Luke Combs, “Fathers & Sons.”

Luke Combs has been a busy man. Combs released albums in consecutive years, won ACM Awards and was nominated for seven Grammys, and is now selling out stadiums. He’s had a meteoric rise.

But he remains a humble man who consistently reminds fans that he’s just like them. Fathers & Sons, his newest album, following Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old, is a poignant ode to new fatherhood.

This album is a generational view of fatherhood, showing reverence to his own dad. It’s about the joy of being a father, but also about the difficulties of dad when you’re young. It’s Combs’ most vulnerable to date, and he recorded it entirely live, with the likes of Nashville session legends Jim “Moose” Brown, Sam Bush, Stuart Duncan, Mark Hill and Josh Hart. These songs are slow and deliberate, led by acoustic guitar and piano, with the focus clearly on the songwriting.

Laconic ballad “The Man He Sees In Me” is about Combs living up to his children’s image of him, that of a “Spider-man in Walmart boots and camouflage hat,” who taught TV angler Bill Dance how to fish. Tinged with pedal steel and mandolin, the song ends with a note about how Combs hopes that when his sons have their own sons one day, they’ll try to live up to that same superhero image they had of him.

“In Case I Ain’t Around” is dedicated to his sons, and contains his advice, in the event he can’t give it to them. It’s a trope but an effective one. He reminds them he loves them. “When the dogwoods bloom/ You best be fishing,” he sings, also reminding his kids to take care of their mother. Still, it’s upbeat and uptempo, accompanied by a fiddle. “Whoever You Turn Out To Be” and “Little Country Boys” are also about fatherly love and about watching his kids grow.

The songs that Combs wrote from the perspective of a son are more complex and darker. “All I Ever Do Is Leave” is about growing up thinking his dad was never around enough, even though his father always provided for them and did what he could; which in turn meant he wasn’t there as much as he wanted. It ends on a poignant note that shows reflection and growth, with Combs singing that he wishes his own sons don’t think all he ever does is leave, given that he lives a life on the road. This track is one of the best at showing his personal journey, one that’s allowed him to understand fatherhood on a deeper level.

Devastating album closer “Take Me Out To The Ballgame,” a piano-focused ballad from the perspective of a child of divorce, traverses misplaced guilt that children feel after a separation. “I feel like it’s my fault that you two ain’t together/ I’m so sorry I was bad/ I promise I’ll be better,” he sings.

However, that song is contrasted with “Remember Him That Way,” about remembering the best of his father. It’s another song with superhero imagery, along with “The Man He Sees In Me” and “All I Ever Do is Leave.” He sings about his father with a “S” on his chest and the heart of a lion; as someone who lit up a room and could do no wrong. It also parallels “The Man He Sees In Me” in that this one is about how he saw his own father.

Combs also also wrote a couple of songs about his grandfather and the role of grandparents in the family. Acoustic guitar and fiddle track “Ride Around Heaven” is about being visited by his grandfather in his dreams. While the story follows his granddad driving him around heaven to reminisce about old times, the message is that those who pass on are never far away, and their advice and love remains.

Fathers & Sons is personal and authentic; it’s beautiful.

Follow writer Piper Westrom at Twitter.com/plwestrom.