I’m The Problem – Morgan Wallen Written By Adam Delahoussaye
We’ve officially reached Morgan Wallen rollout season, and country music’s preeminent superstar is zealously burning to publish his version of the story. Every critic he has already wants a byline on it. The upcoming LP’s title track, assumedly a thesis statement, kills two birds with one stone. We’ll start with the narrative. Our East Tennessean has been placed on the defense of the headlines for almost four years, but here, he’s stealing the script on a breakaway and lobbing it in the trash. At the expense of integrity, he’s arguably at his most entertaining when he plays the village douchebag, and this track is a vicious and literal acknowledgment of that point. Copiously self-absorbed, “I’m The Problem” is stripped down yet thumping with arrogance, unapologetic in its yearning to be blasted by your subwoofers while you wear a Bass Pro net hat and chain vape in a GMC Sierra. The writing (of which we’re again missing penman Ashley Gorley, two singles in a row now and three of his last four) is sharp and harsh as he points the finger at everyone else. Surrounded by usual suspects Ernest and Grady Block and newcomer Jamie McLaughlin, his personality is much more fleshed out amongst friends at the writers’ table than those who view his prominence as clay to mold. It’s Wallen at his most palatable, a pompous message under his soft tenor and an arrangement that amplifies but doesn’t distract from his progression. The second dead bird is his career in country music. He is not a country star anymore; he is a star who happened to get his start in the genre. His drawl is now en vogue, and no one is better positioned to be the South’s ambassador to pop music. It seems the dog has finally been rereleased from the cage, and at this rate, it’ll be hard to get back on the leash.
8.7
Blue Jean Baby – Zach Bryan Written By Ryan Lippe
After another Philadelphia sports win, Zach Bryan ignored a traditional release schedule and put out another single he promised his fans. Although the chaos of his music has attracted so many fans over the years, it may be the pitfall for this latest release with very little structure. The whole song feels like he opened a voice note on his phone and started talking before placing a guitar and production behind it later. With that said, it’s by no means just pure nonsense. There is a mild narrative behind it, but the song really lacks a sense of place or identity. Nonetheless, it’s still an engaging track with a chorus, intro, and outro that are catchy and sure to become earworms. Since American Heartbreak in 2022, Bryan has released nearly 100 songs, most of which were more deserving of a stand-alone release. This track will be one of the many that fall through the cracks and fade into the distance; it’ll do well on streaming platforms because it’s Zach Bryan, but other than that, it won’t make a difference in many people’s lives.
5.5
Lonesome Drifter – Charley Crockett Written By Joel Reuben Pauley
After two full projects last year, Charley Crockett has already announced that his new album, Lonesome Drifter, will be released this March. Charley released an upbeat and mysterious title track this Friday, a good combination for Crockett. The shuffling drum beat carries the song’s energy along with a subtle horn section. As in all of Charley’s songs, the production here is full of real instruments that provide a true cowboy sound in an era where snap tracks and 808s plague the mainstream. The writing in this song feels like a blend of past work, with Charley again playing the role of a sort of “Lone Ranger” with no place to call home. Although there isn’t much complexity to the story, it feels like a great entry into his new album as he continues to make the feelings of being lost in the world sound like freedom.
8.9
Horses in Heaven – Randy Travis Written By Joel Reuben Pauley
As the second single in the AI-assisted Randy Travis era, his team has once again delivered a remarkably convincing performance with a song that feels true to what Randy might have released in his prime. The production is strong, staying true to Travis’s signature sound and replicating his voice almost perfectly. However, there’s always a disconnect, knowing it’s not really him singing, making it feel like a tribute rather than fully original material. Written by Jon Randall and Matt Nolen, “Horses in Heaven” feels like it could have been a hit on 80’s or 90’s country radio. Its biblical references may draw comparisons to “Three Wooden Crosses” and capture the essence of Randy’s most memorable work. Although it doesn’t feel the same as an authentic Randy Travis song, this seems to be the closest we’ll get, and with the help of a high-quality song selection, things look pretty good so far.
