Be There in a Minute – Thomas Rhett Written By Aishwarya Rajan
It must still be sunny in Nashville. Just when windows-down, summer-soaked country seemed packed away with the rest of 2026’s warm months, Thomas Rhett has released “Be There in a Minute,” a certified banger. Being happy and in love is a tough nut to crack in songwriting, because contentment doesn’t give a songwriter much tension to work with. Still, TR and his co-writers give us a taste of what it could sound like with this upbeat track. It recalls the nostalgic goodness of his 2016–2019 era, only better. It’s a Tucker Wetmore-laced, beachy tune with sing-song rhyming verses and simple metaphors that quickly get swept up in wailing instrumentals and gospel flourishes. Those flourishes put the spotlight on Thomas Rhett’s cheery, low-register chatter as he hurries to take his girl out for the night. Like most pop-leaning country songs that do well on all-genre charts, though, everything here sits in the foreground. The mix pushes every element to the front and flattens any sense of depth, so the layers are almost indecipherable. It’s not the best ride, but you land where you meant to, and the ticket was cheap. That’s exactly why it works. “Be There in a Minute” is an easy, no-frills listen, and it would be surprising if it didn’t do numbers and become a radio staple.
8.0
Take Me Back (Leave Me There) – Special Edition – Cody Johnson Written By Aishwarya Rajan
When a radio-charter walks up to the plate with an acoustic swing, it’s often difficult to enjoy the variant that’s usually missing the sticky production qualities that, in large part, put it on the map. With the charismatic vocal talents and smooth bravado that accompany the Cody Johnson name, though, a hit song is a hit song irrespective of the production that got it there. “Take Me Back (Leave Me There)- Special Edition” is a home run for that reason. Johnson can make it work in any production font. However, without this quality, the song lacks the novelty needed to urge listeners to stray from the original. These double versions usually feel like a money grab of sorts, milking a song for every last drop; however, this one feels slightly more earned. While it doesn’t pivot too far from the essential hooky aspects- CoJo’s smooth tone matched with a simple and slow backbeat to quick-punched plays- it unearths the molten core of country flair far more. Dobro and mandolin cries transform the song’s intimacy into something less lustful and more vulnerable, as though Johnson’s been bewitched by the woman he desires. All that being said, the organ-infected, reverberating electric guitar brought a sweetness to the original variation, making it a lasting staple that feels elemental to the track as a whole.
7.4
Playin It Cool – Tyler Hubbard Written By Max Buondonno
Is it truly not party time with T-Hubb? The Florida Georgia Line frontman has been unapologetically obsessed with kicking out singles purely designed to play live since he started his career back in 2012, and as tired and predictable as some of them can be, you’ll still find yourself rocking your head to the beat. That’s the story behind “Playin It Cool,” which sounds as generic and plastic as any Tyler Hubbard song ever has. Once again, fawning over a girl and feeling uncontrollably amazed by her beauty, T-Hubb finds himself struggling to play it cool around her. In the multiverse of “songs sung by Tyler Hubbard being awestruck by a woman,” this one ranks somewhere between “Dayum, Baby” and “Swerve,” leaning more toward the latter but with better lyrics. The song’s biggest challenge is somehow trying to bill itself as a purely solo Tyler Hubbard record; slap the FGL logo on the artwork, and you’d think this was the duo’s big return to country radio. Instead, it sounds like Hubbard just needed something else to shake up his setlist, whether you like the track or not. In all fairness, its saving grace is purely the T-Hubb Effect. His signature, over-processed, autotuned vocals almost make him the Travis Scott of country music: you hear his voice and the song’s low-key fire, even if it sucks. “Playin It Cool” has nothing special going on, nor does it meaningfully challenge Hubbard’s artistry. But at least he sounds dope singing it.
5.7
Blue Bayou – Muscadine Bloodline Written By Adam Delahoussaye
The brand is so singular for Muscadine Bloodline at this point that they’ve now premiered a dirty Vans-and-tattered-jeans rocker next to a soft, sweet pop ballad without skipping a beat. Both presumably share space on the same upcoming record before long, and the best part is those two modes aren’t nearly as drastic as they sound on paper. Co-written by Julia Michaels (of “Sorry,” “Taste” and “Housewife” fame), “Blue Bayou” is as close to an adult contemporary hit as it gets in modern country music, complete with Muscadine’s signature flourishes that personalize this soliloquy of swampy sadness. Water fills up in Charlie Muncaster’s lungs as he surrenders to the current, but he’s by no means fighting the direction it’s taking him, even if it’s into treacherous territory. “So what I’m drowning without knowing?” Lyrically, some quick turns of phrase paired with the duo’s proficiency in sappy storytelling make the song compelling and add yet another mode to an already versatile pen. But the sonic seas of “Blue Bayou” are pretty placid. It’s an album-cut arrangement with single-level songwriting. Stanton and Muncaster here are slow to disturb still waters, opting instead to let the quick-witted and love-letter message speak for itself. There’s no real need to rock the boat.
