Lowlife – The Jack Wharff Band Written By Adam Delahoussaye
It’s refreshing to hear the four-piece from Richmond, Virginia, sit back and relax in the rocking chair for once, but what might be more impressive is how their signature confidence still stands out even when their legs are kicked up. Known for their high-octane takes on the signature sounds of Appalachia, The Jack Wharff Band treats “Lowlife” more like hopping onto cruise control and taking the scenic route. Even if the boys aren’t leaving a cloud of smoke in their wake, the swagger is still enough to turn heads as they cruise through town with a passenger who’s picked up on their energy. It’s a nice gear shift for a group that spends a lot of its time testing the speed limit. It’s also a much-needed refresher for a pen and pad that’s often focused on the callouses love leads rather than the wounds it seems to heal in the cab of this particular ride. Quaint and simple sounds good on the group, even if it isn’t their typical speed, as Jack Wharff croons on empties on the floorboard and a summer night in a small town that could make anyone feel like a celebrity. It’s a celebration of the traditional scale of their roots; understated but proud, and always looking for the silver linings.
7.0
Treading Whiskey – Brad Paisley Written By Adam Delahoussaye
Brad Paisley’s newest isn’t his most lyrically sharp recent release, but his return to mainstream stardom continues to be a splash of cold water in the face of a genre that feels flush with identity issues. “Treading Whiskey” is a track best shouted from the back of the barroom, the singer’s signature drawl luring in listeners to pull up a stool and try not to drown in the sorrow he’s still learning to swim in. It’s a familiar feeling for Paisley and his peers when the guitars start speaking in a southern dialect while the drums thump as loud as the beat of a broken heart. What you see is what you get, and that seems to be the sweet spot for an act like this. Rather than try to modernize or reinvent the wheel on heartbreak hits, Paisley feels like he can fully flex his muscles in his comfort zone with the bottle at the table and no need to veer out of charted waters. With a punchy hook and a friendly face behind the bar, it’s hard not to empathize with one of country music’s most celebrated acts even when he’s at medium intensity. A line drive for him is a grand slam in the hands of most.
7.3
Texas Women – The Wilder Blue & Tracy Byrd Written By Joel Reuben Pauley
To the more attentive fans of country music, it feels like songwriters in Nashville are slowly running out of clever ideas for songs about beer and country girls. However, The Wilder Blue’s latest concept shows there are still opportunities to check those boxes without boring their listeners out of interest. “Texas Women” is set in a job interview at an ad firm of all places, where The Wilder Blue plays the applicant and Tracy Byrd, chiming in as the interviewer, bond over a few shared interests. The silliness and unbelievable nature of the story are what make this song great. While there are technically no guidelines to define what is perfectly and isn’t “country,” most would agree that this embraces the deepest lyrical and stylistic traditions in the genre. There’s definitely a lot more to appreciate here than the recurring “we can’t blame this on alcohol” trope that most mainstream artists eventually land on.
8.0
Breaking Even – Sunny Black Written By Joel Reuben Pauley
Those who have followed along watching Sunny Black’s viral TikTok covers can already see some of his vast potential. Performing classic hits like “Time Marches On” and “Don’t Close Your Eyes,” Sunny has grown popular for how well his voice fits with the melodies of his country heroes. However, after showcasing his appreciation for traditional sounds, it’s been a sort of curveball to hear the full sound of his own original material until now. Of the three singles he released over the weekend, “Breaking Even” is the closest to the style that his followers might have expected. More so than his mostly pop-country-influenced songs, this track truly lets vocals take the spotlight. Although none of the phrases feel particularly fresh or unique, the lyrics are put together in a way that feels clear and believable to an extent. Even if listeners are looking for a little more than bottom shelves, neon lights, and girls moving on, they’re not going to find much to dislike about this song. However, everyone who was let down by Sunny’s previous production will be delighted by the world of possibilities that “Breaking Even” presents.
