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Post by bboat11 on May 22, 2024 23:07:14 GMT -5
Tonight we're going to work on clearing out the backlog a little bit! All the artists who I wrote about yesterday had previous entries on the list from during my hiatus (except for Tenille Arts. Lol sad.) So four reviews coming your way tonight!
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Post by bboat11 on May 22, 2024 23:15:43 GMT -5
"Right Round Here" - Dean Brody
"Right Round Here" was Dean Brody's effort to course-correct after "Broke" completely flopped on the charts (and got a C on my list, so I wasn't particularly enamored with it). Overall, as you can see, this one is at least a little bit better! I'm still not in love with it or anything, but it is a perfectly fine listen.
This is yet another song that celebrates a rural upbringing (we've never heard one of those before!!!!!), focusing on how deeply your roots can be established in an area like that due to generational ties and nostalgic childhood experiences. Attending bonfires, falling in love with the girl next door, etc. It is all pleasant, nostalgic imagery, and Dean sounds pretty good in the process!
This song has banjo and mandolin both featured somewhat prominently, as well as a little bit of steel buried in the background. Overall a solid listen, even if it's not the most creative song in the world.
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Post by bboat11 on May 22, 2024 23:24:00 GMT -5
"Ahead Of Our Time" - James Barker Band
James Barker Band seems to be a really polarizing artist for me, as they went from a D+ with "On The Water" to an F with "Your Mama Would Hate Me" to now an unquestionable A with "Ahead of Our Time"?!!?!!!!? Lol wtf!
This song is beautiful! It tells the tale of a couple who broke up, but the narrator speculates that the timing just simply might not have been right. They were so passionate, and yet somehow they split apart. The passion doesn't seem to have faded, it's just like the timing was off and life got in the way. And that premise is carried by a strong set of lyrics and an engaging performance by James. I think the melody is really strong, and I can feel all the emotions that this song is trying to convey.
This is such an easy A! Although correct me if I'm wrong, did this completely flop on the charts 🌺CountryLineDancer ?? It seems like an oddly fast turnaround for both Dean Brody and James Barker Band to have already pivoted from this and "Right Round Here" to their horrible new collaboration........ (Edit: Oh lol I just saw in your new video tonight that they went recurrent this week after peaking at #9!)
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Post by bboat11 on May 22, 2024 23:34:55 GMT -5
"It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas" - Maddie & Tae
Lol what is this?!! Christmas music?! That's right, even though it's late May, this is not off the table! Maddie & Tae put out an extended version of their Christmas EP this past holiday season, and with it came one of their songs debuting on the Canadian charts! Why does it feel like Canada has been so much kinder to them lately than America has.......
Everybody knows "It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas" already. It's a catchy, uptempo holiday tune celebrating the approach of Christmas! The way it looks with all the decorations coming out, the items that kids are submitting on their wish lists, the trees going up in the hotels and the parks, etc. You all know it, and I'm sure either love it or hate it.
Maddie & Tae don't really add anything to it overall. But what I will say about their version is that the rhythm section just feels so HEAVY. The interplay between the drums and the bass and the piano is the heartbeat of any jazzy tune like this, but in this case it is almost the only feature of the entire arrangement! There are of course lots of electric guitar lines that are technically the lead instruments, but it all just feels inconsequential next to the rhythm section. Which is great for those players, but makes for a pretty flat interpretation of this song.
It's still worth a B because Maddie & Tae always sound wonderful and this will always be a catchy song, but it could have benefitted a LOT from putting a little bit of creativity into the arrangement, and a bit more instrumental diversity!
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Post by bboat11 on May 22, 2024 23:51:51 GMT -5
"Love Me Like An Outlaw" - Kalsey Kulyk
Last night I made my feelings towards this one pretty clear already. But wow, what a masterpiece! This is a song where the narrator is clamoring for exciting love, filled with passion and adventure, and the entire thing is framed in the context of the American Wild West. This is one of those rare masterpieces where the lyrical imagery, the instrumentals, the vocals, everything comes together to create a specific atmosphere, and it does so with chilling efficacy.
