McArthur – Hardy, Eric Church, Morgan Wallen, Tim McGraw Written By Max Buondonno
Imagine for a moment that you’re Hardy, Chase McGill, Jameson Rodgers, and Josh Thompson, devising a concept song about four generations of a family where a different artist sings from each perspective. You write about how an old farmer wants to pass his land down to his kids, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, only for the fourth generation to almost sell it away to developers. You then call three of the biggest stars in your phone’s contacts. The result? A first-class bragging-rights song. “McArthur” is a story about generational wealth and Hardy got three artists to join him on it that most country acts could only dream of. This seems to be boggling the minds of many, convincing them this is the second coming of Jesus to have these four together. While the lyrics punch above their weight and don’t require much explanation to understand the story that unfolds, it’s the vocal performances that underwhelm. Everyone is just barely there: McGraw mumbles through the first verse, Church’s verse isn’t long enough to remember that you just listened to Eric Church, Hardy is as flat as ever, and Wallen sounds like he’s reluctantly doing his friend a favor and operates in a low-energy pocket. At the end, all four try to harmonize and… just… no, it sounds like a cheap Pro Tools background vocals effect. What stands out about “McArthur” is the sheer star power, which is never enough to make a song good. The storytelling is nice, but unfortunately, it’s also an excellent object lesson in prioritizing chemistry over clout.
6.7
Geronimo – Ian Munsick Written By Aishwarya Rajan
The marriage of skillful guitar picking and fiddle, climbing toward catharsis in Ian Munsick’s “Geronimo,” creates a weightless atmosphere capable of transcending the mind toward solace and freedom. It’s a perfect display of Munsick’s skill in weaving folk and Native textures into modern storytelling. Rather than reinvent his sound, Munsick sharpens it, amplifying the qualities that have long defined his tone. In “Geronimo,” we’re reminded of those high registers that once carried tracks like “Solo” and “Fixin’ Me.” It also continues his tradition of honoring Native American symbolism, a through line present in earlier records like White Buffalo, Coyote Cry, and Eagle Feather. The song follows a man diving headfirst into uncertainty, fearless in his surrender. Munsick’s repetition of the title phrase echoes modern understandings of Geronimo, in which liberation is met with courage. Beneath the familiar exclamation, however, lies a deeper intention: a deliberate nod to the historical figure and cultural legacy of Geronimo, the Apache leader whose name has come to symbolize courage. In doing so, Munsick reinforces his ongoing effort to cultivate respect for Native American heritage, a heritage he has meaningfully adopted into. Ian Munsick proves that the relatability of music doesn’t have to come at the cost of depth, uniqueness, or cultural difference.
8.1
Dandelion – Ella Langley Written By Aishwarya Rajan
The strength of allegory and precocity for songwriting has become a hallmark of the Ella Langley name. Traces of it underlie cuts like “Nicotine,” “Monsters,” “Weren’t for the Wind,” “20-20,” and “Hungover.” Yet that precocity remained largely unnoticed until her duets became hits, storming the industry. The common denominator was unmistakable: an angelic and unique addition to the country music scheme; Ella Langley’s voice. “Dandelion,” however, segues Langley into a territory foreshadowed by hit singles, “Weren’t for the Wind” and “Choosin’ Texas,” where restrained, classic melodies allow the sweetness in her Alabama drawl to shoulder the “Dandelion’s” depth. The delicate interplay between the Hammond organ and pedal steel guitar gently introduces the story before swelling into the outro and chorus, drawing the listener inward. She tells her origin story by positioning herself outside societal expectations, equating her identity to the dandelion: overlooked, underestimated, yet resilient. The track steps away from heavy production that defined earlier releases like “Damn You” and “Country Boy’s Dream Girl” by relying on simple guitar and drum backbeats throughout the verses. Quippy turns of phrase like “roots to my boots,” paired with the hum of cicadas and crickets, deepen the allegory that tethers the song’s narrative. Still, “Dandelion” clings to a familiar framework: a triple chorus capped by a lyrical outro. And by the third pass at the ‘dandelion’ metaphor, what once felt delicate begins to overstay its welcome. It grows tired and weedy, much like the fluff of a dandelion drifting, aimless, “ridin’ on a breeze.”
