Chrome Pony – Kassi Ashton Written By Adam Delahoussaye
If “Bitches” and “Bratmobile” didn’t sketch out the character of Kassi Ashton with enough definition, then “Chrome Pony” is the finishing touches to the portrait, complete with a humid harmonica and the singer kicking up dust in the frontier. It’s the closest thing to Ashton singing her own walk-up music in what feels like a thesis statement of both her attitude and artistic ambitions. The singer knows how to make a big entrance, and she’s practically shooting down saloon doors by the time the chorus breaks away. It’s also a showcase of Ashton’s magnetic personality, a devil-may-care attitude that knows how to call attention to itself and hook a listener in with her unique drawl and rich timbre. The only real downfall of “Chrome Pony” is that it feels too aware of how it’s trying to summarize such a big personality in such a little amount of time. Its sneaky verses, pancaked by its explosive chorus, can, at times, make what should be a statement track feel like cheap, self-written theme music. When the track tries to cram in all the facets of a multi-faceted artist, the wild-west veneer starts to look more like a motel painting than a true portrait.
6.6
Backstreet Baby – Zach Meadows Written By Adam Delahoussaye
The line between genres gets blurred more and more by the day, and no one is quicker to tell you that than country music fans. But Zach Meadows is a shining example of how to take that smushed-together handful of sounds and mold them into a familiar feeling that’s clearly trying to be more profound than the sum of its parts. You can hear where writing for Braxton Keith may have rubbed off on him in the yelps and yodels that sit in the spaces between his vowels, followed by a few scratchy reaches for the top note that shows off his inner Americana. You can also feel his propensity for a grimier finish in the backbeat that takes the track from a standard vertical-video croon session into a living, breathing feeling. He hits the mark on the soft rock-fare, but from a writing perspective, Meadows is on the cusp of profundity. A line like “got a taste of my heels going over my head” could pass as quick-witted if he was in a Stetson (maybe another instance of his country influences rubbing off), but he’s going for something a little more visceral. The individual lines are clever, but the overall feeling is a little more complicated, as Meadows stirs around a swirling guitar loop that hums behind him as he wonders if he’ll ever hit the intersection between true love and the right time. “Backstreet Baby” is hopefully a coming-out party for Meadows, an artist with all the right callbacks and the street smarts to use them in a way that doesn’t feel the slightest bit derivative.
7.8
Boots – Kane Brown & Shania Twain Written By Joel Reuben Pauley
Neither a cover nor a parody, an intentional interpolation reproduces major elements of a pre-existing song for a new use, unlike the currently viral credit-the-writers-later scenarios. In Kane Brown’s latest single, he does so with the help of Shania Twain, the artist behind the classic “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?” Brown’s version flips the roles, voicing the male perspective in Twain’s original story. Using more modern phrasing, he replaces lines like “Did it feel like thunder, baby?” with the all-new “Don’t you think you’re talking crazy?” Compared to other examples of modern artists taking their own measures to update classic hits, Kane does a surprisingly inoffensive job, maintaining much of the heart of the track’s original form. Aside from a decrease in lyrical impact, the two main downsides are minimal and will likely matter only to the pickiest of country fans. The first comes from Brown’s delivery, which is a tad swaggier than the cheeky production demands. As a result, the packaging feels a little too Old Navy commercial-ish, distracting from the music itself. Secondly, the notation in the verses fits into this growing category full of honky tonk cosplay melodies that have sprung up over the last decade or so. Examples include Kane’s own “Like I Love Country Music,” Jake Owen’s “Down to the Honky Tonk,” and FGL’s “I Love My Country,” where the singer melodically mimics your stereotypical ascending country guitar riff, usually while singing about how redneck they are. However, compared to similar releases, this isn’t one of Kane’s worst musical displays, though he has delivered more enjoyable performances in the past.
5.3
Strangers & Angels – Flatland Cavalry Written By Joel Reuben Pauley
Based on their recent releases, it seems like Flatland Cavalry is only getting more comfortable putting out mass quantities of feel-good songs. They typically do a decent job at it, although this isn’t really the material that made listeners connect with them in the first place. On the new “Strangers & Angels,” the band uses inspirational imagery such as “an old man in a wheelchair” and the idea of walking “a mile in your neighbor’s shoes.” The story follows our narrator as he passes by the old man, whose hat reads “Just happy to be here,” reminding the narrator of how much life is worth. Through the simplicity of this life lesson, Flatland seeks to promote peace and kindness throughout the world because, in their words, “We’re all just strangers and angels passing through.” Although the song’s meat is intended to support a universal “greater good,” the track feels far more skippable than the other options in their discography. Lyrics like “Turn up that thankful on the dial” don’t have enough impact to justify the overly decorated presentation of such a simple sentiment. Equally, the calm, giddy instrumentation is exactly what you’d expect from Cavalry, bringing nothing new or exciting to the table. Still, in today’s country scene, Flatland’s least interesting material is a breath of fresh air, existing far away from the repetitive, copycat trend-hoppers who can’t seem to find their own sound.