It's very similar to "Wild West" by Runaway June, although I would argue that this one does an even better job of making you feel the atmosphere rather than telling you what the atmosphere is. ("Wild West" really leans into its theme with lines like "You can steal my heart like Jessie James, come in guns blazing just like old John Wayne" where they are clearly name-dropping famous references to build a certain vibe. While "Outlaw" builds its atmosphere by referencing hard living, playing poker in one-horse towns, open ranges, etc. to where you just FEEL like you are listening to a song about the Wild West, when in reality it's a song about yearning for passionate love.) The only real reference to the actual Wild West here is really subtle, as the line "If you can't fold the dead man's hand you hold, don't put your chips on me" is a reference to what Wild Bill Hickok was holding in his hand when he was shot and killed while playing poker in 1876. Two black aces and two black eights, which is now famously known as the "Dead Man's Hand". That's just kinda a fun fact that I picked up while doing some research about this song; I'm not really sure if that reference is common knowledge and I'm just late to the party, but I thought it was really cool! This is a metaphor that suggests that if the potential partner isn't willing to take risks, they shouldn't pursue a relationship with the narrator.
Anyway, Kalsey Kulyk sounds absolutely magical here as well. I'm excited to follow her career now!
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Post by 🌺CountryLineDancer on May 23, 2024 1:09:31 GMT -5
^ Yep, Ahead Of Our Time was a solid hit for JBB for sure. Your Mama is Dean's lead, so it followed up Right Round Here, which was also a decent hit for him. After all, Canadian chart has a faster turnaround of singles than the US. Ahead Of Our Time is most likely to be in the YE RD; not as much as Wastin' Whiskey, but it is one of their strongest songs in the last few years. Heartbeat from the same EP is also recommendable. This can be said to both Dean and JBB, but they do have radio singles that are not necessarily high quality musically, but rather focusing on its uptempo fun/concert-sing-along kinda songs, aka Your Mama, Water, Can't Help Myself etc, so not too surprise to see the fluctuation of your rating, ranging from F to A lol.
And to answer regarding Kalsey, Outlaw is definitely eligible for the 2024 YE RD as I believe it peaked after November 2023!
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Post by bboat11 on May 23, 2024 3:39:20 GMT -5
This can be said to both Dean and JBB, but they do have radio singles that are not necessarily high quality musically, but rather focusing on its uptempo fun/concert-sing-along kinda songs, aka Your Mama, Water, Can't Help Myself etc, so not too surprise to see the fluctuation of your rating, ranging from F to A lol. Haha well I sure have no problem with chasing radio hits, but man I wish some of these people would realize that "quality" and "hit potential" do not have to be mutually exclusive... ![:popcorn:](http://ruadventures.com/forum/Smileys/animated/popcorn.gif)
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Post by bboat11 on May 26, 2024 3:29:54 GMT -5
"Drinkin' Buddies" - Lee Brice ft. Hailey Whitters and Nate Smith
The week of May 11th had 3 new songs debut total between the three charts that I am looking at. One on Billboard Airplay, one on HCS, and one on Canadian Airplay. I'll be posting about the three of them tonight!
The new song to show up on Airplay was Lee Brice's new star-studded collaboration with Nate Smith and Hailey Whitters, "Drinkin' Buddies". This is a simple, happy-go-lucky song about having buddies who will go out drinking with you and help you take the edge off of a hard day. Literally just simple as that. Ultimately it is a song about celebrating the bonds of friendship, but of COURSE it is centered around alcohol, because how else are you supposed to recover from a difficult day?!
The "difficult day" in question? Lee was hunting and not really seeing anything but squirrels. Nate was fishing and not getting any bites. Hailey, bless her heart, is facing a breakup! So at least one of them has REAL problems, but...of course it would be the woman who is going through an emotional time while the men are just bored while doing their hobbies...an emotional time which then also gets trivialized by being like "Oh yeah that can easily be solved with alcohol just like the fish not biting!".... But I digress.
In Sara Evans' recent podcast with her daughter Olivia a couple days ago, they talked about how some of the modern artists have been trying so hard to make country characters into a joke, and how one of the most offensive parts of the bro country movement was that everybody who shows up in their songs now is nothing more than a caricature. That was all that I could think of when I heard this song! Back about 20 years ago, when somebody made a song like this, it would sound like Alan and George's "Designated Drinker", where both men are drinking away their problems, but they are also fully fleshed-out characters with emotions and desires. Now, we get THIS garbage, where the characters are nothing but stereotypes, the arrangement is sterile and vanilla, and the production buries every instrument so far down in the mix that you would never actually be able to pick all the instruments out.
Don't get me wrong, it's catchy in a modern, brainless way. I have no doubt that it might be a hit (next winter, since Lee Brice is such a buzzless artist that he will probably completely miss the summer and fall months even though this is sonically engineered for the hot months.) But it's certainly not worth the dozens of weeks of chart-space that it is going to take up.