7.9
Lorelei – ERNEST Written By Adam Delahoussaye
For a writer with an eclectic credit base and an artist moving in a more traditional direction, you still get the sense that ERNEST is still looking to be known for his versatility as a performer, even if the zags feel natural. After a slew of releases that mimic the new traditional sound of the 80’s and 90’s in Nashville, “Lorelei” is purely focused on the lighthouse, the water, and the waves. A breezy, yacht-rock inspired number that reads like a backburner Buffett track, that story of screaming for the siren that left his heart at shore could be read by cowboys and Parrotheads with equal amounts of veracity. The Nashville native’s signature songwriting, while wading through a crowded mix, still breaks through as he details his love lost somewhere in the sand between those punchy one-liners and reheated thematic recipes. As a stand-in summer fling, “Lorelei” shares a story that’s universal amongst shorelines across the country, and the wide net the song casts most likely acts as a net positive for how far country music can extend itself as a genre. Like most ERNEST efforts, it doesn’t try too hard, but that lackadaisical attitude is exactly where the ‘cool factor’ lies. The take might be new, but the attitude feels like it would fly in a few different eras.
8.0
The Great Divide – Noah Kahan Written By Adam Delahoussaye
Even if “The Great Divide” wasn’t permeating internet algorithms for the better part of two years now, there isn’t much in its key contents that’s unfamiliar or a departure from the soft-spoken, strongly-worded Noah Kahan that “Stick Season” introduced the world to. It’s pretty par for the course for Kahan to prefer his comfort zone while he croons about being separated from it, as he tends to angle a lot of his core ideas around a longing to return to that normalcy that’s now someone else’s reality. There’s a therapeutic quality in dissecting that splintered perception here, as Kahan murmurs and swells with a conviction that grows more intense as his need for outside acknowledgement of his anguish deepens. “I hope you settle down, I hope you marry rich,” he yelps, the line being a thesis statement for the separation the track is trying to get a wrangle on. For as timid a character as Kahan can be, his most refreshing moments come when he’s at his most intense, pulling emotions from some dark part of him that has been festering since that last “real” shared experience started to wane from his psyche. Still, he sticks to his prototypical, indie-folk-infused blanket to tell a story of how foreign the past is getting, the contrast beautifully illustrating the feeling of being a different person in your own skin, or seeing what seems like a new person wearing the face of a former friend. What propelled the singer to stardom still clearly works, in part because it doesn’t quite sound like he’s gotten a good grasp on where his head is at.
8.7
Heart of America – Willie Nelson Written By Joel Reuben Pauley
At almost 93 years old, Willie Nelson is still doing it, delivering music to the world in his own hopeful way. In his new single, from the Kevin Costner-produced show, The Gray House, Willie sings about the factors of our nation that bring everyone together. “Heart of America” plays in an anthemic fashion, giving glory to the stars and stripes, painting the United States as “a beacon of hope in the night” and “a spirit that’s always gonna fly.” A blend of patriotism and triumph, Willie paints his own portrait of what it means to be a proud citizen, supported by an equally powerful backing arrangement. Still featuring the sounds of his iconic guitar “Trigger,” the strings, electric guitar, and other more progressive elements seem to go hand-in-hand with Willie’s legendary voicing and playing style. Although old in age, his voice comes across as strong, mirroring the way he describes America: “still dreaming, dreaming of things to come” and “beating like a drum.” Above all, “Heart of America” effectively presents a sense of freedom that you can feel from the first word until the chorus resolves.
