Song Reviews
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This week’s batch of new songs features a double-shot of hitmakers with Lainey Wilson teaming with Miranda Lambert for a new collaboration. Elsewhere, Orville Peck joins forces with Allison Russell on a song from Peck’s new album, while Alex Lambert and Gavin Adcock also offer new tunes.
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Check out all these and more in Billboard’s roundup of the best country songs of the week below:
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Lainey Wilson feat. Miranda Lambert, “Good Horses”
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Two of country music’s most illustrious women artists team up for a double-shot of star power, as Wilson’s Louisiana drawl blends wondrously with Lambert’s Texas twang. On this laid-back song, they use the metaphor of a wild horse to acknowledge the wanderlust and draw of freedom and adventure amidst the need for the comforts of home, while offering a tender reminder to those they leave behind that “good horses always come home.” Sonically, this honeyed, hazy song lilts along with the grace, highlighting that not every star-powered song needs a high-voltage vocal performance — sometimes the gentle arc of direct, heartfelt words are made all the stronger for the gentleness.
Orville Peck & Allison Russell, “Chemical Sunset”
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On Orville Peck’s new album Stampede, he teams with Americana music luminary Allison Russell on this stomping, theatrical pairing. Their voices are tremendous, with Russell’s voice sultry and fluttering, and delicately cracking in just the right places with Peck’s vocal rendering a cavernous, steady foil, fusing to convey song’s brooding message of living life with desire and abandon, even as the world burns around them. “Chemical Sunset” marks an illustrious standout on this project.
Alex Lambert, “She Ain’t Texas”
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Texan Lambert issues a bluesy country ballad that evokes trading the draw of home in the pursuit of ambition — in his case, leaving his home in Fort Worth, Texas to move to Nashville. His voice is at once rugged, wistful, soulful, and instantly commanding. Lambert wrote “She Ain’t Texas” with Jordan Lawhead, with production from Drew Allsbrook, Stefan Lit and Dylan Chambers. Lambert may be forlorn over the Lone Star State, but this track makes his Tennessee prospects favorable.
Kameron Marlowe & Marcus King, “High Hopes”
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This song from Marlowe’s 2024 album Keepin’ the Lights On gets a bluesy reimagining, thanks to singer-songwriter-guitarist King. The song is a tightrope of mourning and longing as he moves through disappointment to the first glimmers of hope. On its surface, it’s a curious pairing between the mainstream country singer Marlowe and Americana stalwart King, but their voices blend mightily, while King’s guitar prowess gives the song a darker, moodier patina.
Chase Matthew with Fernando & Sorocaba, “Cold Blooded”
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“Casa Branca” hitmakers Fernando & Sorocaba team with country hitmaker Chase Matthew on their latest outing. Brazilian, EDM rhythms and country constructions weave together, turning heartache into a technicolor dancefloor anthem in this tale of a guy whose trying to earn the affections of someone whose “love is on lockdown,” as he toggles between hope and the knowledge that he’ll never break through her icy heart. Fernando & Sorocaba are set to release the upcoming project NASH, featuring more collabs with country artists including Dustin Lynch, LOCASH and more.
Gavin Adcock, “Run Your Mouth”
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Georgia native and high school sports star-turned-singer Adcock broke through with the angsty ballad “A Cigarette,” but his new song conveys the embedded musical influence of Southern rock, as he growls and seethes his way through this moody, musical warning shot to someone who. “If you live like this, make sure that you don’t miss/ Your opportunity when you gotta go.” Adcock just released his album Actin’ Up Again, via Thrivin Here Records under exclusive license to Warner Music Nashville.
In this most recent crop of new country releases, Charley Crockett issues a somber look at “the American Dream,” while Drew Parker draws on his traditional country roots. “Austin” hitmaker Dasha makes a bid for her latest hit with “Didn’t I,” while Russell Dickerson and Wynn Williams also offer up new music.
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Check them out in our roundup below.
Charley Crockett, “America”
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For years, musical troubadour and Americana Music Awards winner Crockett has crisscrossed the country, rising from busking on the streets of small towns to selling out headlining shows. Along the way, he’s gleaned keen perceptions from across America’s heartland, and he distills the stories and views into this swaggering, pleading track from his recently-released $10 Cowboy album. Soulful horns, bluesy guitar and Crockett’s distinct, commanding voice are front and center, adding a sonic lift to the song’s somber petition of a man who spends his days laboring in the fields and hopes to be seen and heard, and that the dreams that he’s toiled for will come to fruition. Another well-crafted, thoughtful outing from this musical luminary.
