Dierks Bentley delves into love on new album

May 19, 2016 at 12:05a.m.

Dierks Bentley scoring yet another No. 1 hit with his current single, “Somewhere on a Beach,” isn’t much of a surprise. After all, the platinum country singer’s resume includes 14 chart toppers and 13 Grammy Award nominations.

However, what’s new for Bentley is his upcoming eighth studio release, “Black,” which is due out next week. While its lead single, “Somewhere on a Beach,” sounds like every other breezy beer tune on country radio these days, the album is decidedly different in tone and content.

Specifically, Bentley has recorded what he feels is the closest he’s come so far to making a concept album. Its narrative isn’t about a specific character as much as it is tackling relationships through romance, breakups, hookups and mess-ups.

“My previous album, ‘Riser,’ was a personal record for me about my dad passing away, and my son, Knox, was being born,” said Bentley, calling from Austin, Texas. “It was a record about I and me. It was a personal transformation. But when I’m making a new record, I always have to find something different – a new idea.

“I really just started thinking about relationships and love. There’s just so much there. Then I started going on this trail and following love and all of the places it takes you. Some of it was autobiographical and personal. Some of it I made up as a songwriter – places I couldn’t go in my real life.”

The jumping-off point for Bentley was tackling concepts such as jealousy and self-doubt on songs such as “Freedom” and “Why Do I Feel.” Also, he said the framework of “Black” is similar to the narrative of Showtime series “The Affair,” which, like its title suggests, depicts how one cheating heart leads to a blind roller-coaster ride through life with Bentley asking to what end.

“There’s this focus in society now where relationships break up because of young love,” Bentley said. “It’s a lousy analogy, but when you’re just dating somebody, it’s kind of like just renting a car. You can run it into a tree and just walk away. There’s no ownership involved. But when you’re in a committed relationship for a long time, yeah, love is hard. It’s a constantly moving target.”

He added that people make these serious life decisions without any forethought. They travel down a path that inevitably leads them to the exact same place they just left, which is a relationship, without examining their initial motives. Further, Bentley said what’s perceived as perhaps a lack of personal responsibility could be part of the road to self-realization.

It’s this journey that Bentley hopes his fans discover when listening to songs from “Black,” which he plans on playing at his Friday show at Blossom Music Center.

“It’s been a two-year process making this album,” Bentley said. “In the past, I’ve made records, like ‘Modern Day Drifter,’ that were snapshots of where I am in my life, but here I wanted to make a record that was deeper, which is where I’m at in my life.”