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Post by bboat11 on May 26, 2024 3:42:27 GMT -5
"Bigger Than This Town" - Steven Lee Olsen
For the song that debuted on Canada's charts on 5/11, we have Steven Lee Olsen's "Bigger Than This Town".
Yet ANOTHER small-town pride song I swear that's what all the men are singing right now! Within the last couple weeks, I have written reviews for this one, "Right Round Here", "Let Your Boys Be Country", "Country Back", "Cowboys and Plowboys".... all of which are basically this exact same theme. Although most of them are more memorable than this one, tbh.
The key difference in "Bigger Than This Town" is that the size of the town is invoked in the hook. As in, so many people might not take the town seriously because it is so small, but once you familiarize yourself with it, the town has way more value than its size would imply. Don't underestimate these small towns, because they are great places to raise families!
It's a tried-and-true country theme. Steve Lee gives this a boring arrangement with a bland production job, and the run-of-the-mill lyrics add nothing new to the mix. The melody is also instantly forgettable compared to most of the songs I listed above, which is definitely not ideal if you're hoping to get a hit. The biggest thing this song has going for it is that it is sonically non-offensive, so even though it is bland af, it is still worth a C. Like, I won't skip it if it comes on, but I'm also never going to seek it out.
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Post by bboat11 on May 26, 2024 3:58:42 GMT -5
"I'm Gonna Miss Her" - Post Malone
The HCS debut on 5/11 came from Post Malone covering Brad Paisley's classic, "I'm Gonna Miss Her"! He released it exclusive on Amazon Music in the wake of his Stagecoach performance where he brought out Brad Paisley, Sara Evans, and others while he performed a bunch of country songs. While a video of the Stagecoach performance with Brad Paisley was released on YouTube right after it happened, the version that he released for public purchase actually seems to be a recording of the performance that I included above. It was an intimate, whole-band-in-one-room studio session with Post performing this song and a bunch of others with Dwight Yoakum's band, of all things! Literally smoking a cigarette and drinking beer while he performs, lmao. Anyway, the version of this song that is charting seems to be a direct rip of that performance put on Amazon for purchase, when you compare the two. All I can say is, MAN what a slam dunk. Covering a cleverly-written, hook-driven song like "I'm Gonna Miss Her", you automatically get full marks in the lyrical category, creativity category, etc. But when you load it up with the holy trifecta of steel guitar, fiddle, and piano, and then actually do a damn good job on the vocal and perfectly capture the spirit of the song, you score highly on my first impression, enduring impression, replay value, mass appeal among country fans value, etc.!
Sure it's not perfect, but it's highly enjoyable. I'd even go so far as to say that the biggest problem is that the original is so oversaturated that I still sometimes think it's too soon for me to hear this song again. But a damn good song is a damn good song, and Post stayed true to the spirit of the original here. This was actually the performance that introduced me to Country Post a couple years ago, and left me feeling like this rapper trying to switch over to country might actually be a move worth cheering!
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Post by bboat11 on May 26, 2024 17:57:03 GMT -5
Most of the artists that I reviewed last night have entries in the backlog, so I'm going to knock some of those out next!
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Post by bboat11 on May 26, 2024 18:04:57 GMT -5
"Out Here" - Steven Lee Olsen
Would you believe me if I told you that Steven Lee Olsen's previous entry on the Canadian charts was ALSO a song celebrating the joys of small-town life?!! Well, do your best to pick your jaw up off the floor, because it's true!
"Out Here" is a title that predictably leads into a hook of "Good God, I love living out here", celebrating the joys and contentment of rural life. Although where "Bigger Than This Town" seemed to center itself more around the joys of a specific location, "Out Here" is an ode to rural life in general.
That being said, this song is a lot catchier, and the whole arrangement is a lot more engaging with noticeable steel guitar and banjo front and center at times, so I actually enjoy listening to this quite a bit! It's still only got a B- because it is rather generic, but sonically this is definitely a step up from last night's review. (Which means his current single is a step down, lol. Way to go Steve!)
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Post by bboat11 on May 26, 2024 18:18:23 GMT -5
"I'm In Love" - Hailey Whitters
COME ON, COUNTRY RADIO!!!! How does an absolutely undeniable earworm like this spend like 6 months on the chart and barely crack the top 50?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?! It's a damn shame, and just further proof of how out-of-touch country radio is these days.