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Drew Parker, “Tomorrow”
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Georgia native Drew Parker is known for co-writing hits for Luke Combs (“Doin’ This”) and Jake Owen (“Homemade”), but for the past four years, he’s etched his own artist path as a singer-songwriter steeply influenced by traditional-minded country artists such as Alan Jackson and Ronnie Dunn. “Tomorrow” gleams with a radio-friendly, softly enhancing production, and lyrics packed with sentiments of gratitude for life and love, all led by Parker’s muscular twang, placing him squarely in the path of today’s new crop of country neo-traditionalists. “Tomorrow” is featured on Parker’s newly-released Warner Music Nashville project Camouflage Cowboy, which released July 12.
Dasha, “Didn’t I”
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Dasha saw a surge in her pursuit of stardom this year with her boot-stomping, ex-lover-skewering sensation “Austin.” With her latest, “Didn’t I,” she’s out to prove she has plenty more ammo in her musical arsenal. This plucky mix of acoustic guitar and crisp production elevates the underlying tension in Dasha’s vocal, as she sings of a couple who toss aside their previous pledges to end the relationship, as neither can deny the mutual draw to one another during a boozy night of passion — or, as Dasha sings, “We’re backsliders/ Bad liars.” The production here is leaner and sparse when compared to “Austin,” but retains the dancefloor-ready (and TikTok-ready) grooves that pair deftly with the singer’s throaty, sultry voice. Dasha wrote the song with Ben Johnson and Emily Weisband, with production from Johnson.
Russell Dickerson, “Bones”
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Tennessee native Dickerson is known for a string of No. 1 Country Airplay hits including “Love You Like I Used To” and his top 5 hit “God Gave Me a Girl.” He returns with this gracefully sung romantic vow of enduring devotion. On this personal track, he recounts key moments in his relationship with his wife Kailey, before asserting that his is a love that will last a lifetime. Dickerson wrote “Bones” with Chase McGill, Chris LaCorte and Parker Welling and seems aimed at further building his reputation as a top-notch vocalist and earnest songwriter.
Wynn Williams, “Country Therapy”
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Texas native and former steer wrestler Williams has already released four projects to date and on his latest, brings a mesh of acoustic guitars and fiddle to this slice of ’90s country nostalgia, which he wrote with Ryan Tyndell and Jeff Hyde. He takes a respite from the workweek via what he calls “old-school country therapy”: enjoying fishing and the outdoors, or downing shots of liquor while absorbing classic country music at a local bar. Williams sings this lively honky tonk track with believability, while the swirling production makes this a summertime jam.
The Detroit rapper and Kansas City producer make the midwest proud with this project.
This week’s batch of new country tunes includes George Strait offering a tender, focused aim at life’s important moments, while Luke Combs brings songs from her familial-focused album Fathers & Sons.
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Meanwhile, Carter Faith teams with Alison Krauss for a heartbreak anthem, while Don Louis offers a dance-worthy earworm, and Jenna Paulette delves into her country roots.
George Strait, “The Little Things”
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Strait’s warm, conversational, and compelling voice expertly renders an introspective musing at the myriad moments — sunsets, a gentle rain, spending time with loved ones, or “an old Merle Haggard song” — that infuse life with joy. Heightened by tender string work, this ballad is included on Strait’s upcoming album, Cowboys & Dreamers, set for Sept. 6. Strait has always had an ear for a great song, and his latest, which he wrote with Bubba Strait and Monty Criswell, proves The King never misses.
Luke Combs, “Remember Him That Way”
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This two-time CMA entertainer of the year winner celebrated Father’s Day by dropping the dozen-song ode to the lifelong arc of familial bonds between dads and their sons with the album Fathers & Sons.
In one song from the album, “Remember Him That Way,” he vividly recalls all the ways he thought of his father as strong and dependable throughout his life and muses as his father grows older and more frail, “That ‘S’ on his chest is starting to fade/ But I’ll always remember him that way.” Combs wrote the song with Jonathan Singleton, Erik Dylan and Jessi Alexander.
Combs has notched 17 Billboard Country Airplay No. 1s, with a slate of songs ranging from heartbreak anthems to beer-soaked barn burners. But with his new album, he recalibrates the depths of his music, bringing fans deeper into his current perspective as a father to two young boys, while also encapsulating universal themes of the generational relationships between parents and their children.
Don Louis, “Liquor Talkin’”
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Given the success of a line of massive hits songs stacking up this summer that fuse pop and hip-hop rhythms with country twang and rural, barroom-inspired lyrics, Don Louis’ latest feels like a natural candidate for the next global country-tinged smash.
“Not a doctor, I’m not a lawyer/ Feels like right now I can do anything,” sings Louis, who possesses an attention-commanding, gravelly drawl. Against a thumping, hip-hop groove tailor-made for dancing, “Liquor Talkin’” captures the confidence-heightening results stemming from a night of imbibing. Louis wrote the song with Cale Dodds and Thomas Kipp Williams, while the song is the title track to his upcoming album, out Aug. 23 via EMPIRE / Money Myers Entertainment LLC.
