Throughout Life Under The Gun, Militarie Gun demonstrates their mastery of melody and grit as Shelton interrogates a lifetime of interpersonal relationships through a distinctly blunt, empathetic, and self-aware lens. Ultra catchy tracks like “Do It Faster” and “Very High” look at his challenging upbringing with adult perspective, while “Never Fucked Up Once,” demonstrates a willingness to approach the third rail, juxtaposing some of Life Under The Gun’s most darkly comedic lyrics with its most overt pop-rock sensibilities.

The album closes with its anthemic title track where Shelton sings the final refrain “a life of pursuit ends up pursuing you” like an urgent reminder to himself: move forward or get swallowed up–your past might shape you, but it doesn’t have to define you. The song’s final lone chord rings out like a question, a fittingly hopeful yet ambiguous ending for the debut album from a band that’s already come so far and evolved so much but whose story has only just begun.