Kinda Love It – Lainey Wilson Written By Max Buondonno
“Kinda Love It,” a track that lists John Mayer as a co-writer, brings a very glitzy, girly-pop aesthetic to Wilson’s discography, something that she’s successfully avoided until now. When you’ve sung about broken-down trucks, cold beer, horse saddles, and Durango, it seems that she thinks it’s time to go full-blown Kelsea Ballerini and ship pop-slop. Reminiscing about how deeply she’s in love with her partner, Wilson regurgitates many of the superlatives artists rattle off in songs about being in love, whether it’s bailing someone out of jail or the disbelief that they’re so lucky to have found each other. The song’s sunny chorus distracts from these shallow lyrics with shimmery production that sounds inauthentic coming from Wilson. She deserves to make the music she wants to make, but a huge part of her appeal has been her ability to maintain a somewhat traditional sound and her southern charisma, while connecting with both casual and enthusiast country fans. Now, it looks like she’s ready to be another country-pop queen, complete with an instrumental that sounds like a YouTuber’s recreation of a Sabrina Carpenter-type beat. Gone are the slight inflections of her Nashville swagger, her tassel-ridden wordplay, and her willingness to be seen as just a good country artist. She seems to want to have her own moment in Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl: Encore era, and “Kinda Love It” is about as good as those four bonus tracks are combined.
5.3
Alabama Vs. Tennessee – Riley Green, Peyton Manning Written By Will Chapman
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If those Nationwide commercials with Brad Paisley taught us anyt? It’sit’s that Peyton Manning can’t carry a tune in a bucket. That hasn’t stopped the NFL legend from making his official recording debut alongside Riley Green on “Alabama Vs. Tennessee.” The unlikely duet finds the two trading playful jabs over their respective SEC allegiances, delivering most of their lines somewhere between singing and casual conversation. The premise is about as Southern as it gets: two buddies on opposite sides of a bitter college football rivalry, united by their appreciation for cold beer, country music, and just about everything else below the Mason-Dixon Line. There’s no shortage of goofy ad-libs, with Manning frequently interrupting Green to offer another wisecrack. Neither seems particularly concerned with staying on melody, and the whole thing plays more like a conversation at a tailgate than a conventional country song. Musically, there’s not much to write home about, and the lyrics are little more than a collection of Southern stereotypes and football references. Still, criticizing “Alabama Vs. Tennessee” for its lack of substance feels a little beside the point. It’s a novelty song that makes absolutely no attempt to disguise itself as anything more. Is it particularly good? Not really, but Green and Manning are clearly having fun, and it’s hard to hold a song this unserious to particularly serious standards.
6.0
Tommy Jackson – Randy Rogers Band, Parker McCollum Written By Joel Reuben Pauley
If you liked “My Blue” from Parker McCollum’s self-titled record, you’ll love “Tommy Jackson” for all the same reasons. Originally released on Randy Rogers Band’s 2002 album, Like It Used To Be, the track was one of Parker’s longtime favorites by the group. The song follows a unique protagonist, a runaway killer, through the account of an old friend. Even as this new version sounds cleaner and more polished than the original, the message bleeds through the same way. Although the main character is wanted for murder and messes around with another man’s wife, the sympathetic view of the narrator leaves you seeing him as a misunderstood man who was simply dealt a bad hand. If there’s a modern country artist who most appreciates that style of storytelling, it’s Parker. There’s something so believable about the delivery from both vocalists, making it so easy to resonate with the tragic downfall of Tommy Jackson. The rerelease of this song, although just a single title on a passion project, feels like a breath of new life to an otherwise forgotten track. Although it may not become widely popular, it is, at the very least, a chance for listeners to discover a new favorite deep cut.
9.2
Started From The Holler – Chase Matthew Written By Max Buondonno
If you’re pressing play on this song expecting a dope interpolation of a famous song by a certain Toronto rapper, think again. Chase Matthew is here to say that he is currently in the holler, has been since his career started, and still proudly resides there with his crew. Over a very typical hip-hop-infused instrumental, Matthew reminisces about his upbringing and his rise in popularity in country music, claiming he’s still the guy he was when he started, but now his crowds are bigger. Congratulations! Your trajectory in the music industry was positive! And thank you so much for not changing, because we all knew you before you were famous! It’s a very tired, celebratory anthem to write when you harp on how humble you are despite your fame as an artist. There have been plenty of acts who have written almost identical tracks in the past, and Matthew seems to think he’s discovered fire by almost sampling the guy behind hits such as “Janice STFU,” Shabang,” “Toosie Slide,” and “Rich Baby Daddy.” The song might have a respectable it-factor if he went for it and gave up some publishing on the sample, but it winds up underwhelming and, unsurprisingly, predictable.
3.2
Dads Don’t Forget – Cooper Alan Written By Noah Sneath
If derivative, highly processed story songs about people with anger problems getting away with violent crimes is your thing, then this is your week. “Dads Don’t Forget” is another Cooper Alan quasi-parody song that tells the story of a vengeful reverend and partially interpolates the chorus of “Devil Went Down to Georgia.” This song was unmistakably concocted using the Cooper Alan formula, which calls for equal parts interpolation and audio filtering, with a dash of crass, out-of-date humor. It’s further affirmation that Cooper Alan is something of a country “Weird” Al Yankovic, if Al were only half in on the joke. The ‘story song’ structure might have served to redeem this Monster Energy-fueled fever dream (country is desperately lacking at the moment) were it not for its narrative absurdity. Here’s the gist: Reverend Gatlin has a daughter named Jennifer Anne. She gets involved with a guy named Dan who cheats on her. The Reverend catches him, beats him senseless, and goes to jail. At his hearing, he fully confesses, but the judge openly admits he’d have done the same thing, and because Dan “sucks,” the Reverend gets acquitted of what could have been an attempted murder charge. It really is that simple. Do people think that a man of God beating the hell out of someone for cheating on their daughter is folk-hero behavior? Hopefully not.
2.4
Girl’s a Goner – Tigirlily Gold Written By Noah Sneath
“Girl’s a Goner” is that windows-down, wind-in-your-hair, uncontrollable-urge-to-scream-along kind of song. It’s pure early 2000s nostalgia that makes you want to leave your suds in the bucket and your clothes hangin’ out on the line. Catchy songs are easy to wrap your mind around. They are built on simplicity, familiarity, and repetition with a perfect amount of the unexpected. This track is simple: it’s largely built on a four-chord diatonic progression (F–C–G–Am7) and a charming, easy-to-follow story about falling in love. Both of those elements are incredibly familiar, particularly in country music. And, of course, it all repeats. The contrast of straight-ahead percussion with syncopated strumming and vocal phrasing gives “Girl’s a Goner” that unexpected feeling. The vocals really make this song pop. Krista and Kendra Slaubaugh (the sisters who together make Tigirlily Gold) combine to create a single vocal instrument with a warm timbre that flows between flowing syllabic and tight melismatic phrasing, pure delight. Put in neo-bro parlance, “Girl’s a Goner” is an absolute cruiser (get used to that term, we’re going to make it happen). This track is the perfect tone-setting opener for their second and newly released album, Country & Midwestern.
8.2
Closer Every Day – Cole Goodwin Written By Will Chapman
Cole Goodwin’s “Closer Every Day” is a pleasant throwback to the kind of mainstream country music that dominated the airwaves in the early 2000s. Its traditional-leaning production and familiar songwriting sensibilities are complemented by a terrific vocal performance from Goodwin, whose talent is apparent from the outset. The song makes use of one of country music’s most time-honored tropes: a hook that takes on different meanings as the narrative progresses. Goodwin starts with an old Chevrolet he’s determined to get running again, then shifts to a conversation with his grandfather about growing older and approaching heaven. By the final verse, the phrase becomes a reflection on personal growth, with Goodwin recognizing how far he’s come while acknowledging there’s still room for improvement. It’s a tried-and-true formula, but one that works well enough here. Perhaps the song’s greatest strength is Goodwin himself, who continues to prove himself an exceptionally talented vocalist. His delivery is effortless and full of character, lending an otherwise predictable song considerable charm. There’s something appealing about how little “Closer Every Day” tries to reinvent the wheel. The writing occasionally borders on cliché, but Goodwin’s performance and the comfortable, early-2000s country sound make those shortcomings easy to overlook. It’s not an especially inventive piece of songwriting, but it’s a solid, likable track that plays to its singer’s strengths.
7.4
Indebted – Joshua Slone Written By Aishwarya Rajan
Just in time for the gloomy weather that nips at your nose, Joshua Slone distills yearning and sadness into a handful of tracks sure to soak your clothes with tears. “Indebted” explores the longing and desperation of a lover boy like himself. The song is about devotion and sacrifice: Slone is ready to drop everything, even his dreams, to close the distance between him and who he desires. Most striking is the framing; love isn’t usually thought of as a debt, but here he relinquishes all power and leverage, pleading that this woman give Slone reason to leave his life behind. The songwriter could have loved her. Instead, he’d be indebted to her for choosing him. As always, a few lines carry the gut-wrenching weight of the song: “But honey I’d run just to get back, even if it makes me nothing,” “Honey what’s the point in our time, if heaven isn’t a place we can find.” What stands out most in his craft is how conversational and confessional the writing is. The Kentucky native never chops up a sentence to fit the melody. Instead, he bends the words to the melody, stretching and tightening his phrasing. Joshua Slone is an artist for the lover boys, and for the girls who wonder whether any are still out there.