Jenna Paulette, “Wild Is Her Favorite Color”
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Paulette sketches a musical portrait of an independent-minded woman who knows what she loves, from her favorite country song (The Chicks’ “Ready to Run”) and her favorite drink (tequila sunrise) to her favorite, passionate hue–and no, it’s not fire-engine red, but rather, as Paulette puts it, “A little deeper shade of dangerous.” Paulette’s lilting voice adds a perfect blend of spice and sugar, adding a mysterious tint to this bright, breezy production. “Wild Is Her Favorite Color” is from her upcoming album Horseback, out Sept. 6.
Carter Faith and Alison Krauss, “Blue Bird”
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Carter Faith, who recently inked a label deal with UMG Nashville, teams with one of the most luminous voices in country and bluegrass, Alison Krauss, for the new song “Blue Bird.” Faith more than holds her own with an ethereal soprano that pairs exquisitely with Krauss’ backing vocals. This dazzling meditation on the crackling ache of youthful heartbreak finds Faith asking, “Is he why you’re blue? Is he why you sing like you do?” Faith wrote the song with Tofer Brown and Lauren Hungate.
This week’s crop of new country tunes includes the latest album from Kentucky native Carly Pearce — who stunned with her performance at Sunday’s (June 9) Nissan Stadium show during CMA Fest — as well as new songs from Matt Stell, Andrea Vasquez, Angie K, Muscadine Bloodline and a collaboration from Kaitlin Butts and Country Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill.
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Carly Pearce, Hummingbird
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On her new album, Pearce and her team of top-flight musicians showcase her further evolution of confessional, old-school (yet immediate) songcraft. The 13-song project is filled with revenge anthems and meticulously constructed kiss-offs (the raging “Truck on Fire,” “Heels Over Head”), as well as songs that depict the stages of a decaying relationship on tracks — including the Chris Stapleton collab “We Don’t Fight Anymore,” “Fault Line” and the cleverly written, fiddle-driven barn burner “Rock Paper Scissors,” which will hopefully be a single at some point. The singer-songwriter also once again lays out her unmistakable musical allegiances with “Country Music Made Me Do It.”
Elsewhere, Pearce reemerges from betrayal with a new, heart-healing relationship on the bluegrass-tinged “Trust Issues.” As with previous albums, Pearce pulls from the pages of her own story, and is a writer on all but one song on the album — offering a continuation from her post-divorce project 29: Written in Stone and a cataloguing of the emotional and relational progress and setbacks she’s navigated along the way. Leading all of these songs is Pearce’s bluegrass-informed, supple soprano, which brings a down-home elegance to even the most heartbroken and seething numbers.
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Kaitlin Butts with Vince Gill, “Come Rest Your Head (On My Pillow)”
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Americana darling Kaitlin Butts teams with her fellow Oklahoman Vince Gill here, with Gill adding earthy harmonies and background vocals on this gorgeous, fiddle-drenched song. “I know in the morning you gotta go,” she sings, offering her affections and a soft place to land to a hard-working, traveling cowboy. This song — a solo write from Butts — is essential for anyone seeking a love song delivered through old-school country sounds. “Come Rest Your Head (On My Pillow)” is from her upcoming, musical theatre-inspired album Roadrunner!, out June 28 via Soundly Music.
Angie K, “Red Dirt on Mars”
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Lilting guitar elevates this brokenhearted ballad, as she searches for a place where she can sever the emotional strings that tie her to the pain of losing a loved one. “Where’s a cowgirl to go to burn a brand off her heart?” Angie K wonders, as her warm vocal crackles with disarming vulnerability. Angie K wrote the song with Hayden Cain, Joey Ebach and Mary Kutter, with production by writer-producer Stephony Smith.
Matt Stell, “Smooth”
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Stell turns to tender balladry on his new song, as he offers a forlorn look at the deep-seated, generational impact of a family’s decision to sell off family farmland to a smooth-talking businessman. The song plays as the opposite side of the coin to Cody Johnson’s song “Dirt Cheap.” “They cut the trees down and dug up my roots,” Stell sings, adding that now, “I got an empty soul and a full inbox.” Stell wrote the song with Chris DeStefano, and the track is featured on his new album Born Lonely, from RECORDS Nashville.
Andrea Vasquez, “Moving Target”
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“That girl is a cowboy,” Vasquez sings in this ode to a woman who has her defenses up, a strong sense of wanderlust, and a vision for her own life squarely in front of her. Production with a pop sheen elevates Vasquez’s emotionally nuanced, assured voice here. Vasquez, a California native with Latin American roots, wrote “Moving Target” with Bailey Morgan and Eitan Snyder.
Muscadine Bloodline “10-90″
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This independent duo, made of Gary Stanton and Charlie Muncaster, has been steadily building its audience for nearly a decade, and continues evolving and accelerating its craft. This soulful ode to committed love is one of Muscadine Bloodline’s best releases yet. “Gimme you on your worst day and I’ll give you my best,” they sing, while the production is polished but not overdone, superbly highlighting the harmonies. “10-90” is from the duo’s album The Coastal Plain, out Aug. 16.