6.0
Leave It Alone – Waylon Wyatt Written By Aishwarya Rajan
Simple songs have a way of either being effortlessly enticing or weakly executed, and their rhyme schemes can just as easily slip into cliché and cringe. Waylon Wyatt’s latest single, “Leave It Alone,” sidesteps both traps, the very pitfalls that turn away willing ears. The young artist is filled with yearning and regret as he tries to talk himself out of calling the person he loves, the one he let go of, out of his own doubts and fears. Sonically, that story is carried by an amalgamation of powerful string instruments; the crescendo after the first chorus, as he pleads, “What a bummer, your number’s still in my phone.” Wyatt’s strength as an artist has always been the emotion in his gravelly, trembling voice, and that strength carries through to this track’s quieter moments. Even as he stays in a more neutral register, that restraint unravels into a fiery tension, built from melodies that hook the ear with small details: the simple hiss of a cymbal, balanced by the swooning cries of a pedal steel, and the sustained swipes of an electric guitar that hold a sneakily powerful presence throughout. The thumping drumbeats beneath the melody echo the tense feeling of standing with your thumb over the call button, torn between temptation and self-restraint. It’s these more detailed qualities that, taken time to appreciate, make the song evolve with every listen. “Leave It Alone” adds a touch of lighthearted melody, a welcome contrast to the steeped sadness we’ve come to expect from the 19-year-old.
7.4
Love When We Were Young – Max Alan Written By Aishwarya Rajan
We’re told that love is meant to be an adventure, and the act of loving someone looks different over time. Max Alan perfectly bottles up this idea, further developing it with a positive outlook on what that looks like with age. It’s the kind of heartfelt storytelling about a romance that one can yearn to relate to, if not already living it. Alan pays homage to those very tribulations through depictions of two kids rich in life because they’re rich in love: a couple who learned to dance in the dark despite thinly lined pockets and viewed change with excitement, spending time with a “best friend.” The light fiddle strokes paired with shuffling banjo plucks paint the picture of this simple yet rich life that Alan sings of, and it’s perhaps best encompassed by “we still have that kind of love,” even if it may look different decades later. By dreaming a little, one can imagine the timeline of these brief moments that Alan powerfully captures as now rooted in who he is, and impressing upon him a compass-like influence that will guide him indefinitely. “Love When We Were Young” feels like those moments you spend flipping through old photographs, relaying the stories years later as you finally recognize that the monumental moments and everything in between created something perfectly imperfect. The lyricism in this track is reflective, an ode to the beauty of aging, and a hopeful ballad about what love can look like years later.
7.5
Let Me Show You Love – Kashus Culpepper Written By Max Buondonno
As Kashus Culpepper continues to try to find the right musical lane that best plays to the strengths of his gritty vocal range, his new EP takes a lighter, carefree approach that pays off surprisingly well. Lead single “Let Me Show You Love” sounds like an altogether different Culpepper than what we’re used to. The mood is much brighter, the chord progression is jazzier, and everything feels a bit looser, which fits the project’s lighthearted, summer-ready theme. As Culpepper tries to convince someone who’s had bad luck with relationships in the past to give him a chance, the song fills the atmosphere with a sense of hope and longing, playing nicely with the energetic instrumental in the background. It’s this combination of ingredients that gives the track a cooler vibe while still pulling you in the same way much of Culpepper’s music does. Something is refreshing about the lyrical choices here as well; the topic isn’t complicated in and of itself, yet Culpepper’s spin on it somehow feels richer and less surface-level than it otherwise could’ve been. The song’s soulful grooves and melodic guitar riffs accentuate the tune nicely, giving Culpepper’s vocals room to breathe and roam around in the newfound soundscape. Perhaps the “After Me?” artist could use a few extra southern nights this summer to inspire his next batch of tracks, assuming he can conjure up more of where this came from.
7.8
Settle Me Down – Big Mo feat. Dylan Marlowe Written By Max Buondonno
Big Mo and Dylan Marlowe have an absolute banger on their hands for anyone who somehow wished BigXThaPlug’s last album won Country Album of the Year at the AMAs. Embracing a sudden surge in popularity and determination for views and streams, Big Mo tapped Marlowe for his latest single, “Settle Me Down,” delivering a formulaic country-rap crossover that you swear you’ve heard playing on the subwoofer in the worst guy you know’s pickup truck. With its heavy bass drops and pitchy vocals, “Settle Me Down” sees Marlowe whine his way through the chorus, just in time for Big Mo to offer tired flows and basic lyrics that do as much to fuel a forever-bachelor’s ambitions as a cold shower. The incongruous push-and-pull of less-than-stellar raps and singing give way to a track that feels like a knockoff version of BigX’s “All the Way,” minus the swagger, confidence, and production value. If you thought the country-rap subgenre could never stoop to a new low, think again.
1.4