Hailey Whitters is an acquired taste vocally, but this song is riiiiight in her wheelhouse. The melody is a 10/10, can't-get-it-out-of-your-head-guaranteed jam, along the lines of "Suds in the Bucket", "Check Yes or No", "Little Bitty", "If I Could Make A Living", etc. The lyrics are really simple, but within that simplicity lies a certain charm. "Momma's in town. Daddy's in the doghouse. Corn is in the ground." "He's in a Chevy, and I'm in love." The whole thing is a slice-of-life viewpoint, with down-home, warm family vibes. And the juxtaposition between the day-to-day actions of the family and the overwhelming new feelings that come from the love interest is where this song finds its compelling voice.
It's like the thematic vibes of "Suds in the Bucket" had a baby with the sonic vibes of "If You Go Down (I'm Goin' Down Too)". So, in other words, an EASY A+ for Ms. Whitters!!! Hopefully she has similar jams up her sleeve now that this one has flopped, because this is a slam dunk regardless of radio's reaction!
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Post by bboat11 on May 26, 2024 18:32:32 GMT -5
"Bulletproof" - Nate Smith
To begin with, Nate Smith sings the hell out of "Bulletproof"! This is a song about a heartbroken man who, in true country fashion, turns to alcohol and country music to try to get over his broken heart. But all the usuals are not working! He's tried Jack Daniels, he's tried Jim Beam, and neither is taking the edge off of his pain. To make matters worse, all his favorite country songs have been misleading him, because they make it sound like his actions will help her to disappear, but in reality her memory just won't leave. It is a compelling lyric, with a powerful performance from Nate.
So, now to the downsides. This arrangement is aaaaasssssss, lol. Like, talk about a wall of indistinguishable sound! This could have been a nice compelling country song, but the lack of any distinguishing features means this is likely hunting for Hot 100 success rather than country success. Not that there's anything wrong with that! But still, if you're going to be a big country star, you may want to at least try to sound like it?
Granted, this is nowhere NEAR as egregious as Morgan Wallen's bullshit tendency to put out songs like "Thinkin' 'Bout Me", "You Proof", "Last Night", etc. every-other single. But still, the lack of care put into the arrangement is the only reason why this was a C+ instead of being in the B range! Some fiddle, steel, banjo, etc. could have bumped this up another like 5%...
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Post by 🌺CountryLineDancer on May 26, 2024 18:49:11 GMT -5
Yeah Steven Lee doesn’t usually go for lyrics depth, but I do like some of his recent singles; Outta Yours and Nashville or Nothing, thanks to the melody. Out Here or the current single is not bad imo, melodically speaking.
Fun fact about him is that while I mentioned a few times that he’s a writer of Blue Ain’t Your Colour, I recently learned that he was supposed to release it as his second US single to follow-up Raised By A Good Time if his label did not exit music scene. All worked out well for him tho, as I’d think that BAYC would have been lost in shuffle if it was his release, but now at lease he is credited to a #1 hit song.
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Post by bboat11 on May 26, 2024 19:30:32 GMT -5
Yeah Steven Lee doesn’t usually go for lyrics depth, but I do like some of his recent singles; Outta Yours and Nashville or Nothing, thanks to the melody. Out Here or the current single is not bad imo, melodically speaking. Fun fact about him is that while I mentioned a few times that he’s a writer of Blue Ain’t Your Colour, I recently learned that he was supposed to release it as his second US single to follow-up Raised By A Good Time if his label did not exit music scene. All worked out well for him tho, as I’d think that BAYC would have been lost in shuffle if it was his release, but now at lease he is credited to a #1 hit song. Yeah, letting Keith Urban record one of your songs is a power move. Even more impressive that it's one of his only good songs of the last 10 years!
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Post by bboat11 on May 29, 2024 3:05:43 GMT -5
"I Had Some Help" - Post Malone ft. Morgan Wallen
"I Had Some Help" is Post Malone's much-hyped debut single at Country radio, and it was already destined to make a splash thanks to his crafty positioning of himself as the crossover/comeback story of the year. So let's just throw the biggest name in all of country music right now on it with him and see what happens! This song is already in the top 10 on the Airplay charts despite debuting like 2 weeks ago, and is also at its second week at #1 on the Hot 100...
....Sooooo i guess it was about time for me to get around to checking this one out. And my God, what an EARWORM!!!!! This melody is incredible! I literally went into this wanting to hate it, because Morgan Wallen mixed with washed-up rapper is just so not my vibe. But Posty's country attempts have been nothing short of awesome thusfar, and Morgan also has the ability to turn in a good performance every once in awhile when he's not being a blatantly public piece of shit. My point being, I should have had more faith in them!