In this week’s batch of new country music fare, we have country/Americana maestro Charley Crockett’s sterling new album, as well as new songs from Darius Rucker with Jennifer Nettles, as well as Ole 60, Karley Scott Collins, MacKenzie Porter and Karli June. Additionally, bluegrassers The Del McCoury Band offer up new music as well as a collab from Tony Trischka and Vince Gill.
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Charley Crockett, $10 Cowboy
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Over the course of more than a dozen studio albums, Crockett has painstakingly built his reputation as an electrifying live performer, and a kingpin of crafting traditional country tunes, while adroitly enmeshing layers of various styles into his work, including soul, blues, funk, gospel and more. On his latest, there are moments of converging country and R&B, while his penchant for capturing a live performance feel is apparent on $10 Cowboy, which he recorded live to tape in Austin, Texas, with his steady collaborator Billy Horton. Songs such as the horn-driven “America,” the jangly acoustic country of “Hard Luck and Circumstances,” the blues-rock of “Solitary Road” as well as songs such as the title track and “Midnight Cowboy” all pay homage to his skill with keen observations and to his journey from street busker to his current status as acclaimed headliner.
Darius Rucker and Jennifer Nettles, “Never Been Over”
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Two of country music’s strongest, most identifiable voices collide here, as Rucker welcomes Nettles in a reimagined version of this song, which he first recorded for his Carolyn’s Boy album. Nettles joins on the song’s second verse, adding another rich layer of nuance to the tale of a couple unwinding the ties that have bonded them for years. As the song reaches its apex, Nettles sends up some soaring vocals as Rucker holds down the melody. Rucker has one of music’s most commanding voices, but Nettles matches his steady, slightly raspy vocal wondrously with her charismatic soprano. In recent years, Rucker has shifted a bit from some of the uptempo, radio-ready fare he’s become known for and issues some of his strongest performances of late, such as another stellar collaboration, with Dax on “To Be a Man.”
Karli June, “Still Make Cowgirls”
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She’s not afraid to be a fearless, independent-minded cowgirl in a world of followers and she’s fierce enough to dare a potential suitor to ride along. Canada native June is presently celebrated with four CMA Ontario Awards nominations, and follows them with this song she co-wrote with Deric Ruttan. Her twangy vocal also carries a slight edge as it floats over the Western-tinged yet modern sonics.
The Del McCoury Band, “Just Because”
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Since the 1960s, when Del McCoury performed as part of Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys, he has been a torchbearer, both aiding in laying down the prototype for the genre–and pushing beyond its traditional boundaries. The two-time Grammy-winning The Del McCoury Band, led by the Bluegrass Music Hall of Famer, has blended its distinctive sound with a range of musical styles over the years, leading to collaborations and/or performances with artists including Dierks Bentley, Steve Earle and Phish. That genre-spanning intention continues on the band’s latest, as they cover the blues-driven “Just Because,” originally recorded by The California Honeydrops on their 2013 album Like You Mean It. Here, The Del McCoury Band transforms it into an expertly rendered, galloping bluegrass tune, with fleet-fingered picking, winding fiddle and McCoury’s commanding tenor.
Ole 60, “Next to You”
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This Kentucky quintet broke through earlier this year with viral hits “A Smoke & a Light” and the bluesy ballad “Brother Joe.” They follow with “Next to You,” a harmonica and banjo-inflected song starts out with an unhurried, moody ethos, before picking up the pace in the last half of the song, ascending into a plucky, bluegrass-tinged jamband vibe. This indie group, which recently signed with The Neal Agency for booking, keeps its engaging music rolling with this one, which embeds stark details revolving around an on-and-off again relationship. “Fools in love ain’t fools at all/ That’s why I pick up ever time that you call,” frontman Jacob Young sings, continuing, “Pack of Marlboro Lights and some Adderall/ I’ll be on my way.”
Tony Trischka and Vince Gill, “Bury Me Beneath the Willow”
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From Trischka’s upcoming project Earl Jam: A Tribute to Earl Scruggs (out June 7), this track features a top-shelf assortment of premier bluegrassers, including Trischka, Vince Gill, Michael Cleveland, Brittany Haas, Dominick Leslie and Mike Bub. Together, they offer an exemplary latticework mandolin, guitar, banjo and fiddle on this classic from the country music canon, popularized by The Carter Family and recorded by the familial group during country music’s “Big Bang,” the Bristol Sessions, in 1927. The fiddle lines from Cleveland and Haas are superb, bolstered by Trischka’s banjo picking and topped off by Gill’s high-caliber vocal.
