Exclusive – Hudson Westbrook Written By Jack Humphrey
Credit where it’s due, everything about this short interquel in Hudson Westbrook’s character arc feels intentional and deftly stylized. Exclusive, and its swaying title track delivers a blend of Parker McCollum-esque Texas country and radio-ready boyfriend country, straight out of Thomas Rhett’s 2017 catalogue, that’s unlike anything we’ve heard recently. Typically, when a Texan crossover artist makes inroads towards Nashville, it comes with a bit of compromise that sands off that artist’s “it factor.” So far, the opposite seems to have been the case for Westbrook, as he finds a comfortable niche between two crowded musical spaces where he can stand out all on his own. That said, it’s understandable for “Exclusive” to leave you wanting a little more on the lyrical side, as Hudson flows through a series of broad-brush, unremarkable bars en route to the (admittedly) slick titular phrase. It feels like we’re waiting to find out how the ex-boyfriend fumbled this girl, and if he “lost the breakup,” what’s happened since to make him feel jealous and dejected. Instead, the song’s buttery smooth production and Hudson Westbrook’s mood-setting crooning dress a woefully “fine” song up to the nines.
6.9
Big Ole Fancy House – Parker McCollum Written By Jack Humphrey
“Big Ole Fancy House” is a truly confounding follow-up to Parker McCollum’s sublime self-titled effort; on the one hand, there are so many individual parts that are easy to latch onto: the crisp, arpeggiated picking riff, Parker’s effortless falsetto notes in the hook, the soaring build towards the end with wailing slide guitar all stick out on first listen. Unfortunately, these impressive pieces are smothered by one of the most deeply unimpressive songs that Parker McCollum has ever cut from a songwriting perspective. On the face of it, the premise here is actually pretty strong: our subject lives in a big house he once shared with his lover and now feels heartbroken by his surroundings, tainted by her memory. The problem is that he doesn’t draw much more from that emotional well. In the first verse, we’re introduced to his dreary domicile, but he takes no time to develop this character’s inner monologue, aside from the general notion that he’s sad to be living in this house. Think “Rest of My Life” from Gold Chain Cowboy. In that song, we flash through a whole movie of emotions from our main character: self-doubt, regret, longing, and blind optimism, none of which are even close to present here. To make matters worse, Parker’s delivery is frustratingly gruff and bellowing from the first note onward; he projects as if he’s sung this song thousands of times already and is just trying to get through it in a live set. All told, “Big Ole Fancy House” is significantly weaker than the sum of its parts and makes little impact on the stellar tracklist Parker assembled last year.
5.1
Man I Was Made to Be – Conner Smith Written By Max Buondonno
The more Conner Smith veers into softer, acoustic-driven songs with religious and self-reflective themes, the more it pays off. After releasing his debut album in early 2024, Smith’s musical trajectory has readjusted from mainstream Nashville sounds to dusty, homegrown fables about love and life. “Man I Was Made to Be” follows a similar pattern, with Smith recognizing his shortcomings that his partner seems blind to, who only sees the good in him. Written entirely by Smith himself, the song displays an authentic charm that’s carried by his vocal performance, feeling more like a letter to his wife than a track created in a Music Row office building. It’s a song you have to sit down and pay attention to, though. At the same time, it’s well-written, with a pleasant instrumental in the background. The mood and atmosphere it creates don’t try to hook you or leave you wanting more, while its chorus progression doesn’t do anything more than make you remember what the song’s called. It’s almost like Grade A album filler, giving a larger project breathing room between catchier tracks to showcase Smith’s vulnerable side. It’s an easy track to forget in the grand scheme of things, but still an enticing vein for Smith to operate in, and it’ll be interesting to see where it takes him in the future.
7.8
I’m Good – Jelly Roll Written By Max Buondonno
At this point, Jelly Roll thrives on making lackluster songs that shove positive vibes down your throat and takes offense when you try to critique them. It’s almost like writing the worst song you could conjure up about a deceased relative or mental health struggles; if someone has a problem with it, they should be ignored and wiped from the face of the earth, strictly in defense of the song’s message. Criticizing “I’m Good,” a song Mr. Roll has recorded for Sony Pictures’ upcoming film Goat, feels the same way. Yes, it’s an obnoxiously positive song about feeling good… or whatever, and Jelly sings in all the right keys to make it appealing to younger audiences and tasteless music fans alike. The track is meant to deliver a vibe for the story up on the silver screen, and it’ll probably do just fine wherever it’s placed in the movie. As a standalone single, it’s hard to separate it from the other cringeworthy happiness tropes we’ve heard on Jelly Roll records in the past. Between the surface-level lyrics and pop-leaning instrumentation, Mr. Roll knows how to make the same-sounding song over and over again, and not seem to care at all. Whatever pays the bills, you know?
