Here are some of the top new releases for the week of 20/03/2020.
All of this week’s new tracks are also on our New Release Round-up playlist on Spotify, along with every other song we’ve included in this feature during the year so far. If you’re a Spotify user, give it a follow so you can keep up to date!
Carly Pearce & Lee Brice – I Hope You’re Happy Now (Acoustic)
Pearce & Brice are still riding hgh in the Billboard charts with the “full” version of this song. This is an effective retooling of the song that puts the 2 vocals squarely front and centre – and they’re such good performances, that’s right where they belong, while under-pinning with some wonderful dobro work that was present but less obvious in the original mix.
Midland – Wicked Game
You hear some covers and you think, “Why have they done that?”. Others, you think, “Why haven’t they done that before?”. Wicked Game, the iconic 90’s Chris Isaak hit, falls very much in the latter category. Mark amps up the slurred, languid vocal delivery over an insistent rhythmic drum pattern, while Cameron and Jess produce a track with a late-60’s style layered, dreamy rock vibe that still has room for a bit of a rock-out in the middle section before going full tilt into the outro.
Gabe Lee – Honky Tonk Hell
Honky Tonk Hell is the follow up to Gabe Lee’s well received 2019 debut album Farmland. This title track rocks hard while taking a pot-shot at the shallow end of the Nashville scene – “Honky Tonk Hell is a hell of a place, they’ve got a big ol’ dance room hall | Seats reserved for all the folks down in Nashville, writing phony ass country songs.”
Blake Shelton & Gwen Stefani – Nobody But You (Acoustic)
Another acoustic version of a song currently doing good chart numbers – although “acoustic” might be stretching it a bit. It’s certainly stripped of much of the “power ballad” bombast of the original. That’s something that benefits both the song and the singers as it allows us to hear them more clearly – and this is a song where the words and the expression need to be heard to be appreciated.
American Aquarium – The Luckier You Get
We can’t wait for Lamentations, the upcoming album from American Aquarium, to drop – but we’re going to have to be patient until 1st May. In the meantime, The Luckier You Get is the latest track to give us a preview of the album. An upbeat, uptempo number that contrasts with The Long Haul, and with a video that draws at least a little inspiration from one very famous promo from the 1980’s. Check out the on-screen credits at the end of The Luckier You Get.
Trace Adkins – Better Off
Trace says we’re all better off staying in. Timely advice indeed. Of course, he’s more minded to staying in for some one-on-one time with his lady. No social distancing here, but in fairness to Corey Crowder, Hillary Lindsey and Liz Rose the whole virus thing wasn’t on anyone’s horizon when they wrote this song. It’s a perfect match-up of a modern country song with a high ranking veteran of the genre.