Different About You – Old Dominion Written By Brandon Iozzo
With the unveiling of Old Dominion’s full-length project “Memory Lane” comes the upbeat, SoCal feel of ‘Different About You.” Right in line with classic Old Dominion production, the song is complete with infectious guitar hooks and bright overtones. Produced by the band themselves and Ross Copperman, its pop influences are pretty apparent, and they don’t break the mold much with this lovey-dovey concept. That said, this tune has an endearing hook and undeniable catchiness, making it feel like a safe bet as a future road single down the road.
7.4/10
Wild Ones – Jessie Murph, Jelly Roll Written By Brandon Iozzo
With an off-putting hick-hop combination of singing and bad rapping comes the woefully cringy ‘Wild Ones.’ As they subject their ears to these goofy lyrics, listeners can only shake their heads in wonder at how this song credits five writers. As is the case with most trailer-trap, things are made much worse with overplayed southern accents and discordant 808 beats. Even worse is Jelly Roll’s lousy rapping feature on the track, which comes as an immense letdown from the credible standard of music he’s put out lately. Far from a duet, Jelly Roll’s appearance on ‘Wild Ones’ is confusing since he’s not exactly seen as the male love interest perspective, but more of a sloppy afterthought to lend this single some star power. This track is tasteless and unoriginal and in fact, barely passes as listenable.
2.0/10
She Calls Me Back – Noah Kahan, Kacey Musgraves Written By Creed Miller
As Noah Kahan takes over the entire music industry, he has been re-releasing some of his greatest hits featuring other artists like Post Malone and Lizzy McAlpine. This time, Kahan enlists Kacey Musgraves for a new version of ‘She Calls Me Back.’ Kahan doesn’t venture too far from the original, but the duet version does give this tune some fresh new life. The chemistry between Musgraves and Kahan is outstanding. This a collaboration the world didn’t necessarily need, but we as listeners should be glad we got it. Each artist gets their verse before beautifully teaming up for the final chorus of the song. As the Noah Kahan craze grows, he continues to live up to the hype with every new release. Kacey fits right in the folk-pop mix, making a great jumping-on point for new fans.
8.8/10
Whiskey Drink – Jason Aldean Written By Creed Miller
Jason Aldean seems to be in a rut with his last few singles and his latest one whiskey Drink’ didn’t do much to pull him out of it. The sputtering radio mainstay leans into one of his favorite topics: drowning the memory of a recent relationship in whiskey. Per usual, any fans expecting to be surprised will be tragically disappointed. Penned by Kurt Allison, Jonathan Edwards, Tully Kennedy, and John Morgan, the track serves as a letter to Whiskey asking to help through the breakup as it has time and time again. Bluntly speaking, it’s just unoriginal. That being said, this is a track that Aldean’s fans will probably flock to and defend. Jason Aldean continues to release more music in the aftermath of the ‘Try That In a Small Town’ frenzy, and though ‘Whiskey Drink’ isn’t nearly as lyrically arousing, it’s just as bland.
4.7/10
Beneath Oak Trees – Dylan Gossett Written By Cam Greene
‘Beneath Oak Trees’ is another songwriting tour de force that shows immense promise for the Texas native. His writing style is probably the most impressive thing in all of his music but this song especially. He’s great at placing the listener in the situation he’s singing about and with a production that has improved significantly since “Coal”, Gossett has solidified his spot as a country riser. His unique folk style is much different than his other Texan counterparts; It’s stripped back, slow and methodical and has great undertones throughout about hope and serenity. He’s taken three chords and the truth and brought it back and to his credit, it sounds fantastic. Gossett continues to show it doesn’t take a full band full of pop and rock to be successful and beloved in the genre and the future of his music career is exciting to watch out for.
9.0/10
Someone You Don’t Know – Evan Honer & Julia DiGrazia Written By Ryan Lippe
Continuing to benefit from his viral success, Evan Honer is back with another sorrowful tale of failed romance. Honer’s earthy vocals have always been a selling point for him, in a world where so many young artists try to emulate a specific sound; he’s been able to craft his own. However, the production on this track is a bit of a regression from past songs with a noisy echo and the instrumentation feeling more rough around the edges. Nonetheless, frequent collaborator Julia DiGrazia balances Honer’s voice and lends her vocals in a more prominent role than just harmonies. Following his album West on I-10, Honer is keeping his foot on the gas with songs that continue to tell awesome stories.
8.8/10
Thank God She’s a Country Girl – Morgan Evans Written By Ryan Lippe
Sampling songs has never been a trend that country music has been able to pull off with grace. Oftentimes, it comes off as cheesy or in poor taste, and that could not be more true in this instance. Morgan Evans is at a point in his career where many are questioning why he’s releasing music at all. Throughout this song, the lyrics come off as shallow and frustratingly cringeworthy in its interpolation of John Denver’s classic ditty. Despite the poor attempt at songwriting, Chris DeStefano does keep the production bearable with fiddle to emulate the original song, but it’s muted by lots of artificial symbol crashes and clap tracks. Evans’s voice has rarely been problematic, but here, it drags the song down with overproduced energy that adds to an overall distaste for the song.
2.3/10
Gas Station Flowers – Zandi Holup Written By Christina Bosch
A strong introduction for Big Loud’s newest signee, Zandi Holup brings something unique and tender to country music. “Gas Station Flowers” is a delicate plea with simple production that builds with added strings give depth to the folky tune. Her delivery is despondent and echoey with a slight twang as she croons about settling for a simple gesture instead of the despair of being alone. This is a story all too familiar for so many women stuck in dead-end relationships. Zandi wrote the track with Brian Alexander and Stephanie Joyce, and in true country story-song fashion, the ending hits home: she openly admits that the relationship is toxic, but still refuses to leave it’s a powerful conclusion indeed. For fans of folk-inspired country music, it’s exciting to have a new female artist creating raw and real stories.
9.1/10
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