7.9
My Kinda Christmas – LOCASH Written By Will Chapman
Is it too early for Christmas music? Absolutely. Unfortunately, the arrival of the holiday season also means another opportunity for LOCASH to release new music, and there’s arguably no appropriate time of year for that. “My Kinda Christmas” is a particularly uninspired addition to the holiday catalog, offering little more than a checklist of familiar Christmas traditions, with no real creativity or personality behind them. Mistletoe, candy canes, matching pajamas, cookies by the fire, Michael Bublé and Home Alone all make their obligatory appearances. Still, there’s hardly a fresh thought to be found anywhere in the song. The production is just as uninspiring. Everything is hyper-polished to the point of losing any character, starting with a piano intro that sounds like it was nuked under compression. The whole thing feels manufactured to hit every Christmas checkbox without ever capturing much of the feeling that makes the season worth singing about in the first place. LOCASH has essentially taken the same formulaic, overproduced Nashville country slop that we’ve grown accustomed to hearing year-round and given it a Christmas makeover. Unfortunately, a few candy canes and references to Die Hard don’t make it any more appealing.
3.7
Shotgun Seat – Dylan Marlowe Written By Joel Reuben Pauley
For people who listen to Dylan Marlowe for the good music, his new album feels like divine intervention. All his songs, like “Country in the Clouds” and “Boys Back Home,” didn’t always feel like they were catered to a totally active audience; instead, they were aimed at radio. However, the record seems to draw on the side of Marlowe that 80 Acres displayed, which feels more inspired and lively than his bro-ed-out work. “Shotgun Seat,” from his new project, infuses country imagery into the new style. Dylan sings about literally shooting his (vacant) passenger seat with a shotgun to kill a memory. Even with about as much realism as Tom and Jerry, the song still works. In fact, the unserious aspect fits perfectly with country music, taking songs like “Bubba Shot the Jukebox” into account. With all the guitar chugging and big power chords they could find, this song is an irresistible jam. As always, Dylan’s voice sounds totally natural over the heavy arrangement, almost whiny in the best way. As far as rock country goes, DM is killing it, and it will be interesting to see what else he has up his sleeve.
7.8
Nowhere Bound – Hudson Westbrook Written By Max Buondonno
Packing up and getting away from it all is the name of the game for “Nowhere Bound,” track 12 on Hudson Westbrook’s latest album, Made You Look. As the song settles in, you’re greeted by a very gentle production that highlights Hudson’s vocal performance while leaving you enthralled in a winding mental landscape that feels like listening to audible windshield reflections of mountains and countryside. The lyrics remain conceptually straightforward, harping on feelings of renewal and progression in hopes of finding yourself during a new adventure. It’s unlike previous singles Westbrook released to tease out his album: whereas those felt more appropriate for a larger audience, “Nowhere Bound” has a more authentic sound that gives you a clearer sense of what’s roaming around in his mind. It also keeps its story open to interpretation, at least to some extent. While Westbrook wrote it as a recounting of chasing his dream and packing up to move to Nashville, you can apply this song to any major life event or shift you experience. It’s one of the most thoughtful, soothing, and celebratory songs in his catalog, which makes it a shining gem on his sophomore LP.
8.1
Dying In This House – Mack Geiger Written By Will Chapman
Country music has never been short on songs about empty houses and the ghosts left behind by failed relationships. George Jones’ “The Grand Tour” and Shenandoah’s “Ghost in This House” are two of the genre’s finest treatments of the subject, each finding a different way to turn a home into a monument to lost love. Mack Geiger revisits that familiar territory on “Dying in This House,” the title track from his highly anticipated debut record, and finds plenty of life left in the old trope. Rather than simply lamenting a love that’s gone, Geiger draws comparisons between the slow decay of a home and the relationship that once filled it. Forgotten plants, cold sheets, and promises left behind become reminders of everything that’s fallen apart. It’s a particularly lonesome premise, made all the more effective by a melody that feels perfectly suited to the subject. An Australian native who first caught considerable attention with 2025’s “String By,” Geiger arrives at his debut with some serious Nashville backing. Produced by Keith Stegall, whose credits include Alan Jackson and Zac Brown Band, the record features some of the city’s finest session musicians. “Dying in This House” is a convincing argument for that combination. The production is unapologetically traditional, with every instrument finding its place without overcrowding the arrangement. Country music’s most enduring songs have often found their strength in familiar settings and universal experiences. The empty home has long served as one of the genre’s most effective pictures of heartbreak, largely because of its ability to make emotional absence feel tangible. Geiger demonstrates an understanding of that tradition, using familiar domestic imagery to explore the lingering devastation of a failed relationship. “Dying In This House” is an impressive showing that demonstrates that the strength of a country song often lies less in the novelty of its subject than in the sincerity and precision with which it’s explored.
