Here are some of the top new Country and Americana releases for the week of 31/07/2020.
All of this week’s new tracks are also on our New Release Round-up 2020 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!
Lainey Wilson – Small Town, Girl
Serving up a slice of small town America that could almost be an Eric Church cover, but is in fact a Lainey Wilson original through and through. When Lainey leans into her rock side, as she does here, she really brings the rock. Pull out your air guitar and wave your arms in the air to this one.
Brothers Osborne – Hatin’ Somebody
“Hatin’ Somebody ain’t never got nobody nowhere”, as the brothers say on a track that’s something of a companion piece to While You Still Can, but much lighter in tone and with a quirky kind of arrangement. Less a pull on your conscience, more a playfull kick in the pants to check your attitude. Skeletons, the boys third studio album, will drop on 9th October.
Eric Church – Bad Mother Trucker
Did we mention Eric Church? Well, here’s his latest. It’s song of triumph and praise for a parent who lived on and for the road and brought up her son along the way. You might not think it’s the ideal upbringing, but Eric seems pretty set. “You only get one and I wouldn’t want another”. That sounds like a good son, doesn’t it?
Eric Paslay – Off The Edge Of The Summer
You wait all week for an Eric, then two come along at once… Here’s Eric Paslay with, as the title suggests, a real “end of summer” kind of song (released a little too early, perhaps?). Eric puts a thoughtful vocal to this warm, fond memory of summer romance that sounds like it didn’t last any further. “We whispered wishes into wine bottles | And we threw them into the ocean | Did yours come true? | I wished for you”. Taken from his upcoming album Nice Guy, released on 14th August.
Zac Brown Band – You And Islands
Maybe one swallow doesn’t make a summer, but 2 tracks from ZBB certainly go a long way towards one. Hot on the heels of the keenly received sentimental ballad The Man Who Loves You The Most comes this, an infectious summer jam with a mix of classic Zac Brown elements and lyrical references that are bang up-to-date. Sure to be an enduring feature on holiday playlists.
Randy Travis – Fool’s Love Affair
Mention “classic”, and along comes Randy Travis right on cue. Not a new recording, but a track that was originally recorded some time before his debut release back in 1985. Picked up and dusted down with a few additions to the arrangement, it has that classic (there’s that word again!) yet timeless quality that belies its origins. And in any case, it’s just so good to hear Randy deliver something new, who cares if it’s been pulled from the 1980’s vault?
Lauren Alaina – Run
Lauren this week announced a new EP, titled Getting Over Him, scheduled to be released on 4th September. Among the 6 tracks will be duets with Jon Pardi and Lukas Graham but the first song to debut is this, an upbeat determined song about the rhythm and the race of life that we all face and participate in whether we realise it or not. Success and failure, love and heartbreak, joy and pain, life keeps on moving forward. “No matter where we’re going, nor matter where we’re from, we’re all born to run.”
Suzy Bogguss – Won’t Give In
One of the many challenges posed to artists by Covid-19 and related health and safety measures has been, “How do we make a record if we can’t get the band together?” Well, if you’re Suzy Bogguss the answer is maybe a little more straightforward. You just play every instrument yourself! Acoustic and electric guitar, mandolin, bass, drums, percussion – all laid down by Suzy on this cover of the Finn Brothers’ anthem.
Demi Marriner – Because Of Her
You might expect a song named Because Of Her to be a story about the intrusion of a third person in a relationship. And this is kind of that. In fact, the “her” in the title is what Demi refers to as “the negative second version of yourself”. We all have one. It’s the “you” who holds you back when you want to go forward, for example, or forces you on when the better thing would be to stay. Demi relates it in the context of a relationship to personalise it, and the techinque of recording the track around a single microphone adds a depth to the intimacy and expression.