9.2
Stay With Me – Nicholas Jamerson Written By Adam Delahoussaye
“Taking a break from trying to control it all,” says Nicholas Jamerson, adding, “my soul needs rest.” He’s in a mode of total surrender on this stripped-down re-release of the Sundy Best cut “Stay With Me,” where the songwriter lets us in on monologues that feel like they’ve been buried in some quiet cavern in the back of his mind. The depths of the psyche are typically where he finds his best material, and here it feels like he’s plugging his ears and blocking out all the noise to try and locate the need rooted in it, or maybe vice versa. Companionship, in this instance, feels more like a survival instinct than a fluttery desire, the chorus serving as a sort of ritualistic chant between the sporadic diatribes on worldly desires. Money, mobility as a form of escapism, and losing yourself in the process are all pretty common Jamerson-isms at this point. Still, they’re accentuated when set against what becomes a plea for a chest to rest on as refuge from reality. “Stay With Me” doesn’t make many grand or new observations through his lens, but it’s another masterclass in Jamerson’s ability to structure his songs to mirror his subconscious. Plenty of writers can scribble out “I need a shoulder to cry on,” but not many can make it feel so crucial to their survival.
8.5
Ain’t All Roses – Thomas Edwards Written By Adam Delahoussaye
Thomas Edwards is a classic case of a double-take talent. On the street, he looks like he’s on his way to be an extra in a Viking movie. Behind the mic, he fancies himself something of a soulster. It’s a nice surprise when you see him live, where the former offensive lineman starts belting Etta James, but it’s even more fun when he takes the influence and turns it into inspiration. On “Ain’t All Roses,” an achy cross between his blues leanings and southern upbringing, Edwards lets his ache loose in a steady showing of both his vocal prowess and his strengths as a songwriter. Behind the mic, Edwards is a force, making up for any limitations in his technical range with sheer feeling that could fill a room from a single note. He’s learning to hold his own with the pen in his hand, too, lingering on the small moments in the verses before stepping back to look at the big picture in the chorus. With a grab bag of studio additives peppered around him, the former college football star is starting to sound more and more like a bona fide performer able to hang with some of the genre’s heaviest hitters.
7.5
Trust the Land – Kolton Moore & The Clever Few Written By Aishwarya Rajan
Sometimes you truly have no idea which direction a song is taking. In their latest track, “Trust the Land,” Kolton Moore & The Clever Few take us on a similar journey, spanning genres from folk and country to rock and grunge. Relying on an acoustic opening with a somber eeriness reminiscent of Hozier or The Civil Wars’ “Safe and Sound,” the group reintroduces listeners to their melting pot of sonic spheres, much like tracks like “God Man Blues” from 2013. Kolton’s weathered vocals steer the ship while the band’s instrumentation reveals the grittier side of the group behind “Strawberry Thief” and “Mine All Mine.” The song also treats hunting as something sacred, with the same weight it carried in older times. Sonically, it lives in an in-between space, much like the Eagles and U2 in their eras, when ambiguity was part of their pull. Kolton Moore & The Clever Few seem to be after the same thing here. It’s a sound distinct from other grassroots peers like Turnpike Troubadours or Whiskey Myers, and that may be for good reason. It might be exactly the direction they needed.
8.2
The Devil’s Not That Far – The Creekers Written By Joel Reuben Pauley
With a title as ominous as “The Devil’s Not That Far,” The Creekers do a good job of making the music reflect that theme. In the opening measures, the guitars, banjo, and fiddle build eerie tension that leads into the familiar worker-versus-boss trope. In this case, we hear the firsthand account of a miner whose perspective reveals a man balancing the need to provide for his family and the dangers of his grueling work. True or not, some of the descriptions of his work come off feeling a little exaggerated. While listening, you may find yourself distracted, wondering if a miner might actually “crawl back a couple miles” and then dig “another ton” of coal. Either way, these lyrics make an unmistakable point about the unfair treatment of miners by their employers, who likely spend their days in a “big ol’ house, countin’ hundred-dollar bills.” None of the miners’ feelings are unrealistic, but these specific quantities are enough to undermine the track’s otherwise convincing claims. Apart from a few nitty-gritty details in the lyrics, The Creekers showcase some of their best instrumental work on this song. The band’s performance leaves no room for error, and the recording sounds nothing short of spectacular. Given the overarching goal of this release, The Creekers succeed in capturing the emotional toll on their protagonist, even if some of the song’s details leave listeners questioning its realism.
7.8
