The athlete-to-country-artist pipeline has been alive and well for a minute now, with former football players like Sam Hunt and Chase Rice finding post-pigskin success as singer-songwriters. Like Warren Zeiders, who played lacrosse, up-and-comer Adrien Nunez comes to country music via college sports, having played basketball for the University of Michigan before finding viral success as a musician on TikTok. This debut album from Nunez shows the Brooklyn-born artist is more than just the latest iteration of a trend, though, as he serves up eight tracks that reveal a fresh, genre-agnostic take on country music. LOW ROAD opens with its title track, a folky Avery Anna collaboration that has shades of Zach Bryan and, in turn, one of Bryan’s primary influences, The Lumineers. “ALL I EVER DO” is similarly jaunty, with a rollicking chorus and foot-stomping beat. Other highlights on LOW ROAD include the playfully moody “NEVER TELL YOU NO,” an infectious situationship anthem with a Southern gothic vibe and flourishes of spaghetti western guitar, and “ANOTHER DAY,” one of the album’s poppier moments thanks to a catchy, cascading verse melody and interplay between synth and banjo.