Autumn has arrived and so has Riley Green’s album, “That’s Just Me.” The Alabama native released his fourth studio album on Sept. 18th, 2026 and fans have been eagerly awaiting this release since Green’s first teaser in early 2025, when he teased the first track “My Way.”
This album comes after his third studio album, “Don’t Mind If I Do,” which features similar-styled songs to his recent release. “That’s Just Me” explores the worlds of love, heartbreak, nostalgia and the feeling of missing something you know you can’t get back. With soulful lyrics, soft acoustic guitar lines and Green’s way of writing persona-style songs, this album is perfect for a chilly fall day.
The album opens with “My Way.” The track starts off with a grainy guitar line, bringing a slow yet sentimental vibe that shows the main theme of the album. Riley wrote the song for the Yellowstone spin-off “Marshals” produced by Taylor Sheridan, for his character, Garrett, a former Navy SEAL. The song paints a picture of wanting a past lover back but only having the memories of them left. The repeated line of “If I had it my way” reflects on how much the character struggles to forget and leave their ex-lover in the past. The theme of the song portrays Green’s on-screen character’s emotional hardships and struggles.
In track four, titled “Go Again,” Green decided to collab with Hannah McFarland, bringing a soft and beautiful duet to the album. The slow but soulful guitar line mixed with the soft drums and the quiet piano in the background bring the song to emotional highs. The two sing from two different perspectives between two people who want to spend more time together but they know that they can’t forever. In the second verse sung by Hannah McFarland, the lines “this show’s in town for one night only”, “I’ve got a plane to catch” and “but my heart keeps telling me, ‘Don’t leave,'” express how much the two don’t want to separate.
“Beach Happy” and “Bartender In Destin” both bring a soft, beach-y, yacht rock feel to the album, yet they are about two completely different perspectives. “Bartender In Destin” opens with a soft and catchy acoustic guitar line. Green’s calm vocals bring the soft vibes to the track. In the song, Green mentions how he met a girl who was a bartender down in Destin. He describes that she “wore a blue bandana, a Budweiser tank top, a boat anchor tattoo and a smile that made his world stop,” and how he couldn’t get enough of her.
“Beach Happy” is the opposite of “Bartender In Destin.” The track is about a man relaxing on the beach and forgetting about an ex after finding out she cheated on him. This idea is represented through lines like, “these new Tommy Bahamas are blocking out the drama.”
In track 10 “P.O.S,” Green sings about a character whose ex left him because she hated his habits and his persona. The track begins with a smooth guitar line and a powerful drum beat. It’s one of the songs that delivers a more upbeat feel. Green mentions habits like “driving too fast or how he disappears every hunting season,” showing the character’s personality and the reasons his ex left him. When writing with Drake White, Randy Montana and Erik Dylan, Green said their goal was to create “the guy we like.”
These lyrics are a reflection of the character’s flaws and subdued personality. “P.O.S” has created controversy with some fans claiming the song is about Green’s ex Megan Moroney. Moroney released her album “Cloud 9″ with a track titled “Who Hurt You?,” which she later confirmed in an interview is, in fact, about Green. Green has denied any speculation of “P.O.S” being about Moroney and said that the song was written before her song came out.
“Think As You Drunk” is another one of the more upbeat, traditional country songs with its catchy instrumentals, with its loud electric guitar and steady drums produced by Dann Huff and groovy vocals from Green. Green explained that “Think As You Drunk” is a tribute to the late country singer Toby Keith, making the song close to his style. Green even received permission from Keith’s family to add a small clip of Keith’s song “As Good As I Once Was” at the end, which pulls the whole song together.
Similar to “Think As You Drunk”, Green collaborates with two-time Grammy award-winning country music group Brooks & Dunn on the song “Pave All Them Red Dirt Roads.” Green wrote another tribute, but this time to Brooks & Dunn’s hit song “Red Dirt Road.” In the track, Green sings about how places full of memories, like an “old bass pond” or a “fenced-in pasture,” are being covered by newly built neighborhoods, paved roads and concrete. He mentions “they’re taking miles off memory lane.”
He reminisces about all the times he had before the places they occurred started to disappear. Towards the end of the song, he sings “I roll my window down” and “turn up a little Brooks & Dunn” before bringing in “Kix” Brooks and Ronnie Dunn to have them sing their bit from “Red Dirt Road.” This song brings out the theme of memories for the album, with its heartfelt lyrics and soft guitar lines.
“Ten Pairs Of Boots” tells a story of a man who is reflecting on his life his journey from his childhood to modern day through his boots. The track starts with a sentimental acoustic guitar line and Green’s soulful vocals. He begins with how the man’s dad told him to “leave room to grow” when he was seven years old. He then describes his journey from there on, like how he found Jesus but then after 18, he started on the wrong path and picked up bad habits. He found out soon after that he was going to be a father.
Lines like “but I became a man in ’em,” help to express how the character transitioned from young, wild and free to a responsible, changed man. At the end of the song, he talks about his four-year-old and he tells him, “I said leave room to grow, I know how that story goes,” showing how the protagonist doesn’t want his kid to go on the same path he went, showing regret for how it all played out.
All in all, “That’s Just Me” expertly represents who Riley Green is as an artist. Every song complements each other perfectly. Whether it’s the lyrics or instrumentals, everything slides into place. For someone who grew up on country artists like Green, this album brings back memories and delivers nostalgia in every song. And for those looking for more Riley Green but want something similar to “That’s Just Me,” “Don’t Mind If I Do” has the same themes and vibes as the new release.
