Hard 2 Love is the second studio album by American country music artist Lee Brice, released on April 24, 2012 via Curb Records. The album includes the number one single "A Woman Like You."
With only one listen to Lee Brice's sophomore album for Curb Records, Hard 2 Love, I was immediately struck with how artistically diverse the album truly is. There are some quirky party songs like "Parking Lot Party" and "Beer" (which will go great next to "Red Solo Cup" on a party playlist), there are emotional ballads like "I Drove Your Truck," and "That Way Again," there are love songs like #1 hit "A Woman Like You," the title track "Hard To Love," a song about the importance of living your life ("Life Off My Years"), and of course, because this is country music, songs that tell interesting stories about moments ripped from real-life, like "Friends We Won't Forget" and " Seven Days A Thousand Times."

Now, to some, this diversity would not be welcomed but for as much as I love a great stone-cold country record of murder ballads and twin fiddles, I love me some diverse records. Hard 2 Love is also a record which is wholly contemporary. Hard 2 Love is the kind of record that Garth Brooks would probably make if he were still making new records. For, while it is contemporary and diverse, the record has a cohesive story and all the song's lyrics are strong and on point.

I may not be in love with "Beer" or "Parking Lot Party" as much as I am with songs like "That's When You'll Know It's Over," "That Way Again" and "Life Off My Years," but that's OK. They're still very strong songs and one of them "Beer," is downright charming in its own "Ballad of Beer" kind of way. "Life Off My Years" is a brilliantly written song (Eric Church is one of the co-writers) that should be a single at some point and obviously "Parking Lot Party" might get said treatment too, so that'll leave other brilliant songs mentioned from getting a true chance at being a single.

Hard 2 Love is not a collection of 2-3 singles and 10 other filler songs, it's 13 strong songs, all of them worthy of consideration for singles (though some like "One More Day" would NEVER get a chance at radio) and it is for that reason that Hard 2 Love is a truly great album. The album feels like we're truly meeting Lee Brice for the first time, it's a snapshot of his artistry right now and while wholly contemporary, it's firmly rooted in country music's traditions.

Highlight tracks: "Hard To Love," "Life Of My Years," "I Drove Your Truck," "That Way Again," "Seven Days A Thousand Times," and "Friends We Won't Forget."
by Matt Bjorke, Roughstock