Karley Scott Collins (feat. Charles Kelley), “How Do You Do That”
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Collins teams with Lady A’s Charles Kelley on this pulsating collaboration, which puts their tight-knit harmonies in focus and delves into the moments of a fissured relationship that leave one questioning everything they knew about an ex-lover. Kelley’s soulful country voice is in top form, while Collins’ rangy, grit-meets-silk vocal offers a remarkable, dynamic foil. Collins wrote this track with Kelley, Jordan Reynolds and Tom Jordan.
MacKenzie Porter, “Foreclosure”
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MacKenzie Porter made her American country radio breakthrough with her Dustin Lynch collaboration, the multi-week No. 1 “Thinkin’ Bout You.” But she’s out to showcase her own singer-songwriter talents and perspective on her newly-issued debut Big Loud album Nobody’s Born With a Broken Heart. Porter’s warm, soft-focus voice is bolstered by a pop-aimed, sleek production on this standout track, which she wrote with Luke Niccoli, Lydia Vaughan, Parker Welling.
“I wasted all my good faith,” Porter sings, the slightly husky tremor in her voice acutely embodying both the hope and heartbreak on a song that chronicles a couple’s journey from buying a home together to later watching the relationship falter — so they put up the foreclosure sign, moving out and moving on.
This week’s stack of new country songs includes fresh entries from two artists featured on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter: Shaboozey and Tanner Adell. In addition, Riley Green offers up songs from his new EP Way Out Here, while Trisha Yearwood releases a song she performed during the CMT Music Awards, the Luke Combs-celebrated group The Wilder Blue issues a ’90s country-influenced track and Kimmi Bitter offers a 1960s vintage vibe.
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Shaboozey, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
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Shaboozey has been in the headlines and gaining traction thanks to his work on songs on Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter project. He follows with this mesh of perfect singalong melodies, acoustic guitar, horns and handclaps on this tip of the hat to boozy bar escapades. From his viral hit “Let It Burn” earlier this year, to his latest outing, this artist-writer knows how to craft a memorable song. This single, lifting from J-Kwon’s 2004 smash “Tipsy,” previews his album Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going, out May 31.
Trisha Yearwood, “Put It in a Song”
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Yearwood debuted this ballad on the recent CMT Music Awards, by performing it with its co-writers, Erin Enderlin and Jim “Moose” Brown. Yearwood’s vocal is pristine as always, never overpowering a lyric but collecting every nuance on this gorgeous song. Not unlike one of Yearwood’s signature hits, 1993’s “The Song Remembers When,” this song nods to the power of music to serve as a keeper and vessel for any number of emotion-stirring memories, from heartbreak to love.
Morgan Wade, “Time to Love, Time To Kill”
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From Wade’s upcoming Aug. 16 album Obsessed comes this stellar preview. Like all of the songs on Obsessed, Wade is the sole writer here, depicting the hazy moments of a relationship’s conclusion in visceral detail. Though they’ve each vocalized their intent to move on, as she sings in the song, “The truth is I’m at the starting line/ Just waiting on you.” As on previous songs, including her breakthrough hit “Wilder Days,” Wade’s voice crackles with unfiltered honesty, managing to be simultaneously sweet and bitingly truthful.
Connie Smith, Love, Prison, Wisdom and Heartaches
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On Friday (April 12), Smith surprise-released her new album Love, Prison, Wisdom and Heartaches, which pays homage to songs from country artists including Dottie West, George Jones and Loretta Lynn. She also includes a rendering of the 1970 Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner song “Once More,” her crystal-clear voice bolstered by steel guitars, fiddle and superb harmonies. Her take on “One of These Days,” originally recorded by the Glaser Brothers, highlights her soaring vocal, while elsewhere, she offers versions of Merle Haggard’s “The Fugitive” and Lynn’s “World of Forgotten People.” The album also marks the late pianist Hargus “Pig” Robbins’ final recording with Smith prior to his passing in 2022. Smith’s voice is still an instrument of formidable power and style, while this gorgeous record is an essential listen for fans of old-school country.
Riley Green, “Jesus Saves”
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From his new seven-song EP Way Out Here, Green delves here into the life story of a homeless man and Army veteran who regularly sits by the side of a road, holding up sign emblazoned with “Jesus Saves.” A solo write from Green, this story also puts some of his most poignant songwriting on display. He chronicles the series of life twists that led the man to the side of the road: by the time he was eight, his father had left and his mother had died. The young boy grew up to join the military and headed off to war but upon returning, as the lyrics portray, “my whole world didn’t love me anymore.” From there, “Jesus Saves” traces a downward spiral of lost jobs, tragedies and broken relationships, all the while calling for compassion. This is undoubtedly one of Green’s new set’s strongest tracks.