9.0
One Summer When I Was Young – Troy Cartwright Written By Noah Sneath
Someone please call up Peter Berg and tell him to stop making WWII movies with Pat McAfee. We need a Friday Night Lights reboot stat because Troy Cartwright has the perfect song for a Monday morning montage in Dillon, TX, following a devastating Panthers loss. Cartwright, who contributed his songwriting talents to the Cody Johnson smash “Take Me Back (Leave Me There)”, is on a bit of a nostalgia mini-streak, and it is paying off. “One Summer When I Was Young” is a beautifully sad song that perfectly captures the mindset of a broken man living in the past. The premise is that our narrator had an intense fling years ago with a woman who showed him something he’s “still trying to find”; this song is incredibly depressing. Imagine being the caretaker of a life so empty that your focus is on recapturing what you felt during a weeks-long summer dalliance with an immature idea of love. This track does an excellent job of building a musical fingerprint that supports the intention of living in the past. The ambient guitar intro, the harmonies that keep you weaving in and out of major and minor keys – these are destabilizing forces that make the tone of this song feel like a distant memory, hard to grasp. The four-on-the-floor kick drum and the clarity in the recording keep us tied to the present and give the song forward momentum (ironic). Troy Cartwright is proving himself to be a reliable craftsman of an interesting musical space that exists somewhere between happiness and a sad reality.
7.4
If You Wanna See The Show – Chandler Walters Written By Adam Delahoussaye
The 90’s revivalist movement may be falling out of country culture dominance, but what remains are acts that put their personality front and center and let the sound be a backdrop rather than the full picture. It’s why Chandler Walters has quietly been making a name for himself as a premier talent with a spunky swagger. His latest sees him shooting daggers with a shit-eating grin on his face, as “If You Wanna See The Show” shortens the guest list and slyly tells a former so-and-so to get in line like everybody else. It’s one of those songs that would be far more bitter if its performer didn’t sound like they were having so much fun. “You told me where to go, so I went, now here I am, wishing you the best.” There’s something vaguely Vince Gill about the way Walters floats over those words, unbothered and full of life in the face of heartbreak. Then again, maybe that used-to-be-getting-gone is his cue to start the real party finally. But the most charming part of it all is that it never feels like Walters is trying too hard to achieve that lackadaisical attitude. It just falls out of him, and he lets the thoughts breathe freely, with a voice that never holds back or tries to compensate with party-trick runs or drawls. A lot of Walters’s catalog sounds like he’s just had a weight lifted off his shoulders, and you hope he stays as stress-free as this first show back as a bachelor has him.
8.0
Torn Up Sweater – Jack Wharff Band Written By Joel Reuben Pauley
The latest release from Jack Wharff Band builds on the foundation laid by their earliest work and adds new, unexpected layers. With the current trend of country acts borrowing elements of rock, punk, and grunge, it’s a little surprising to see this band follow suit. Since their debut, Jack and the boys have been showcasing lots of bluegrass and Americana influences in their music, but now there’s a strong grunge influence. While many listeners may not be used to it, Jack’s voice blends very well with this sound, giving it notes of angsty adolescence and drawing on the rebellious attitude of groups like Nirvana and The Offspring in their own way. The lyrics of this song carry that same spirit. Phrases like “You’re so porcelain” may not be typical of country songwriting, but they absolutely work in this realm. This song centers on a person who is so perfect to that. Jack describes crawling out of his skin as he tries to be good enough for them. With the stereotypical expectations of country writing far from sight, Wharff writes from a fresh and compelling voice. There’s certainly an argument to be made about the timing of this sudden stylistic shift, which could make it seem as though they’re simply following the flock of artists heading in the same direction. However, the execution is ultimately a testament to the band’s versatility and musical ability, delivering something that is not only different from their usual material but genuinely entertaining and well-written in its own right.
8.1
Lovers – Noeline Hofmann Written By Noah Sneath
Tony Soprano said “remember when” is the lowest form of conversation, and the same goes for music criticism. But sometimes you can’t help it. Noeline Hofmann’s “Lovers” is the love child of “Waymore’s Blues” and “Those Memories of You”. An impressive solo write from the Sad Canadian Clown (testing that one out in response to her social media promo for this track), this song is a lyrically through-composed fever dream, with bookending verses that plainly describe the narrator’s predicament: Watching all the lovers dance / it made me cry. Like the Waylon classic, “Lovers” uses only two chords (one minor and one major dominant seventh) to build a simple head bobber around a collection of exciting flourishes, including Hofmann’s alto charisma and lyrical aptitude. In that collection, we also have a bluesy acoustic guitar lick similar to the one that opens “Those Memories of You,” and clever voice breaks from F# to D on lines like “what I thought I’d find” and “did I miss a sign?” That particular two-note couplet, played over an E major chord, turns it into a dominant seventh chord that provides the dissonance and tension required to pull the listener’s ear back to the home chord. Also to be celebrated are the wonderful micro moments of high-level craft in the production. One example: the Leslie shimmer from the organ flattening from the opening riff to fade into the verse instrumental. Both art and science are on full display in this record, and it is yet another to be excited about in Hofmann’s fledgling country career.
8.8