Topically, "I Had Some Help" is a song about the end of a relationship. It is a reminder that both sides share some blame when things fall apart, and that both partners share the responsibility to maintain a healthy relationship. And it is all framed in a unique way, because rather than phrasing it in a negative way, the hook of "I had some help" puts a little bit of a positive spin on what it means to share the blame.
For me the biggest problem with this song is that the inclusion of Morgan Wallen (and the upbeat melody) makes it feel kinda like a couple buddies getting up to their usual shenanigans at a party. That's probably just my PTSD from the bro country era. The song deserves quite a bit more credit than that for actually having a bit of substance, but the relationship dynamic would have come across a lot more clearly if it was sung with a female duet partner, or even just Post all by himself. I suspect it would have been wildly successful either way, and Morgan doesn't need the profile boost. Although I imagine that Post chose Morgan simply because they ARE buddies who were having fun in the creation process of this song, and didn't mean it as anything deeper than that! But for a song that's not about buddies having fun, it doesn't need to sound like it's about that. That's probably this song's biggest problem. Outside of that, this is insanely catchy, and I cannot wait to hear what else Post Malone has up his sleeves for his country phase!
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Post by bboat11 on May 30, 2024 0:35:29 GMT -5
"Miles On It" - Marshmello ft. Kane Brown
"Miles On It" took a few listens for me to really buy in, but in the process of making this review, I found myself getting more attached to it. Like, my first impression of it was more like a 7, but by the time I finalized my score it was up to probably an 8! Usually my opinions don't change that much. Immediately this doesn't seem to fit in the country genre, but if you listen close enough you start to hear a few little sprinkles of steel guitar scattered in! Either way, regardless of its genre, this sounds like it will be a perfect fit for modern country radio, so I expect this to be pretty huge.
Topically, this is a very simple song about essentially christening your new truck with your lover! The lyrics are in no way crass though, with no objectification in sight, so in my mind that separates this from bro country even though thematically you could accuse it of fitting right in. This song focuses on the appeal of the truck, the appeal of the backroads, etc. while making it clear that the narrator would like significant other to be there with them, but it's more about building shared experiences rather than leering at her like a piece of meat. I will give it props for that!
Overall I like this, but the multi-genre appeal reduces its score for me, as somebody who rewards country sounds with their rating system. Kane's vocal is solid, and this is catchy, but your grandpa certainly isn't going to like it!
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Post by bboat11 on May 30, 2024 0:52:08 GMT -5
"Wranglers" - Miranda Lambert
I know Miranda's big fans are going to be disappointed with my ranking of "Wranglers"... Topically, this is a very solid theme that I can get behind! The central message is one of empowerment, which never gets old imo. Miranda can always be counted on to sell empowerment with a feisty twist, and "Wranglers" is at least a little bit feisty. But the whole vibe just falls soooooo flat compared to her classics like "Kerosene", "Gunpowder & Lead", "White Liar", "Crazy Ex Girlfriend", etc.
I'm just not a big fan of the structure of this one. The melody is really low-key, in a way that some people will find it sneaky-catchy, but for me I just find it really hard to remember what it sounds like. Then there's the arrangement, which is nothing but a muddy wall of sound. There are really no distinguishable instruments here outside of a teensy bit of dobro in the intro; otherwise it's drums and electric guitars. And the way all of them are produced it already sounds dated, which is disappointing when you consider how Miranda undoubtedly still has the best of the best resources at her disposal. Miranda's vocal helps tie it firmly to the country genre. But this is just a bit disappointing when you know what she is capable of. Something like "Kerosene" or "Gunpowder & Lead" makes you stop and pay attention to the artist when you first hear them, leaving you feeling like they've got a big career to grow into. This song feels like a lazy retread from someone who already has the big career and no longer has exciting growth ahead.
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Post by bboat11 on May 30, 2024 1:26:42 GMT -5
"Where That Came From" - Randy Travis
OMG, the bland faceless new guys should be QUAKING in their boots now that we have technology that can allow a computer regeneration of Randy Travis to turn in a performance that is more emotive and technically proficient than their entire careers!!! I am HERE for that!!! To go into the backstory of this song real quick (highly simplified, of course), Randy Travis had a huge stroke and a few other health issues in 2013 that nearly killed him. Even though he miraculously survived, it robbed him of his ability to speak outside of a word or two, which of course abruptly ended his singing career as well. He has been doing alright the last ten years, making remarkable progress in so many areas, like being able to show up at awards shows, or join other people onstage to croak out the final "amen" note to "Forever and Ever, Amen". And then with the arrival of modern A.I technology, he reached out to one of his old producer friends about this idea. It was all just kinda experimental and theoretical at first. According to the Bobby Bones interview I saw with them, they sent out 42 of his isolated vocal performances from throughout his career to a British software company, and a few months later the company sent this A.I. rendering of Randy's voice back to them. That was when they started to realize they might actually be able to use this technology to make something cool, rather than just dreaming about it!