9.3
Never Been Better – Myles Morgan Written By Joel Reuben Pauley
With a short collection of singles to his name, Myles Morgan has not yet gained many fans in his space. In “Never Been Better,” Morgan throws a classic country curveball at listeners. For the entire beginning of the track, it seems like you’re hearing a song similar in topic to “I Never Lie” by Zach Top, where Myles describes all the perks of his new life without his ex. He tells the listener to wake up early, write “sincerely,” and drink less. It isn’t till the end of the chorus when you finally hear that he’s “never been better at pretending” that he’s okay. In the bridge, he goes in depth about a hypothetical situation in which he would come face-to-face with his ex-lover. Morgan sings “you’d hear a voice that doesn’t shake when it lies.” What sets this apart from other songs with similar twists is that Morgan really doesn’t sound happy throughout the song. With the mellow, down-tempo arrangement, there’s a yearning that’s self-evident when each note elongates. Most notably in the bridge, where the lyrics meet the slowly ascending melody, tension builds naturally and purely, making it easy to feel empathy as a listener. Overall, although it’s not the first time country music has experienced a lyrical twist in the chorus, Myles Morgan’s attempt is successful, not overdoing it and staying present with every word.
8.1
Redneck and You Know It – Dalton Davis Written By Jack Humphrey
When you’re a young, unproven name on the Nashville scene without a cache of equity necessary to tell “the man” to kick rocks, the pressure to attract attention might push you to do some goofy things. At least, that’s probably the most generous read on Dalton Davis’s intention when he created the disastrous misstep that is “Redneck and You Know It.” Just reading that title, you should already have a pretty good sense of what this song is and how it’s going to sound; mainstream country music has developed an icky streak of nursery rhyme samples in the last few years, and this isn’t even the second single to misappropriate this particular tune (after Granger Smith and Coffey Anderson). Like most samples by attention-starved would-be radio stars, “Redneck and You Know It” comes bereft of any wit or pizzazz apart from its use of this well-known melody. Like, without that sample, there’s just no song, full stop. Equally bad, the sound of this so-called song rips all of the worst notes from the 2015 bro-country playbook, as if Dalton’s producer searched up “Parmalee-type beats” for inspiration. Dalton Davis flexed his cheeky sense of humor last year with “Cows In the Front Yard,” but in 2026, if he’s content to be the third guy in country music to interpolate a ditty that most of us grow out of by age five, the future looks bleak indeed.
1.5
Bar and Back – Josh Ross Written By Max Buondonno
Country music oftentimes falls into a trap of trying to add twang and honkey tonk flair to every possible circumstance in a relationship. For mainstream fame chasers like Josh Ross, that means trying to be as relatable as possible at all times, no matter how annoyingly niche you wind up being. “Bar and Back,” the artist’s latest single, falls victim to this approach with a questionable tale about wanting to be more than someone’s booty call. While it seems that the protagonist wants to be more than just someone to hold her tight at night, nowhere in the song is there an example of him trying to advance things and pursue a longer-term commitment. Instead, he whines about how he could be everything she wants, and after listening to it a few times, he sounds gradually more pathetic and irritable. It’s full of self-loathing and despair, all over wanting to essentially marry someone who seems to have made it clear there’s no future. Coupled with vocals that sound like Ross singing with the air in the back of his throat, “Bar and Back” serves no other purpose than another check on a list of “Modern Relationship Dynamics We Can Base Songs On.”
3.3
The Prophet (Grandaddy’s Song) – Jenna Paulette and Ashley McBryde Written By Will Chapman
Jenna Paulette’s “The Prophet (Grandaddy’s Song)” was already one of the quieter standouts on her 2024 record Horseback, and the new version featuring Ashley McBrydedoesn’t reinvent it so much as gently underlines what was always there. Lyrically, it might be the strongest thing Paulette has cut to date. The imagery stimulates the senses with the smells of diesel and leather and the sights of old men stacking chairs after church. Ashley McBryde’s presence here makes sense, considering she was in the room when the song was written. The feature has her step back into her own words, reinforcing the story’s weight. Will Bundy’s production is pleasant and restrained to a fault at times; everything is done tastefully, but no instruments really step forward as defining moments. At times, the lack of movement and intricacy causes the arrangement to teeter toward torpor. The imagery and storytelling are strong enough that the song succeeds on feel and memory alone, even if the arrangement plays it safe. “The Prophet (Grandaddy’s Song)” sees Paulette right in her wheelhouse, leaning on reflection, lineage, and nostalgia, as she continues to carve out a place as a grounded and trustworthy voice in the format.
8.6
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