Silver Sands Marina – Kenny Chesney Written By Max Buondonno
Leave it to Kenny to deliver another solid summer love song. “Silver Sands Marina,” the title track to Chesney’s upcoming album, perfectly meshes his unapologetic biases toward beach country and his ability to tell a story you’re jealous you’re not a part of. Written by Johnny Clawson and Kyle Sturrock, “Silver Sands Marina” whisks you away to the waterfront where two people fall in love as autumn fills the air, time ticks away, and they’re each left with nothing but memories of a magical 24 hours. It’s in these songs that Chesney’s buoyant production and effortless vocals make it easy to get swept up in the tale like the tide pulling you into the ocean. It also showcases Chesney’s continued ability to balance out his party-ready hits with songs that make you take a second and listen to something with more gravitas and depth. There are many reasons he’s revered as one of country music’s greats, and songs like this further help cement that legacy.
8.2
Made It A Memory – Luke Bryan Written By Max Buondonno
An absolutely historic comeback for Luke Bryan, “Made It A Memory” achieves what his previous single couldn’t: deliver the emotion, meaning, and storytelling that was woven through many of his earliest songs. The track, written by Matt Alderman, Jamie Paulin, and Shane Profitt, feverishly reminisces on a carefree rendezvous with a girl that turned an ordinary night into a lifelong memory. Its sweet charm and piano-based instrumental give the song a heavy ballad vibe, sending audible flashbacks to the days when “Crash My Party” was creeping around on your summer playlist. Bryan returns to form in some capacity here, sounding more like himself from 15 years ago instead of chasing down boring lyrics for a viral TikTok clip. It’s a refreshing change of pace for the country veteran, who hasn’t shared much in the way of substantive content in a long time. While “Made It A Memory” doesn’t set a new standard for Bryan or add anything profoundly different to his catalog, it does serve as an indicator that his passion for making music with texture and flavor is still there. Perhaps it won’t excite those craving Bryan’s earlier days at the peak of his artistic success, but at least there’s still fuel in the tank, even if it’s just some fumes.
6.9
Hands Up – Jelly Roll Written By Joel Reuben Pauley
Since he’s transitioned from rap to country, Jelly Roll’s motivation behind each song appears to be to make inspiring art. “Save Me” and “Son of a Sinner” set this trend off on the right track, but many of the subsequent songs, like “Liar” and “Winning Streak,” feel like too much effort for the product’s low quality. However, the brand-new “Hands Up” makes a stronger, clearer pursuit, with careful attention to detail and vulnerability that make the track extremely likable. The story follows Jelly through his troubled youth and young adulthood, and to the moment he found his faith, as the phrase “put your hands up” takes on different meanings at each stage of life. With the point of this song being to find purpose, freedom, and redemption, the chords, melodies, and lyrics blend seamlessly to amplify that message. Reminiscent of “This Bar” by Morgan Wallen, the tango between the almost rapped verses and the anthemic chorus displays Jelly Roll’s best abilities and showcases his voice in a flattering fashion. While this is one of the best executions of his goal to inspire others, it may be time to introduce new themes into future singles, considering he’s likely much more complex than solely being a changed man.
7.7
Plans – Brandon Flowers Written By Jack Humphrey
It’s no secret nowadays that country music as a medium is incredibly en vogue in the larger culture beyond its once-insular borders; lately, it feels like every pop act looking to start a fresh chapter is hopping on the bandwagon, from Taylor Swift to Ne-Yo. However, don’t write off the Killers’ frontman Brandon Flowers as an opportunistic, washed-up trend chaser. If you’re a fan of his band, you heard a bit of dusty, country-adjacent heartland rock on their last LP, Pressure Machine, which makes this move feel fairly organic. That said, “Plans” is no tepid “country-adjacent,” cross-genre foray, but a committed slice of countrypolitan charisma with very little in the way of mainstream aptitude. Flowers’s belting alto pipes soar with this cavalier declaration about becoming the man he always hoped to be. A solo write by its performer, “Plans” channels Bruce Springsteen’s blend of resoluteness and sentimentality, though backed by a veritable symphony of Nashville performers with the warmth and fullness of a classic Glen Campbell record. With strings, baritone guitar, and vocal contributions from Margo Price, there’s a timeless purity to this song, like it could’ve come out in any decade of the past 60 years. Brandon Flowers is clearly bringing a confident background as a country music fan and a high-quality collection of songs to his THRASHER project. If “Plans” is any indication, it may be one of the more interesting records of the year.
8.2
Feelin’ Good Again – Turnpike Troubadours feat. Sierra Hull Written By Adam Delahoussaye
Robert Earl Keen’s homecoming classic may be a bit autobiographical in its original rendition. Still, you don’t have to be at Arkey Blue’s Silver Dollar Saloon in Bandera, Texas, to feel the fresh air of home. Like they were able to do with the late Todd Snider’s “Just Like Old Times” at the end of last year, Turnpike Troubadours are breathing fresh air into another timeless classic here with “Feelin’ Good Again.” In digging through their discography, it’s hard not to find references and subtext to Keen’s themes throughout the group’s work as well as in their presentation style. But it’s not mere mimicry that carries the group through a tough tribute; the duo of frontman Evan Felker’s quiet earnestness and guest feature Sierra Hull’s warm, flighty pitch place these time-worn lyrics right back at home in new hands. Strings percolate in the night sky as it envelops that hometown bar our singers are so eager to get back to, and it’s tough not to get intoxicated just by sharing the familiar atmosphere alongside them. Proper nouns and name drops aside, the Troubadours could have you believe that the space is in Texas or toward the end of the Earth. Their version of the classic doesn’t tell the tale as much as it conveys the feeling, one that’s easily reflected and impressively translated by these now-icons of the Red Dirt scene.
9.0
Good Man – Cody Jinks Written By Noah Sneath
“Good Man” is a meditation on moral courage and accountability with a mantra: “A harmless man is not a good man. No, a good man is a dangerous man.” Cody Jinks, as he is wont to do, has constructed something made of both light and darkness that somehow simultaneously inspires and forewarns. The song moves the audience through wealth and poverty, youth and old age, and always arrives at the same verdict: your circumstances don’t excuse you. Jinks has always had a preacher’s instinct for judgment delivered with a gentle hand, and “Good Man” finds him at his most direct. The recurring address (young man, are you listenin’?) frames the whole thing as wisdom being passed down, hard-won and freely given. What makes the song linger is its final statement that goodness is a daily practice, colored by the knowledge that you might fail. The first song Cody Jinks learned on guitar was Lefty Frizzell’s “Long Black Veil.” It shows.
8.4
Nothin’ Better to Do – Carter Faith feat. Wyatt Flores Written By Aishwarya Rajan
It seems that everyone these days wants their shot at including Wyatt Flores in a feature. While sometimes that inclusion means the creation of a masterclass in agony, other times it brings a pocketful of whining with a touch of misery. Unfortunately, “Nothin’ Better to Do” falls into that latter category. Sometimes, Flores’s coarse vocals are too niche to play well with others, and this track is no different. Further, lines such as “come through” feel out of place in a country ballad, and dilute the messaging. “I know a bar, you know a bar…I’m lonely if you’re lonely, I’ve got a bed, you’ve got a bed,'” and the list goes on to capitalize on this overly simplistic yet boring and flat method of storytelling. While Carter Faith is arguably at the top of her game as a singer and songwriter, this latest feat feels uninspired and well beneath her lyrical capabilities, with repetitive lyrical schemes that aren’t nearly as poetic as we’ve previously witnessed. The redeeming quality of this track lies largely in the melody itself and in the last 20 seconds, when the two artists ask each other whether they have anything better to do. Grounding itself in a twinkling pedal steel and subtle electric piano and strikes, there is new sonic ground covered that we rarely see in country music these days. In theory, this song should defy expectations, given that two likable artists are performing it. However, in actuality, it falls just above average for the duo.
6.2
Hard Liquor – Chase Matthew feat. Waka Flocka Flame Written By Adam Delahoussaye
A Chase Matthew feature is probably the best direct on-ramp into country music that Waka Flocka Flame could’ve merged onto. Like many legacy acts looking for a new avenue into the spotlight, the former club-rapper has been dabbling in a different side of his southern sensibilities as of late, and his newest peer in the space makes the concept fairly easy to wrap your head around. Chase Matthew has always preferred the subwoofer to the pedal steel, continuously requesting a case be made for country music at the club rather than keeping it reserved for backyard bonfires only. While the pairing is a bit of a recession indicator regarding the genre’s cool factor, and its purpose is about as undefined as the track’s title would have you believe, chemistry is what makes this case of hip-hop and hillbillies colliding far from a total write-off. Flocka’s low rumble and melodic flow are commanding, but never pull too far away from Matthew’s constant monotone, auto-shop employee delivery. The bar is admittedly not high, but the fusion of these two sounds is pretty seamless, even if it is pretty obnoxious. While it might be on the soundtrack of the worst bar on Broadway, it’s hard to argue against the fact that it sounds like it belongs there.
4.7
What You Want – Vincent Mason Written By Aishwarya Rajan
As a 23-year-old novice in the industry armed with the brutally heartbreaking “Hell is a Dance Floor,” Vincent Mason proved on his debut that he was more than capable of breaking hearts with untold stories. The pull of that single has remained unmatched ever since… that is, until last Thursday. “What You Want” carries the same seemingly surface-level simplicity, pulling on threads of pain and sadness. However, its light, joyfully mistaken acoustic strumming enters first, only to quickly recede: melody and lyricism sit at odds, much like the two individuals at the center of this half-baked relationship, caught in their own push-and-pull. Embedded in the track is a deep silence that enables listeners to hear every aspect of its production: the squeak of fingers sliding across strings, brief pauses, a wailing pedal steel that strikes at exactly the right moment, each flourish accentuating and deepening the sadness already prevalent in the song. The melody itself appears so simple, yet it’s layered with nuance: string instruments and piano progressions that rise and fall swiftly, so that you never quite get enough of the melody, or the song itself. If listeners weren’t already looking forward to his next project, they certainly are now.
8.6
Time After Time – Meghan Patrick & Andrew Hyatt Written By Noah Sneath
There is a sound that is only present in bad country songs and is ever absent from those that reach the top. That sound, of course, is the wistful guitar, filtered to max and relegated to the background of the mix, haunting the listener as a ghost. It tells us, desperately, that this will be an emotional song. This self-conscious wailing is a helpful marker for any listener who wants to save time and skip to the next song. This cover of the 1983 Cyndi Lauper senior prom classic “Time After Time,” unfortunately, is afflicted by this atmospheric opening salvo. Andrew Hyatt’s heavily affected vocals are as grating as 60-grit sandpaper, smoothed only by Meghan Patrick’s alto harmony. This train, derailed by poor production choices, does find its way onto the tracks and turns into a perfectly enjoyable rendition of a song that probably did not need a country cover. It is tastefully arranged, the dobro flourishes are lovely, and the bridge harmonies deliver the palette cleanser needed to carry us home through the final minute of the song. This song neither wholly disappoints nor does it satisfy — it is a medium sip of tepid water.
4.6
FU4THAT – Miranda Hope Written By Joel Reuben Pauley
In a perfect world, art might naturally sprout from the honest, pure hearts of those who have something wonderful to express. Unfortunately, in the real world, a lot of “art” comes from washed-up celebrities who decide they’re fit for a music career. In much of the same way that numerous notable YouTubers have abruptly taken up boxing, Miranda Hope of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives has now made her first move into country music. Over the new song’s full duration, Hope spits out complaint after complaint, practically begging listeners to take her side as she throws jabs at her ex-husband; despite maintaining a healthy co-parenting relationship with him, the whole thing feels exaggerated. Everyone is entitled to their feelings, but many listeners will likely be turned off by the lengths Miranda goes to in portraying herself as the victim. The line “I ain’t saying that I want you to die” answers a question no one was asking and, like many other lyrics in the song, comes across as poorly written overkill. Nominally dubbed a country song, the lyrics, vocals, and production barely teeter into country territory, with only the swing of the rhythm and the occasional steel guitar giving it any claim to the genre. Crass, whiny, and juvenile, “FU4THAT” should be motivation for all other bored celebrities to work much harder before attempting to slyly sneak into other industries.
0.8