7.1
Made In A Bottle – Dustin Lynch Written By Max Buondonno
In what feels like a return to form of sorts, Dustin Lynch has traded glitzy, over-produced vocals and modern pop-country beats for a sound that feels much more in line with his earlier catalog on “Made In A Bottle.” The first single from his upcoming album, Lynch harps over heartbreak as he searches for anything to drown out the memory of his ex, something that’s stronger than any adult beverage seems to be. With plenty of energy and a catchy chorus, the song reminds you of how Lynch’s first couple of albums sounded before he started doubling down on EDM and hip-hop influences to stand out. By extension, he blends into the crowd a bit more with this record, although that’s where Lynch tends to do best. Sure, “Made In A Bottle” does nothing innovative or interesting for the “Thinkin’ Bout You” singer, nor does it tell a story or articulate a feeling as well as songs like “Cowboys and Angels.” But in a world of really bad songs, Lynch’s discography needed a bit of a jolt. This track sends you back to the days when hearing a Dustin Lynch song didn’t make you want to turn off your radio. In fact, you may wind up jamming out to this one on occasion. As tired of a subject matter as drowning your sorrows in alcohol can be, it’s nice to hear him just be 2014 Dustin Lynch for a second.
6.3
The Joker – Hudson Westbrook Written By Noah Sneath
Oh no, it’s one of those songs. The choice to fill the first three seconds of a country song with an atmospheric fade-in never works. Go listen to the Country Top 50 on Spotify and see how far you get before you hear anything like the intro to Hudson Westbrook’s “The Joker” (spoiler alert: pretty far). It’s a self-conscious, expository move that says “we don’t trust this song to convey emotion on its own,” and it’s become so commonplace that it now serves as a helpful indicator for anyone who doesn’t want to wait longer to find out a song isn’t worth the time. The remaining three minutes and twenty-six seconds of “The Joker” confirm every fear the intro raises. Four credited songwriters take one idea (I’m a lucky guy because she’s out of my league) and restate it at least six different ways without ever building a story around it. The chorus features one of the more confusingly constructed lyrics you’ll hear this year in country music: “I’m lucky that me and East Texas hold her / Where her head falls, who her phone calls / Not a day half drunk or sober.” The music is guilty of the same crime. There is no contrast, no bite, no shape, only tepid and predictable. The arrangement’s only real trick, rim clicks doubling into snare hits at the 1:30 mark, mirrors the tendency to restate rather than realize any narrative potential. Hudson Westbrook is one of country music’s rising stars for good reason. “The Joker” is not one of them.
2.9
Every Minute Of It – Gabby Barrett Written By Noah Sneath
If the CW were still producing hit television, the sync licensing deals for “Every Minute of It” would be making themselves. You could sneak this song into The Wreckers’ Stand Still, Look Pretty, and no one would know the difference. For all of you Zoomers out there who were born after Y2K, Gabby Barrett’s new single is that song you hear blasting out of a Toyota Camry filled with four high school girls on your way to school right as the leaves are starting to come back out again. And that’s the key to this song. Barrett, a podium finisher on American Idol (speaking of early 2000s nostalgia), isn’t chasing a 2026 sound. Instead she’s studying at the Clarkson/Underwood School of Making it Cool to Scream Clichés in Your Car During Rush Hour Traffic and earning straight A’s. The song is dynamic, the lyrics are memorable and cathartic, and the chorus melody has a wonderful up-and-down, rolling shape. “Every Minute of It” uses every minute efficiently. We move between musical ideas before they wear out their welcome, stepping up to the chorus and back down to the verse melodies with logical motion. The lyrics are not groundbreaking, but musically, this track is professional songcraft. Will Gabby Barrett show up to her next performance with streaks in her hair, sporting a beanie and a nose ring? Probably not, but it’d be cool if she did.
8.0
Girl From Louisiana – Dylan Scott Written By Will Chapman
From KWKH’s Louisiana Hayride out of Shreveport, which rivaled the Grand Ole Opry in the 1950s, to the countless artists and musicians who have called its parishes home, the great state of Louisiana and country music have long been inextricably concomitant. A wealth of great country songs is based around the state as well, “Jambalaya (On The Bayou),” “Louisiana Saturday Night,” “Amos Moses,” and perhaps most famously, “Callin’ Baton Rouge,” from which just over fifty percent of the lyrics to Dylan Scott’s latest effort “Girl From Louisiana” were sourced. Written by Dallas Wilson, Graham Barham, and Logan Turner (Dennis Linde, who solo penned “Callin’ Baton Rouge” is also credited), the track sees the narrator smitten as he recounts his experience with an unforgettable girl from Louisiana and gives us heartfelt details that only a man in love could. These include: she’s possibly from Lake Charles, drives a 4Runner, and wore an LSU shirt. All the while, this stupid, pulsing, over-processed beat with fiddle thrown on top just sort of exists. Even the lifelong, die-hard LSU fan in me can’t bring himself to consider appreciating this lackadaisical garbage, and the Louisiana native in me, who has a love for country music and all that makes it sacred, is disappointed. Louisiana does not necessarily need another great signature country song, and it certainly did not get one with “Girl From Louisiana.”
