The name Old Dominion suggests something weathered, old, and sturdy -- a description that cannot be applied to either this Nashville quintet or their shiny bright 2015 debut, Meat & Candy. {|Old Dominion|} is keenly aware of what constitutes contemporary country music in 2015, knowing that the pendulum is slowly swinging away from the swaggering confidence of bro country and toward a softer, sweeter pop that bears pronounced but understated hip-hop inflections. It's smooth, often romantic music, sometimes succumbing to a bit of country corn -- the band's breakthrough single "Break Up with Him" is a booty call disguised as a seduction -- but {|Old Dominion|} wear their cheese with pride and not an insubstantial amount of charm, thanks partially to lead singer {|Matthew Ramsey|}'s everyday charm but also to the band's impeccable craft. Every member of the quintet spent time working behind the scenes in the Music City, co-writing songs by the likes of {|the Band Perry|} and {|Dierks Bentley|}, so they're familiar with what pushes a song on the radio, and they also had the good fortune to align themselves with producer {|Shane McAnally|}, a collaborator with {|Brandy Clark|} and producer of {|Kacey Musgraves|} and {|Sam Hunt|}. {|Meat & Candy|} aligns closely with {|Hunt|}'s {|Montevallo|}, particularly in its casual rap rhythms -- evident not only in the beats that underpin the productions but also in {|Ramsey|}'s delivery -- but {|Old Dominion|} lack the beefy assurance of {|Hunt|}. Instead, this is a sharper, savvier variation of {|Rascal Flatts|}: crossover pop as suited for an office as it is for a make-out session. That's an endorsement, not a dismissal: it's hard to sound this light and easy, but {|Old Dominion|} do it with aplomb and they're such talented craftsmen that {|Meat & Candy|} sounds better on the fifth play than it does on the first, and it sounds mighty fine that first time through. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine