6 Must-Hear New Country Songs: Lainey Wilson, Vincent Mason, Treaty Oak Revival & More

This week’s crop of new music features two-time ACM entertainer of the year winner Lainey Wilson‘s new track, which she performed during the recent American Music Awards. Meanwhile, Vincent Mason offers up a sterling new song with “Painkiller” and country-rock group Treaty Oak Revival reimagines a Goo Goo Dolls classic on its new EP The Talco Tapes. Also offering up new tunes this week are Elizabeth Nichols, Jessica Willis Fisher and the SteelDrivers.

Lainey Wilson, “Somewhere Over Laredo”

This piano and fiddle-laced ballad pays homage to the Judy Garland classic “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” though Wilson’s “rainbow” here is a border town near Laredo, Texas. She sings about traveling on a plane and as her travels take her over Texas, she’s reminiscing on the sights, feel and romance of a Lone Star State town. Wilson also turns in one of her most commanding, dynamic vocal performances to date, crescendoing from a soft-focus, tender vocal, before gradually reaching into her upper register for powerful moments that heighten the song’s emotional acuity.

Vincent Mason, “Painkiller”

Vincent Mason keeps rolling out a string of solid songs with this toe-tapping, guitar-fueled track he wrote with Jessie Jo Dillon, Luke Laird and Chase McDaniel. His laid-back voice floats over an easygoing groove as he sings a post-heartbreak sentiment about moving on (however briefly) with an enthralling new flame, only to find the memories of their romance stay with him long after their final moments together. “She’s red dirt raised with them blue jean eyes,” he sings, offering a vivid portrait of the one who has captured his heart. He’s steadily building upon his previous hits, such as “Hell Is a Dancefloor,” to become one of country’s most buzzed-about new troubadours.

Treaty Oak Revival, “Name”

Treaty Oak Revival offers up a version of the Goo Goo Dolls three-decade old hit “Name” as part of TOR’s new acoustic project The Talco Tapes. Instead of offering up a faithful rendition of the classic, they envelop it in their signature rustic, country-tilted rock, a musical fusion that placed TOR lead singer Sam Canty’s commanding voice at the forefront. While TOR is known for its hard-charging, rock-infused shows, this Taylor Kimbrall-produced track showcases the breadth of the band’s creative skill.

Elizabeth Nichols, “Somebody Cooked Here”

Nichols turns in an exquisite track rich in striking details as she crafts a narrative of a woman visiting her lover’s residence for dinner and taking note of details — heart-shaped cookie cutters and perfectly-baked salmon — that are still there from his previous relationship. “It must’ve been love/ ‘Cause you kept all her stuff,” she sings with bittersweet realization. Nichols’ tender twang elevates the song’s storyline and furthers her reputation as both a gifted songcrafter and country vocalist with a penchant for stick-in-your-head lyrics that uniquely put forth a song’s message.

Jessica Willis Fisher, “Healing”

Willis Fisher returns with her sophomore album, the nine-song Blooming, which released May 16. Among the project’s fresh tracks is this sunny slice of pop-country that finds Fisher celebrating the strong and lasting love of her marriage to husband Sean Fisher (the couple wed in 2017). This earthy, romantic track feels like an auditory equivalent of a late-spring breeze wafting through a field after a long, frozen winter, as she revels in a soul-heartening romance.

The SteelDrivers, Outrun

As this soulful bluegrass outfit celebrates two decades of genre-expanding music, it’s weathered lineup shifts over the years while staying true to their blues-meets-bluegrass sound. Now, with the new album Outrun, the group has issued its first project under the iconic Sun Records label. The album’s tightly constructed dozen songs highlight the Drivers’ enduring top-shelf vocal harmonies and an excellent musicianship that time has only further refined, on songs such as the somber “When the Last Teardrop Falls,” the honkytonk country-tinged “Booze and Cigarettes” and the foreboding “Cut You Down.”

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