2.2
High Ground – Dillon Carmichael Written By Will Chapman
There is something reassuringly unfashionable about Dillon Carmichael’s “High Ground.” Notably, this is Carmichael’s first release produced by Dave Cobb, and the difference is immediately apparent. There’s a rough-around-the-edges feel to it that implies they made the conscious choice to avoid sanding off every last splinter. This allows the track to breathe, and when it exhales, there’s Marlboro smoke. “High Ground” is, unmistakably, a honky-tonk song. You can practically see the old neon signage, the worn bar top, and a live band occupying the corner of the room. There’s a wonderful predictability to the whole production. The chorus employs the classic secondary-dominant movement from 1 to 2 to 5, or, more specifically, I–V/V–V, giving the progression a familiar sense of tension and release that country music has been exploiting for generations. Then comes the stop and chromatic walk-up immediately after Carmichael sings “high ground.” It’s textbook. Carmichael opens the song with a joint, a glass of Jim Beam, and George Jones playing on the jukebox, establishing in three lines exactly where we are and what kind of man we’re dealing with. The cleverness comes in the places where the flood metaphor and the honky-tonk vernacular overlap. There is an understanding here that a good country song doesn’t necessarily require new metaphors so much as it requires old ones to be used well. That may ultimately be what makes “High Ground” work; the arrangement has enough dirt under its fingernails to feel like it came from a honky-tonk stage rather than a studio designed to imitate one.
7.0
I’m Sorry, But I Love You – Waylon Wyatt & Carter Faith Written By Aishwarya Rajan
If you haven’t noticed, Carter Faith has been collecting duet partners like Infinity Stones over the past several months. Unsurprisingly, she has been brought into a new song that is soaked in painful honesty and deep sadness. Within the first 30 seconds of Waylon Wyatt and Faith’s new track, “I’m Sorry, But I Love You,” the duo sings about pining for a loved one through desperate whispers in conversing with each other. Typically, Waylon meets his songs with a gravelly undertone and obvious vocal fry; however, by sweet surprise, those distinct choices are absent. He hones in on a sweeter, less sultry machismo that beautifully complements Faith’s skillful reach towards higher notes. Through this interplay, the track is experiential, transporting listeners into eras that defined country music’s past. It envelops listeners’ ears in a warm instrumental whirlpool led by a mandolin and a sustained pedal steel guitar; together they both act as a coercive display of trickery amidst unshakably sad lyricism.
8.1
The Moon And The Wolf – Jackson Dean feat. Laci Kaye Booth Written By Written By Aishwarya Rajan
Perhaps one of the most naturally enticing vocalists in country music today, Jackson Dean has delivered a melodically mesmerizing ballad, “The Moon And The Wolf,” with Laci Kaye Booth. Sonically, the track seamlessly flows into his record, Magnolia Sage, while also retaining cavernous instrumental elements from his second studio album, with the track “Train.” Both are anchored by the same introductory arpeggiating riff with deep, echoing strums. His staple blend of soul constructions wrapped in country cloth, sustained by poignant electric-guitar whirrs is all over the track, the vocals really steal the show. Paired with Booth’s majestic tone, there is not a more ethereal pairing of voices for howling and harmonizing than this. Listeners have long grown accustomed to Dean’s signature wailing howls, yet on “The Moon And The Wolf,” that howl is taken to an entirely new level. Rather than an embellishment, Dean uses it as a literal howl, wolf to moon, mirroring the song’s own title, mythology, and concept: the intimacy of isolation and silence. Magnolia Sage was a record built to distill devotion and adornment into lyrical simplicity, and this track fulfills that mission as well with divine precision.
9.0
One Hell Of A Steal – Gavin Adcock Written By Max Buondonno
There’s something to be said about the consistency that Gavin Adcock seems to deliver. On every record he puts out, it has enough Adcock flair and fodder to feel authentic, avoiding the pitfall of many artists of sounding like a voice singing someone else’s lyrics. He had a pen on “One Hell of a Steal,” the latest release from his upcoming album. It has his signature all over it, with its twangy progression from raspy loverboy to a retired party animal giving his wedding vows. The entire gist of the song is buried in that, while its airy production makes it feel charming and cute. Here, Gavin tries to pull off a memorable love song, and it works out, at least for the most part. Its aesthetic and appeal lean heavily on the instrumental and Adcock’s vocal delivery. It’s no surprise that a love song coming from a head-banger like Adcock would see him hanging up the rock-and-roll lifestyle to settle down, which tends to come off more as a cliché than anything else. But the easy sway and playful whistling in the background warm and invite you to forget what he’s saying and just vibe out. It isn’t a totally new side of Adcock we haven’t seen before, but one he should keep exploring instead of veering off into country-butt-rock all the time.
7.5
