hammer home the rhythms but rather lean into dancefloor swing. His light touch and old-fashioned taste were unveiled on a 2022 eponymous debut then expanded on Cold Beer & Country Music, a 2024 album that served as Top's musical manifesto.

A native of Sunnyside, Washington, Zach Top was raised on a ranch, falling in love with classic country while he was a child; Marty Robbins' Gunfighter Ballads & Trail Songs made a particularly strong impression. By the time he was seven, he and his siblings started a bluegrass band. As a teen, he stepped outside of his family, initially playing with North Country in 2015, then becoming a member of Modern Tradition, a group that won the 2017 Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America international band competition.

Top went solo in 2019, releasing "In a World Gone Wrong," which climbed the Bluegrass Today charts. Eventually crossing the country to settle in Nashville, he slowly became immersed in the sounds of classic country. Working as a songwriter and collaborator -- he signed a publishing deal with Major Bob Music and wound up contributing five songs to Joshua Hedley's Neon Blue -- Top continued to cultivate his performances, and he made his debut at the Grand Ole Opry in July 2022. That year, he released an eponymous debut album that featured musicians from Modern Tradition but over the next two years, Top released a series of singles that emphasized his transition to country music -- he underscored his debt to George Jones with the 2023 single "Justa Jonesin'" -- and he rounded up many of these songs on the 2024 album Cold Beer & Country Music. Bolstered by smartly written cuts like "Bad Luck" and "I Never Lie," the album reached number 29 on the Country Albums chart and even crossed over onto the Billboard 200. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine