The Backlog- The Singles pt. 1
In which Joe sees if he bit off more then he can chew. 15 singles. And this is only part 1!
There are two Old Dominion songs off their 8 song sampler ep that are worth your time. Consider the lack of an album review a sufficient statement on the remainder of the album.
First:
Memory Lane
Old Dominion makes moves towards a more organic warm sound. It is indicative of the general turn of country music in the last five years. During the pandemic there was an idea thrown around that the quarantine and isolation would lead to more acoustic content. That certainly has correlated with a mainstream turn towards, if not more country then at least more organic sounds. This does the interesting thing of merging organic textures with a frenetic upbeat rhythm that has strong shades of dance music. It makes for an infectiously catchy song that merges nostalgia with the bittersweet. The lyrics are sufficiently infused with imagery and meaning that it really all works nicely together. Delightfully surprising.
And second:
I Should Have Married You
Does it sound like Mumford and Sons? Kinda yeah. I'll never un-hear that. Does it sound catchy and have some nice organic instrumentation? Also yeah. The lead singer for OD isn't known for possessing the broadest of emotional ranges so when he stretches for something not in the typically narrow confines of their happy-go-lucky love song niche and succeeds even if only in part, it is nice to see.
No Peter, not that MJ:
Mary Jane and Chardonnay- Meg McRee
You know, if there’s been one sea change in American culture over the last number of years, it has been regarding marijuana usage. These days, especially in the 40 and under crowd, marijuana is viewed as being more or less an equal vice as alcohol. Wine moms are now wine and weed moms. I can think of no better way to illustrate that (aside from polling numbers) than this song. Unlike most of the weed songs of the past, this doesn’t even have a tinge of rebelliousness to it. It’s merely descriptive. This is my routine, this is what calms me down and helps me cope with my stress. There’s no defiant “judge me if you will” mentality. No blatant attempt at subversion. Just an honest description of a not uncommon routine for an adult female in the year two thousand twenty three. It also sounds fantastic. Warm, jangly, comfortable.
Old Kanawha- Philip Bowen featuring Charles Wesley Godwin
Very approachable voice. Easy to listen to. Easily draws pictures and invites the listener to dwell inside it. Obviously any song about waterways featuring CWG is going to suffer in comparison to Seneca, but this still manages to hold up. Godwin sounds great here, not as raspy and muddled as usual. The idea of one’s life being centered so strongly around a sense of place, especially a natural place that one has to bend towards is in strong contrast to the experience of the modern cosmopolitan experience. In the cities, the entirety of the place is bent towards the human experience. The story of human progress is one of continuously lessening nature's impact on our day to day. So much so that this song, reflecting on the fact that the humans living in this valley all must bend and contort their lives around the river, seems foreign and emblematic of the past and/or foreign lifestyles. That is what gives this song its homespun charm. Or at least to me.
5. Real Southern Accents:
Mason Thorne and Heath Sanders- Hey Maker
This is here purely because of the uncertainty I have regarding the title. It sure seems that it is intended to be a play on words. Haymaker- ie a strong punch and Hey Maker as in Hey God. See, it wouldn’t make sense otherwise- I have yet to hear a single person call God the Maker in ordinary conversation before, but the issue is that there’s no real reason for the pun? The song plays things pretty straight and doesn’t really have any imagery that fits with punching people. It’s an odd one. Also the accents on this song are as thick as Tyler Hubbard and early career Taylor Swift added together.
Edit- I realize now this is from 2022. Let’s be real, you haven’t heard it before and it came out recently. It’s close enough.
Off the debut album:
Brandon Ratcliff and his Tale Of Two Towns
This was the title track of a solid album released back in January by Ratcliff. It is a thematic album with this song acting as the kickoff track and mission statement. As far as the album is concerned, it is downhill from there, but this song really stands out. It explores the dual perspectives of living as a youth in a small town. It contrasts youth and adulthood and living in vs living out of the town. It is really well produced and ratcliff's vocals properly sell the imagery and feeling within. The howl of “Thank God I grew up there, thank God I got out” grips the listener. I wouldn’t say you need to check out the album, but this song is a must.
A new Voice:
Pushing up Daisies- Savanna Chestnut
A very small artist with a smattering of buzz in the red dirt independent scene as well as some name recognition from appearing on voice, this song came across my radar and I’m torn. It sounds great with wearisome guitars and dusty drums anchoring a plaintive melody. Her voice is wonderful. The idea of an up and coming artist discussing her grit and determination to climb and grow is an admirable choice in the face of the difficulties surrounding the entire music industry. I just wish there was more meat on the bones of the lyrics. High on metaphors and low on content. It seems a classic case of telling and not showing. Why is it that you feel this strongly about your choices? What motivates you to be the little engine that could? I like the conceit and resulting resolve, but it falls short. Someone to keep an eye on though.
A return single from a 2022 breakout artist:
Paducah- Tony Logue
Man, this guy really should be getting more buzz. I thought maybe the Appalachian scene was getting oversaturated but that doesn't seem to be the case so long as you can differentiate yourself. This song does that admirably. I feel Logue has an inviting tone that manages to bring enough aggression to carry the track without losing nuance and turning monotonous. It’s more of a southern rock number than the folksy Appalachian country of his debut. No less interesting though. Logue describes himself as the prototypical haggard traveling musician en route back home to a woman. Road weary bone tiredness seeps through into the record in spades. Heck, you might want to take a rest yourself after giving it a listen, it’s that gripping! Logue doesn’t get as hyper-specific as he is capable of, but still more then enough detail remains to flesh out the story.