7.9
Around You – Kip Moore Written By Creed Miller
Just ahead of his upcoming album Solitary Tracks, Kip Moore gave listeners another peek at what to expect with his latest release, “Around You.” The track’s opening instrumentals sound like they could be played during the opening credits of a classic “feel good” movie. It’s a great start to the song as it grabs the listener’s attention and gets their foot tapping. While the instrumentals have an upbeat and happy vibe, the lyrics don’t exactly follow suit. Penned by Moore alongside Jaren Johnston and Casey Beathard, the song explains how the protagonist loses sight of himself when he is around a girl. Kip Moore has always been one of the most distinguished voices in country music. His unique rasp elevated his career and allowed him to stand out. That once again applies to “Around You.” Even if you don’t listen to country music, you can recognize this voice from the song’s opening line. He has held to his sound, which has avoided a sell-out feeling for the 44-year-old. Despite his voice holding strong through the years, this song has been sung a million times. It doesn’t offer anything new, which makes it forgettable. Considering that Kip Moore is far from his “Hey Pretty Girl” days, his new stuff doesn’t have that lasting effect and ultimately falls into the background.
6.7
I Dare You – Rascal Flatts feat. Jonas Brothers Written By Max Buondonno
One could argue that Rascal Flatts have already cemented themselves in country music history thanks to songs like “Life is a Highway,” “What Hurts the Most,” and “Bless the Broken Road.” The trio doesn’t have to trot out any more country-pop crossovers because the existing ones are tolerable enough to sell out shows, which will be the biggest draw to this year’s Life is a Highway Tour the band is embarking on. Yet Flatts decided it was time for another single about heartache and asking for love in the corniest way possible, so the band teamed up with the Jonas Brothers on “I Dare You,” a tale about someone asking their love interest to take a chance on loving them. With over-processed vocals and instrumentals ready for pop radio, this song adds little to the conversation about Rascal Flatts’s legacy in the music business. If anything, this rice cake of a love song could chart for a while on the radio and be streamed by no one, and when Flatts performs it live, you’ll have the perfect excuse to use the bathroom. Nothing in “I Dare You” makes it worth coming back to, and it’s perhaps Flatts’s most desperate attempt yet at another pop hit.
5.2
Kill a Prayer – Cole Swindell Written By Max Buondonno
As far as his new music goes, originality doesn’t seem to be something on Cole Swindell’s mind. His latest single, “Kill a Prayer,” begs to stand out with a pop-heavy backtrack infused with booming drums designed strictly to be played on Beats headphones. Its generic story about falling in love with someone who grew up differently than you, followed by the realization that not all hope is lost in the relationship, leaves the listener wanting far more than it can offer. Written by Cole Taylor, Jesse Frasure, and Josh Thompson, the song walks a similar path that Swindell’s music has been on for years: make inoffensive music, could be sung by anyone, and echoes the bro-country era enough to keep it alive, even though it’s 5.9 feet in the ground. It’s hard to say where Swindell’s career is going, but it’s even harder to say whether there’s the right direction he should take. The one thing that is evident? This ain’t it.
4.8
Cry – Lee Brice Written By Max Buondonno
You might have psychic abilities if you had “Lee Brice singing about crying in his beer” on your 2025 bingo card. Brice’s latest single is a weird mix of heartache and vulnerability while trying to sound as lighthearted and innocent as possible. Sharing a lot of similarities with age-old Jerrod Neimann cuts from the 2010s (which makes sense given he’s part of the production crew on “Cry”), the song is admittedly fun enough to bump your head to, but the lyrics refuse to share the same energy. It tries hard to communicate that it’s okay for men to cry after a relationship bursts into flames, and while that may be true, it certainly doesn’t feel so here. Instead, it sounds like “Cry” is either mocking men who cry or trying to spin the concept of crying after a relationship ends into a positive thing (a la Luke Combs’s “When It Rains It Pours”). It’s hard to take this song seriously at all, given the tone and production, and even if you look past the mismatched energy of the lyrics and instrumentals, it lacks the it-factor that Brice needs to maintain a place at the table in an industry that’s quickly evolved past radio-focused artists.
4.5