They brought in another vocalist, James Dupré, into the studio to record the initial vocals. And then they were able to throw Randy's vocal rendering onto the track, and after some studio magic, voila! The first brand new "vocals" from Randy Travis in about a decade!
Now that this technology is available, I know this is going to have HUGE implications for the overall industry. Many of those implications will be negative. But I do not want to get into that here. Instead, I will highlight how one of the biggest POSITIVE implications of this technology is that it gives the opportunity for a living artist like Randy to have the ability to "get his voice back", in a sense. His voice was his identity for much of his life, and it was robbed from him waaay too young. He is still with us, he is still vibrant and yearning to be creative, and he is SO EXCITED about all this stuff. Seriously, his huge smiles in this music video absolutely ripped my heart out. I am so happy for him <3
As far as the song is concerned, to me this is a perfect rendition of Randy Travis at his peak, and yet clearly recorded in 2024. It's like 1995 Randy being recorded in 2024. I am absolutely blown away by how perfect it sounds! Not just from a technical standpoint, but from an emotional standpoint. I can feel the emotions in this performance in a way that Luke Bryan, Cole Swindell, Dylan Scott, etc. have NEVER conveyed in their entire careers. The melody is the only reason I gave this a 4.5 instead of a 5 in the mass appeal category, because there are bound to be a few people somewhere who think this is not catchy enough. But for me, the more I listen to it, the more the melody draws me in. It's a song that engages you. I really hope Randy has a whole new album coming, tbh.
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🌺CountryLineDancer
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Post by 🌺CountryLineDancer on May 30, 2024 1:30:26 GMT -5
I actually agree with your rating on MirLam's new song. As much as I am a fan of hers, she sometimes has singles that I don't really love, and this is definitely one of them, due to the production and melody. Still excited for the new project backed by Big Loud, but I definitely hope to hear more songs like Bluebird or Waxahachie than Wranglers/Little Red Wagon.
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Post by bboat11 on May 30, 2024 1:44:42 GMT -5
"Break Mine" - Brothers Osborne
Brothers Osborne just debuted a new song on the charts too! "Break Mine" is very similar to Dallas Smith's current hit "Use Me" that I just reviewed the other week. The narrator is in love with someone, and he is willing take some risks with his heart and his emotions, if it means there is the possibility of a genuine connection being explored. Whether it turns into a long-term relationship or a short-term fling remains to be seen. Even if she's just looking for a heart to break, he is offering up his own, similar to how Dallas Smith is offering to let himself be "used" on the off-chance that it turns into something real.
This is well-written and well-performed. Everything about this screams "quintessential Brothers Osborne"! Which tbh is this song's biggest weakness, at least to me. To me, Brothers Osborne are a duo who have gotten incredibly stale with their looooong chart runs and their insistence on recording songs that have the exact same vibe and personality. I like this one quite a bit, and I still am nearly already sick of it because it feels like it's been on the charts for 65 weeks already even though it literally JUST debuted... So I give it a B- for its overall quality, but it scores low in replay value for me. Also, if BrOs focused on country instrumentation at all, their arrangements would be a lot more engaging and less samey... Every single song is the same electric guitars from beginning to end...
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Post by bboat11 on May 30, 2024 1:47:52 GMT -5
Alright that's the last tag of the night, I promise ;) How insane is it that we got Post/Morgan, Kane/Marshmello, Miranda Lambert, Randy Travis, AND Brothers Osborne all debuting on the same airplay chart?!!?!!? Talk about a shakeup!
