Rascal Flatts | BACK TO US | CD

Recording information: Starstruck Studios (Nashville, TN); The Grip (Nashville, TN); The Tracking Room (Nashville, TN).Photographer: David McClister.If the title of Back to Us suggests that the three members of Rascal Flatts have decided to ditch everything extraneous and return to their roots, well, that's intentional. Upon its spring 2017 release, Jay DeMarcus claimed in the press release, "There was a nostalgic feeling between the three of us while in the studio for this record, a feeling that was more reminiscent of our first albums," a move that might've been necessary after the band's sly modernization on 2014's Rewind. That album was recorded with producer Howard Benson -- whose best-known collaborations include Kelly Clarkson, 3 Doors Down, and DAUGHTRY -- who perhaps gave the record too bright a crossover sheen, but Back to Us finds the group collaborating with busbee, the producer who helmed Maren Morris' excellent 2016 debut, Hero. Back to Us isn't nearly as ambitious as Her