Musician Dylan Marlowe has written for country stars like Jon Pardi, along with scoring a No. 1 song on the Mediabase country charts in January 2025 with his song “Boys Back Home.”

However, under the pressures faced by writers and artists in the music industry, Marlowe and his band were experiencing burnout and were tired of having to make “perfect music.” They wanted to make music that they loved for themselves.

This led Marlowe and his band to create a new band called 80 Acres. The band focuses on genuine country rock with tastes of pop punk involved. Their new, five-song EP, 80 Acres, shows the band’s freedom in creating this music.

It is not perfect “radio music,” but it feels genuine. In the song “Least You Could Let Me Do”, the chorus takes a while to fire up, but the song feels real. Listeners can sense the emotions that Marlowe and his bandmates felt when writing the song. 

The EP has Treaty Oak Revival on for a feature on the song “Mess We Made.” Treaty Oak Revival is one of the most popular country rock bands right now, with over 8 million listeners per month, while Marlowe has about 1 million. Their feature on this song helps to put this song and the group into the limelight.

There has been a great amount of attention focused on Marlowe and his rebranded band among fans who enjoy the sound of raw music and the trending sound of country rock. Marlowe has found his new sound and creative freedom with the new group, and the EP is well worth the listen.