Edit: With all these new names taking up real estate and forcing some weaker songs off the bottom of the chart, I am absolutely DECEASED to discover that Runaway June just snuck back onto the June 1st chart, despite disappearing WEEKS ago. "Make Me Wanna Smoke" is the song that WILL NOT DIE!!!!!! ![:dead:](http://ruadventures.com/forum/Smileys/animated/smiley_resurrect_grave.gif)
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.indulgecountry
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Post by .indulgecountry on Jun 1, 2024 2:42:49 GMT -5
You're not alone in your opinion on "Wranglers" by any means it seems, but I just don't get it because to me, it's 100% another MirLam banger. I can't find a single drawback to it personally. I love the melody, the production, the way she sings it, the lyrics are textbook Miranda even though it's an outside cut. It all culminates in a perfect barn burner track imo. I think the sort of understated vibe of the song works well because it gives off this murky and mysterious vibe, which sets it apart as being "fresh" and not just another "Kerosene" or "Little Red Wagon" where the vibe is just a lot more frenetic. Like "Wranglers" is a sinister step-sister to those songs, and I haven't been able to get it out of my head since it dropped. I love a good like 'stairstep melody' as I'd call it and the way she climbs in the first part of the chorus and then descends her vocal delivery on the hook of the song is just delicious and intelligent.
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Post by bboat11 on Jun 1, 2024 3:23:12 GMT -5
You're not alone in your opinion on "Wranglers" by any means it seems, but I just don't get it because to me, it's 100% another MirLam banger. I can't find a single drawback to it personally. I love the melody, the production, the way she sings it, the lyrics are textbook Miranda even though it's an outside cut. It all culminates in a perfect barn burner track imo. I think the sort of understated vibe of the song works well because it gives off this murky and mysterious vibe, which sets it apart as being "fresh" and not just another "Kerosene" or "Little Red Wagon" where the vibe is just a lot more frenetic. Like "Wranglers" is a sinister step-sister to those songs, and I haven't been able to get it out of my head since it dropped. I love a good like 'stairstep melody' as I'd call it and the way she climbs in the first part of the chorus and then descends her vocal delivery on the hook of the song is just delicious and intelligent. I'm glad it works for you! That definitely means she's still doing something right ![:smokingdiva:](http://i.imgur.com/t6wcd.jpg) It may keep growing on me. The biggest problem with doing these reviews of new songs is that they don't have much time to marinate beyond like 3-5 listens...
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Post by bboat11 on Jun 1, 2024 3:43:59 GMT -5
"Indifferent" - Megan Moroney
The highest entry to the HCS chart on 5/18 was Megan Moroney's new album pre-release track, "Indifferent". Opinions on this one seem to be mixed so far on Pulse after "No Caller ID" and "28th of June" were pretty universally beloved, so I am pleased to walk away from this one with another entry to the A list! The most polarizing thing about this song is undoubtedly the vast sonic shift from the verses to the chorus. The verses are fit for a pure country crooner, being predominantly her and an acoustic guitar playing a slight variation on simple ascending and descending scales. And then all of a sudden BOOM there's the chorus with a big wall of sound that turns the song upside-down and adds an entirely different dimension to it all. However, as soon as the chorus is done, she goes right back to country crooner. It's almost like the song has a Jekyll and Hyde personality.
That being said, the thing that anchors this chorus for me and keeps it from being over-the-top is Megan's exquisite vocal! She sings the hell out of this, and (ironically considering the exchange that immediately preceded this post), to me she sounds soooooo much like Miranda Lambert when she lets loose on this chorus! Like not exactly, cause you can still tell it's Megan, but her voice thins out and takes on the exact same raspy texture that Miranda sometimes gets on her newer releases.
On top of that, the lyrics are really solid. This is a female empowerment song in the same vein as Miranda could have easily released. As the narrator, Megan puts herself in the shoes of a woman who has been reeling in the aftermath of a difficult breakup but is finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. She realizes she forgot his birthday and is completely nonchalant about it. She is achieving the sweet freedom of inner peace, and every indicator of him slipping away is now bringing more relief rather than threatening to unmoor her. On top of that, the arrangement is actually pretty cool once you get past how odd it is. There are a lot of really cool things going on, including steel guitar in the chorus and some weird Halloween-vibey orchestral strings at the end of the second verse.
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Post by bboat11 on Jun 1, 2024 3:56:40 GMT -5
"Should've Been A Cowboy" - Jelly Roll ft. T-Pain
The next and final song to debut on HCS the week of 5/18 was Jelly Roll and T-Pain's collaborative cover of "Should've Been A Cowboy". I believe this is another Stagecoach thing, similar to Post Malone's "I'm Gonna Miss Her" randomly picking up legs after the Stagecoach performance. This was released the exact same way, as an exclusive Amazon Music release (which I went and bought just so I could review it, and am thrilled to report that it is friggin' fantastic!)