Kimmi Bitter, “I Can’t Unlove You”
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Like the bulk of Bitter’s new album Old School, “I Can’t Unlove You” is immersed in a detailed study of 1960s countrypolitan sounds, from the Jordannaires-esque harmonies to the hushed percussion. Meanwhile, Bitter possesses a smooth, polished vocal that unmistakably draws comparisons to the late Patsy Cline (or even, to a much lesser extent, “Blue”-era LeAnn Rimes). Bitter and her musical cohorts on the album, most notably writer-producer Michael Gurley, fashion a superb vintage sound, but smartly meld it with original songs.
Tanner Adell, “Whiskey Blues”
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Adell surged to mainstream attention with her album Buckle Bunny and, like Shaboozey, is currently enjoying a rush of attention thanks to her inclusion on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter. In her newly released song, she’s hellbent on (but not quite succeeding at) getting an ex-lover off her mind. The pop-country hybrid is catchy and polished, led by Adell’s airy, sparkling vocal, and a swirl of radio-ready production.
The Wilder Blue, “I’m Your Man”
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This versatile Texas quintet lays deep into ’90s honky-tonk on this toe-tappin’, flirty barn burner that makes the most of their tight-knit harmonies and top-notch lead vocals from frontman Zane Williams. They are part of Luke Combs’s current Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old Tour, having previously featured Combs on a cover version of the Eagles’ “Seven Bridges Road.”
This week’s batch of new music features Oliver Anthony’s full-length project, a tribute to the late Joe Diffie which features vocals from Diffie, Luke Combs and the late Toby Keith, as well as another viral hit from Tucker Wetmore and the sterling soul-country of Angel White.
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Oliver Anthony, Hymnal of a Troubled Man’s Mind
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Oliver Anthony follows last year’s “Rich Men North of Richmond” breakthrough success with this full-length, 10-song project, Hymnal of a Troubled Man’s Mind, which released on Easter Sunday (March 31). The Dave Cobb-produced project incorporates new recordings of previously-released tracks such as “I’ve Got to Get Sober” and “VCR Kid,” as well as a new song, “Mama’s Been Hurting.” Oliver Anthony caught people’s attention thanks to his homespun sound, and his new project hews close that, bolstering his grainy, soulful vocal with acoustic guitars, bass and fiddle.
Noticeably absent from the set is “Rich Men,” though he adds in several spoken-word moments of himself reading Bible verses, similar to what he does in concert. Keeping with the biblical-tinged moments on the album, the project was recorded in a church in Savannah, Georgia. “Mama’s Been Hurting” continues with Anthony’s penchant for singing about the hard-scrabble lives of rural people, offering up a musical plea heavenward to not “let the land I love die so young.” Oliver seems to know his audience, and continues offering up the kind of rustic laments here they’ve come to know him for.
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Joe Diffie, Toby Keith and Luke Combs, “Ships That Don’t Come In”
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HARDY’s latest Hixtape project offers a tribute to the late country singer Joe Diffie, but fashions a unique take on a tribute project, drawing in a plethora of artists to sing on many of Diffie’s biggest hits, alongside Diffie vocal tracks taken from a 2006 re-recordings session. “Ships That Don’t Come In,” a tip of the hat to the struggles military members face after making it home — if they do make it home — was a top five hit on Billboard‘s Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart (now Hot Country Songs) for Diffie in 1992.
This track is particularly poignant, as it also features the final recorded vocal from another late country star, Toby Keith, who passed away earlier this year. Keith’s voice is the first you hear on this track, and his voice still rings with strength and weathered warmth, like a fine, time-tested leather. Diffie’s sturdy twang and Combs’s muscular, gruff vocal further extend the storyline, heightening this timeless ’90s country classic.
Tucker Wetmore, “Wind Up Missin’ You”
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Wetmore has earned a viral hit with the heartbreak-fueled “Wine Into Whiskey,” (which earned Wetmore his first Billboard Hot 100 chart entry) and follows with what is fast becoming another early signature hit, “Wind Up Missin’ You.” Sonically, Wetmore’s hip-hop-laced grooves have drawn comparisons to Morgan Wallen, while his twangy vocal phrasing at times sounds like a carbon copy of Wallen. Still, he weaves his own distinct personality through the song’s poetic moments — particularly on this song, where his vocals are underpinned by subtle, guitar-driven percussion.
Wetmore wrote “Wind Up Missin’ You” with Thomas Archer and Chris La Corte. Though the song’s title here points to forlorn heartbreak, the story arc finds him on the cusp of a potential long-term romance, as he tries to convince a woman at the bar that despite his ballcap-wearing, barfly exterior, his sights are set on committed love, rather than a quick-fix heartbreak salvo. “I’ve turned the page on the old me,” he sings. Wetmore seems to have another surefire hit on his hands.
Angel White, “Outlaw”
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“I’m an outlaw and you can’t catch me now,” this fifth-generation Texan boasts over stacked harmonies, as he sings of packing up his things and moving on after a breakup. Bluesy guitar work seems to answer his calls, while largely pared back instrumentation and a slow-paced groove puts his smooth, soulful vocal at the fore. He’s released a handful of tracks, including the sentimental “Red Blanket,” and here delves deeper into his unique fusion of musical styles and sentiments. “Outlaw” was written by Dwight A. Baker and Khalil Hall, and is from White’s upcoming album Ghost of the West.
The Lone Bellow, “Victory Garden”
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In recognizing the one-year anniversary of the school shooting that took place at Nashville’s Covenant School, resulting in the loss of six lives, The Lone Bellow released this gorgeous, folky, and pristine harmony-filled ballad that champions doing the work of healing and putting good into the world as a means of shifting communities toward a brighter place and preserving oneself. Elsewhere, they sing, “So we sow the seeds in our victory garden/ Hands in the earth/ So the heart doesn’t harden.”
The Lone Bellow has partnered with the nonprofit Voices for a Safer Tennessee, with all money generated from the song going to charity. The song was written by the band’s Zach Williams, Kanene Donehey Pipkin, and Brian Elmquist along with Mikky Ekko.
Lola Kirke and Kaitlin Butts, “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?”
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Americana stalwarts Kirke and Butts put their own defiant spin on Paula Cole’s 1997 hit “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” here. Kirke takes the lead, while the duo’s voices mesh superbly, infusing the lyrics with both extra layers of sweetness and bite. The song will be available on 12” vinyl at select stores during Record Store Day on April 20.
This week’s platter of new country music includes Brothers Osborne‘s return with a new four-song project and Kane Brown‘s high-octane, fiddle-washed release, while CCM/country artist Anne Wilson teams up with country hitmaker Jordan Davis. See all this and more Billboard favorites from the past week below.
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Brothers Osborne, “Break Mine”
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A non-committal night of passion could prove just the elixir two lovers are seeking. TJ Osborne lends his earthy, sultry drawl to lines such as “If you’re looking for a heart to break/ Get here in a straight line,” while John Osborne’s blues-dipped guitar shredding gets layered with piano and percussion. The title track to the multiple CMA- and ACM-winning sibling duo’s new four-song EP, “Break Mine” was written by the Brothers along with Shane McAnally and Pete Good.
Kane Brown, “Fiddle in the Band”
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Crashing guitars, relentless pounding percussion, hand claps and the requisite blazing fiddle are on a tear in Brown’s latest release. Here, a tale of a night out on the town, hopping from bar to bar, gets a slight twist; it’s not the general party scene or some lover he’s chasing, but rather the varied strains of music, from country to pop to hip-hop. The chorus delves deeper into his passionate connection with a far-flung array of sounds, drawing inspiration from everything from Memphis blues to the country sounds emanating from Nashville “I’m like a burnt CD from ‘03 in a Mustang/ You never knew what was coming,” he sings. This song is a hold-on-tight, rocket ride of high-octane music. Brown wrote the song with Gabe Foust, Jordan Walker and Russell Sutton.
Wyatt Flores, “Wish I Could Stay”
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This Oklahoma native with the precociously wise songwriting style has seen his nascent career surge on the power of his songs, including the pleading “Please Don’t Go” and “Break My Bones.” Flores’ latest is a mingling of slide guitars and piano with his unfiltered, conversational vocal style, which can deftly and spontaneously run from rock-tinged angst to old-school country twang. The contemplative “Wish I Could Stay,” written by Flores with David DeVaul, centers on wanting to remain in a meaningful moment indefinitely, “’cause love gets the best of us all.” “Wish I Could Stay” is from his upcoming new EP, Half Life, which is due in April and follows his previous release, last year’s Life Lessons.
Anne Wilson with Jordan Davis, “Country Gold”
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Jordan Davis and CCM/country artist Anne Wilson team up for this ode to the sometimes overlooked simple pleasures of rural living, where the concept of wealth takes on a different configuration — true friendships, building a home from the ground up and miles of fields and gravel roads. Wilson wrote the song with her longtime collaborators, Jeff Pardo and CCM singer-songwriter Matthew West.
“The richest people that I’ve ever known/ found country gold,” they sing. Their harmonies mesh well, with Davis’ pristine country vocal a solid foil for Wilson’s sky-reaching, vocal charisma.
Dylan Gossett, “If I Had a Lover”
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“Coal” hitmaker and Texas native Gossett offers up a new batch of songs on his new EP Songs in the Gravel — including “If I Had a Lover,” for which he teams with Ian Fitchuk (Kacey Musgraves, James Bay). The song launches with simply Gossett’s burnished vocal and an accompanying harmony on the engaging chorus, before warm guitar and percussion fall into place. He’s broke and single, but sings wistfully of his plans if he had a lover and a dollar. “If I had a dollar I’d sell the whole holler and buy that girl a ring,” he sings. Gossett’s career has surged since his viral hit “Coal,” but with “If I Had a Lover,” “Somewhere Between” and more songs from his upcoming project, he’s proven he has plenty of top-shelf musical gems in his arsenal.
Ashlie Amber, “Keep You Around”
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She was hellbent on staying single, until an unexpected encounter brings a change of heart. A swirl of harmonies and R&B/country/pop grooves collide admirably with Amber’s sultry, airy vocal on this dancefloor-ready track. “Keep You Around” is from Amber’s upcoming EP MO.
This week, Kacey Musgraves offers up a superb, folky ballad from her album Deeper Well, while ERNEST teams with the ubiquitous Jelly Roll for a new track, and Cyndi Thomson returns with “The Georgia in Me.” See all these and more Billboard picks for the week’s best new country below.
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Kacey Musgraves, “The Architect”
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A sublime track from her new album Deeper Well, “The Architect” marks one of the project’s high-water marks. Softly hypnotic and well-written, this song questions whether life’s zeniths, nadirs and turns along the way are orchestrated or happen randomly. “I don’t understand, are there blueprints or plans?Can I speak to the architect?” she sings. Written by Musgraves with longtime collaborators Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne, this deeply-felt track marks another musical triumph.
ERNEST feat. Jelly Roll, “I Went to College/ I Went to Jail”
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Country music has a storied tradition of artists nodding to their own less-than-shining moments that become central parts of their legend and legacies, from Haggard’s “Mama Tried” to George Jones’ “No Show Jones.” ERNEST and Jelly Roll are both Nashville natives and on this collaboration, they detail their unconventional journeys to stardom, from ERNEST dropping out after a year of college and Jelly Roll’s evolution from jail cell to CMA Award-winning artist. Along the way, they both paid their music industry dues, too.
“Who came out on top/ Hell, it’s hard to tell,” they sing triumphantly, bolstered by a flourishing of steel guitars, fiddle and piano. Jelly even shouts out the location of the criminal justice center that is central to so much of his story. ERNEST wrote the song with Chandler Paul Walters, Luke Bryan and Rivers Rutherford., and “I Went to College/ I Went to Jail” will be found onERNEST’s upcoming April 12 album Nashville, Tennessee.
Cyndi Thomson, “The Georgia in Me”
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In the two decades after releasing her debut album My World, earning the Country Airplay-topping hit with “What I Really Meant to Say” and then opting to leave her role as a recording artist behind, this Georgia native has released music sporadically. Her soft-edged, dusky vocal drawl is still as potent as a Southern magnolia, and front and center on her first new music since 2016, with this song she wrote with Paul Sikes (“Wildflowers and Wild Horses,” “Make Me Want To”). She reminisces about teenage summers spent on red dirt roads, filled with fun-loving Saturday nights and glory-giving Sunday mornings, with the song also nodding to another Georgia-born country singer, Trisha Yearwood. This sweet-yet-sutry sounding track is a solid addition to Thomson’s too-brief musical canon.
Matt Koziol, “I Was”
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The age-weathered rasp in Koziol’s voice lends a veritable air to this blues-country track, as he reminisces about his former days of flying too fast down an unhealthy road and all the times he was “at the top of the prayer list” and the “reason for the last call.” The understated piano and percussion lend an oak-wood warmth to Koziol’s crackling fire of a voice. This track, which Koziol wrote with Kenton Bryant, is from Koziol’s upcoming April 5 album Last of the Old Dogs, which follows his 2022 project Wildhorse and 2023’s deluxe version Wildhorse (Barrel Aged).
Ben Rector and Hailey Whitters, “Color Up My World”
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This quirky, feel-good love song manages to nod to Pat Green, Bob Ross and turquoise nudie suits in the span of just over two minutes. On this banjo-flecked track, Rector’s vocal balances both quick-wit and charisma, while Whitters’ smooth twang is the sweetener.
Madison Hughes, “Hate that You Love Me”
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The Voice alum Hughes broke through last year with the country tune “I Need a Drink.” Her latest dips further into the blues realm than straight-forward country, and becomes a towering testament to both Hughes’ adroit guitar skills and the purring vocal. Her voice is world-weary, her guitar tones threaded with angst, as she offers up a relatable tale of falling headlong for a charismatic heart-breaker. The immensely talented Hughes is on a star-making trajectory.
Riley Green, “Way Out Here”
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Before Keith Urban offered a nod to three “Johns” in “John Cougar, John Deere and John 3:16,” singer-songwriter Josh Thompson paid homage to his own trio of icons named John — Johnny Cash, John Wayne and John Deere — in his top 20 Hot Country Songs hit from 2010. Now, Riley Green offers up his own rendering of Thompson’s hit. “We don’t take a dime if we ain’t earned it/ When it comes to weight, brother we pull our own,” Riley sings. His take is more subdued, with slightly moodier production, on this 15-year-old song about defending rural living, but he delivers this track with plenty of heart.