1.0
Two Inches – Trey Lewis Written By Adam Delahoussaye
Trey Lewis is far from the first country singer to take a match to the veil of decorum that most in Nashville operate under. Guys like David Allan Coe or Wheeler Walker Jr. started spitting some crass bars at fans that ate up material their more PG counterparts were packaging with a teasing wink. Lewis, a disciple of the two in so many ways, is as direct as they were about his locker-room language when he wants to be. “Two Inches,” a toe-tapping and stomach-cramping comedy croon, spares little tension in getting the bare bits and naked details of what’s on the brain here. The track presents the tale of a man whose length and width are at a damning crossroads, but his work ethic pushes him to go the extra mile. It bounces like a summer Alan Jackson cut, reads like an anecdote the older kids in school would tell you at far too early an age, and mixes its mantras into something that could slip onto a barbecue playlist accidentally before causing the nearest aunt’s face to go white. Its main message is, crudely, still a simple southern motif about making the best with what you’ve got.
7.3
Already Left – Max Alan Written By Adam Delahoussaye
Some artists are painters, either splashing colors together through lyrics to create a fully fledged picture or placing the right elements on the same canvas in an attempt at immersion. Max Alan is a textbook example of the latter, an Appalachian folk-country phenom who takes a down-the-middle storyline on “Already Left” and wraps it in little ticks and quirks that provide something much more vibrant than the sum of its parts. The plucking, steady thumps, and downstrokes all illustrate that frigid feeling that comes with the isolation that’s still clinging to the memory of warmth. It emulates that fire, yet it’s so hollowed out it can never truly feel its embers circulating in the atmosphere. Alan’s become something of a master of these wintry-mix maladies, where he takes the climate of a rural Pennsylvania January and warps it into something palpable, something that feels visible with your eyes closed. In borrowing some of those earnestly immersive motifs from folk groups but keeping the story grounded in a reality that feels native, he’s able to create songs that feel like oil paintings on the mantle of a fireplace. Employing your strengths in any regard earns serious points for authenticity and a willingness to provide imagery that extends beyond pure authenticity.
7.6
Lose a Friend – Evan Honer, Winyah Written By Aishwarya Rajan
If country music had a long-lost cousin, Evan Honer’s “Lose a Friend” might find a place on a distant branch of that family tree. However, this isn’t to say the “Jersey Giant” cover-star isn’t worthy of some praise from the genre. This critique is far from it. In fact, while this approach successfully catapults his sound into a new territory that feels adjacent to artists like Declan McKenna, The Backseat Lovers, or Flipturn, whose artistry is less rooted in traditional country structures, it preserves country songwriting: lyricism driven by emotion, honesty, and storytelling. “Lose a Friend” unfolds as an intimate portrait of emotional avoidance, tracing the push and pull of resisting romance with someone already close: a friend. Honer’s haunted by memories that replay uninvited, where each recollection is met with playful dismissal, insisting he hardly ever thinks of her, while doing exactly that. The melody mirrors this instability, never fully settling as it shifts between representations of anxiety, longing, acceptance, and withdrawal, which reflect the song’s internal conflict. Together, Honer and Winyah seamlessly complement each other’s tone, drawing the listener in and sustaining attention through playful lyrical quips and compelling melodic turns.
8.1
World Change Me – Max McNown Written By Aishwarya Rajan
Driven by the modern-day complexities of being both an artist and a person, “World Change Me” stands as a record not just to reflect hardship, but to offer a way to confront it. Whether referencing a “Bible in the nightstand” or urging listeners to fight rather than “fold, fall, or join ’em all,” Max McNown delivers a thoughtful message that emphasizes resilience in the face of overwhelming odds, culminating in the resolve of “I won’t let the world change me.” A particularly striking lyrical choice is McNown’s omission of the pronoun “I” throughout the verses, where the themes feel universal and observational, only to reclaim it in the final line of the chorus. McNown’s use of a poetic and rhyming cadence forces you to listen to his very intentional messaging. However, layered beneath this lyricism is a dark folk-country sound: a melody that is resigned and tense before ultimately reaching the liberating McNown sound that floods through songs like “Better Me For You,” “Forever Ain’t Long Enough,” or “St. Helens Alpenglow.” Anchoring this melody is the strong backbone of a simple kick drum, paired with bursts of electric guitar. Its this fusion of strong instrumentation and compelling lyricism that gives the song its addictive pull.
8.4
