Expect Luke Bryan's next album to maintain a balance between upbeat, pop-inspired singles and lower-tempo, country-sounding deep cuts. However, the track list should be a lot shorter this time around.

“I've got some stuff that I've looked at, that I'm going into the studio to record, that sounds very vintage-like, but then I've got some stuff that has some new and different sounds on it,” Bryan told Taste of Country at Hometown Rising 2019. “I think I always kind of have to marry the two.

“I’m not gonna have some album with every track is gonna have steel guitar on it," he adds, "but do I have steel guitar on this album? Yeah."

The key word in all of this is “album,” a format shunned over its limitations by Sheryl Crow, Blake Shelton and other veteran artists invested in releasing songs as they come instead of waiting to collect enough for an album or EP. Bryan, however, isn't ready to join them.

“I think you have to approach recording music like you’re making an album,” Bryan adds. “I think the beauty of making an album is that you’ll do eight, nine, 10 songs, and you’ll start seeing what you’re missing. I don’t disagree with Blake’s train of thought. I think I may marry the two.”

While Bryan's early studio albums were on the shorter side -- his first two records were 11 tracks each, while albums 3-5 were 13 songs long -- his most recent project, 2017's What Makes You Country contains 15 songs. Bryan adds that shorter albums, with around 10 songs (not counting bonus tracks), might keep meaningful cuts from getting lost in the shuffle at a time when digital streaming and other forms of instant gratification make old means of sharing music feel dated to his fellow artists.

Bryan's newest single, "Knockin' Boots," recently went No. 1. Bryan says he doesn't have another single picked out just yet; however, "There will be something soon, very soon," he promises.

See Photos of Luke Bryan from Hometown Rising 2019:

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