The Zac Brown Band Continues Pushing Genre Boundaries With ‘Need This’ [LISTEN]

The Zac Brown Band have already demonstrated their penchant for alternating between musical moods and genres in the music they've shared so far of forthcoming album, The Owl. The pop-friendly "Warrior" marked a clear departure from the gorgeous, piano-driven lead track, "Leaving Love Behind."

Now, the feel-good vibes of "Need This," a new song co-written by pop producer Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd and OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder, caps off a rare case of three advance tracks from the same album sounding way different from each other. "Need This" captures some of the twangy, dance-worthy pop vibes behind Keith Urban's most recent hits. Still, though it sounds like the work of a couple of producers with laptops, the song showcases a band with the versatility to pull off its leader's genre-free vision.

It's not "Chicken Fried" by any stretch, but that's by design. At this point, Brown makes songs for himself and Zac Brown Band fans, not country chart consideration. In 2013, Brown criticized what he calls "tailgating songs" after hearing his friend Luke Bryan's formulaic "[That's] My Kinda Night."

"To me, country music has always been the home for a great song,” he told Vancouver, B.C.'s 93.7 JRFM. “If I hear one more tailgate in the moonlight, daisy duke song, I’m gonna throw up."

The Owl drops on Sept. 20. The track list includes a duet with Brandi Carlile titled "Finish What We Started."

How Well Do You REALLY Know Zac Brown?

All of the Zac Brown Band's Singles, Ranked