"Chesney remains a bit of a romantic with a fondness for drinking songs, but there are passing references to Bonnaroo and Burning Man while the lead single, "American Kids," offers a snapshot of how life is lived in 2014. These scattered allusions help Chesney seem like a modern man, even as he faces the start of his third decade as a country star, while the sly slickness The Big Revival also feels contemporary: far from chasing the bro-country wagon, Chesney overhauls his core strengths, winding up with his best record in years".