We all know and love this song. "Should've Been A Cowboy" is of course the ICONIC debut single from the recently deceased Toby Keith. I have no doubt that Jelly and Pain performed this in honor of Toby's memory and how he impacted their careers. But overall, this absolutely captures the magic and vibe of the original. Compare this to Brooks & Dunn's absolutely embarrassing performance of this at the ACMs Tribute to Toby last month, this is in a whoooole different league.
The vocals take some getting used to initially (Jelly is good, but he doesn't quite have Toby's characteristic bravado that immediately jumps out from the moment he opens his mouth on this song), but everything else is so on-point that you quickly get used to it. The arrangement is beautiful, filled with steel guitar and piano and all the classic electric guitars and baritone guitars and acoustic guitars in all the right places Toby would love this. It was an easy A!
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Post by bboat11 on Jun 2, 2024 3:00:33 GMT -5
It's 🌺CountryLineDancer's favorite part of the week! Tonight I'm going to knock out the Canadian debuts from the 5/18 chart. We already know this was an insane week for Billboard Airplay, as that chart saw FIVE debuts from Post, Kane, Miranda, Randy, and Brothers Osborne. However, the Canadian charts saw four songs debut too! So this was quite a crazy week for pretty much every country chart, lol. The two weeks since 5/18 have not given me nearly as much new material (more like 1-2 songs per chart rather than 4-5).
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Post by bboat11 on Jun 2, 2024 3:15:53 GMT -5
"More Time" - Melissa Livingstone
Melissa Livingstone is the highest debut on the Canadian charts for the week of 5/18. I have never heard of her, and I have no clue who she is, but this is a pretty good introduction! 🌺CountryLineDancer , is she any kind of a known name at all up North?
"More Time" is a song for all the women who are single in their late 20s and early 30s, watching all their friends getting married and having to constantly shrug off questions about their own future. It is a soft, introspective song about someone who wants to fall in love, but is not against living life to the fullest in the meantime. She frequently moves to different cities, doesn't stay anywhere that doesn't make her feel things, and is constantly looking for "big" things that bring her excitement and joy. She is not someone who wants to live a "small" life, even though she doesn't look down on people who do.
And I've gotta say, as a man who is still single now that I am in my early 30s, I can also relate to this song quite a bit. Although my "still single" anthem is more like "The One" by Terri Clark, because I am not interested in settling for someone who doesn't fill my world with fireworks. Melissa's song feels like it's more geared towards the girls who are like "I'm just going to pack up and go backpacking across Europe for a year". And then she puts on her dating profile "Looking for an adventure buddy!" but then nobody will ever make the cut because she won't stop moving long enough to let them, lmao. Simply put, while "The One" is a song about wanting to find the one you can't live without, "More Time" is more about not being ready for love yet.
Anyway, it's a beautiful song, but it's also a little too subdued to be one that I come back to a lot. Melissa's performance is a little on the boring side in the verses, but she makes up for it with a beautiful vocal in the chorus. This one gets a nice solid B!
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Post by bboat11 on Jun 2, 2024 3:33:49 GMT -5
"Let Your Horses Run" - Brett Kissel
Hot Pam Tillis cover?! Not quite. That's one's about a PONY, silly geese.
"Let Your Horses Run" is the next highest debut on the Canadian charts on 5/18, and the only song by a male artist surprisingly. Brett Kissel is definitely a known name in Canada! I don't know how much star power he actually has, but from my perspective I definitely consider him one of the bigger stars alongside Dean Brody and Dallas Smith. He definitely has more songs in the queue right now than anyone besides Morgan Wallen and Post Malone, so he's had a few things chart in the last few months.
LYHR is an empowering uptempo anthem about letting loose and living free! The chorus starts by mentioning unstoppable forces, such as you not being able to train the wild out of a mustang simply by putting a rope on it, and you can't stop a freight train by putting an anchor on it. Hurricanes are just going to keep blowing until they're done, etc. So, you may as well dream big and let your passion direct your every move in life, because then YOU will be similarly unstoppable!
It's a good song, that has also gotten catchier every time I have listened to it. But the most interesting thing is that this arrangement has sooooo many instruments crammed into it, and all of them are used effectively! Right from the beginning there is a duality between banjo and dobro, and that is the heartbeat of this song. Eventually piano gets layered in, followed by steel guitar. There is even a little bit of an orchestral ditty at the end, giving this a violin point even if it didn't have a fiddle! And Brett sings the hell out of it. Welcome to the A list!
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