'Anything Goes' for Florida Georgia Line.

• Author: Talbott, Chris
• Position: Living

Byline: Chris Talbott

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard of country dude duo Florida Georgia Line know all eyes on Music Row are on them as they prepare to release their second album, "Anything Goes,'' on Oct. 14.

Everybody wants to see if country's favorite party boys can keep the festivities rolling, and Kelley and Hubbard don't really mind.

"A little bit of that pressure creates some pretty good creativity,'' Kelley said. "We just pushed really hard -- little melody changes, adding little things here, an 808 drop there, a breakdown here, a different guitar lick there, whatever it may be, we really spent a lot of time on the little details.

"Better is better, and that's our motto.''

For the most part, the 12 tracks on the Joey Moi-produced album mine the same high-spirited territory as debut "Here's to the Good Times'' -- upbeat rockers meant to evoke midnight bonfire parties at the lake. Their music is part of a trend that some within the community say has pushed country's sound too far toward the pop music middle.

Their fans, however, could not care less, and made their "Cruise'' remix featuring Nelly the most popular digital download in country music. While there is no rapping, the duo listened to the fans on "Anything Goes'' and continued to push the boundaries of the genre.

They completely ditch the metaphor and sing openly about smoking marijuana on "Sun Daze,'' perhaps setting up a difficult choice for radio program directors. And then there are the 808 bass drops on a handful of songs that will no doubt drive country purists crazy, but add an...