And about two days before going to press, Logue dropped an album. We’ll see if it’s possible to squeeze it in.
The return is imminent:
In Walked You- William Michael Morgan
I wrote a whole post about upcoming WMM music. This is the presumed lead off single and it’s quite nice. Very much fits into his warm lush romantic ballad wheelhouse. Does it differentiate him from similar artists like Milligan and King? Not as much as you’d hope. However, this is still performance at a very high level. If you’ve forgotten what his voice sounded like, this showcases it well. Sincerity is an important aspect of selling these kinds of songs, and Morgan has the ability to easily and earnestly convey sincerity. It works and gets me excited for what’s next. That’s the point of a lead off single, so it did its job.
A re-recorded duet gives new legs?:
How I Learned To Pray- Charlie Worsham ft. Luke Combs
I really love this song. Always have. It came as a surprise that Worsham decides to try and re-release it. Every so often you'll see an artists try and pull a song from the back catalog and try and push it. It hasn't worked yet. This might be different because it features, I don't know, the biggest country star of the last 5 years?! Very exciting to see Luke Combs try and use his fame to help out others. The song is sufficiently redone and that makes the song feel different. Riley Green’s recent attempt at the “get Luke Combs and rerecord older semi hit song” shtick suffered because it didn't create enough separation. This does. As for the actual song, it's a wholesome reflection on spirituality and religion that doesn't feel cloying or shallow. It's not easy to do that well. For shame, because religion and prayer play a large role in many people's lives and ought to be reflected on more. Not in a preaching way, but in a lifestyle way. The same way songs about meaningful parts of their lifestyle are commonplace- see evergreen topics such as, maturation, child rearing, love, reflection on the past etc., for many, religion squarely falls into similarly meaningful territory. Worsham is a fantastic interpreter. His voice brings shades of Eric Church with its thinner tone and easy flexibility, but he has a slightly warmer and less grainy touch. Combs sounds fantastic and the voices easily blend together. This song achieves its goal of reflecting deeply upon Worsham's life and relationships with religion, God, and spirituality and can be enjoyed by believers and non believers alike. I’m glad this song is getting another chance.
You know how the 80’s isn’t regarded as the pinnacle decade of filmmaking….yeah:
80’s Movie- Morgan Wade
After her duet with Kip Moore and the underwhelming result, I started getting nervous about Wade. This doesn’t help either. I think we will probably get to discussing the album in full a bit later this month. However, based on this single, I’m nervous. The single leans into the more pop side of her varied sounds and to be honest it feels like label mismanagement. This pop flair may be buzzy in general, but it isn’t what fans of Wade find to be the appealing part of her snarly rock music. It being pretty paint-by-numbers lyrically doesn’t help any.
Apparently Gen Z likes their grandparents' nostalgia:
Be More- Stephen Sanchez
Shades of vintage Roy Orbison and all the finest lovesick crooners of the 1950s. Perhaps this fellow's success (charted on the hot 100 last year peaking at number 23) indicates that the old sounds haven't lost their appeal. With the nostalgia driven approach to pop music in vogue now, perhaps we could see outliers like Sanchez really make their mark. Or he’s just a TikTok driven flash in the pan. Dunno. It is a really nicely done love song. Neovintage aesthetic with some real vocal flair. No, it isn't country music and is not marketed as such, but to be fair, it's equally country as 75% of Jim Reeves music.
I’m in love:
I’m In Love- Hailey Whitters
Really loving this 2000s organic sound she’s found herself doing. It suits her voice and temperament. Lightweight, textured, bubbly, organic. There’s really everything you could ask for. Is it a super deep song? No. And really it shouldn’t be. This is just as real a feeling that humans experience as is the super deep angsty stuff that we like to call “real”.
Y’all sleeping on Nelson the second:
More Than Friends- Lukas Nelson ft. Lainey Wilson
Lukas Nelson (and the Promise of the Real) just may be one of the most underrated acts of this era. Strongly independent (distributed via Thirty Tigers), he manages to splice the Nelson legacy and distinctive tone together with possessing his own unique voice and style. All thoughts of nepotism are firmly laid to bed. I don’t mind the choice to feature Lainey on the track at all. Her voice soars over the groove that is much thicker than it has any right to be and offers a surpassingly enjoyable contrast with Nelson’s gravelly delivery. Their voices swoop all about, taking their turns on verses and merging together for the chorus. The second half of the song is a master class in harmonies as the two lilt and belt and dance across the melody together with nuanced grace. It’s really surprising just how well these voices work together. I’d never have expected it to work just so well. This vocal chemistry is very befitting of a story being told about two separate individuals coming together and realizing, or hoping, they are “more than friends”.
Of course I didn’t realize this is actually part of an album that Nelson released in July. Onto the list it goes. I’ll see if there is any space remaining.
Hype validated:
Tennessee Orange- Megan Maroney
Not the best off the album, but seemingly the one with the most buzz. Country went through a college football craze a little while back and this is the best of the bunch. It probably would resonate more to a SEC fan, but it isn’t a gimmick, there’s something here to chew on even aside from the obvious hook. There’s more musical flair here than you’d expect going in. A waltz? Plenty of steel? In spite of her artistic persona, she really has the pipes and emotive ability to be a force to watch out for. If this is what the next generation of pop country female stars sounds like now, we are in good shape.