Author: Brennen Kelly

Following the mixed reception of The Outsiders, Eric Church had a decision to make: would he double down on the rock-inspired album or go back to his country roots? He instead decided to diverge into a myriad of different sounds including cajun rock, gospel, country and heartland rock which resulted in one of the most poignant, diverse country records of the decade. The story of Mr. Misunderstood’s release is an interesting one. Instead of letting the press, media outlets and critics receive the album first, Church decided to let members of his fan club, aptly titled “The Church Choir” receive…

Texas powerhouse, Cody Johnson, is back with his ninth studio album, Leather. Coming off of the success of his previous record, Human: The Double Album, all eyes are on Johnson for this highly-anticipated release. Johnson announced the album’s release back on September 21st. In anticipation of the album, Johnson released four tracks, The Painter, Work Boots, Watching My Old Flame and That’s Texas. His current single, The Painter, is currently #24 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. One of the most striking aspects of the album very well might be the cover art, depicting Johnson’s worn-down hands resting on a…

When you think about Brad Paisley, you probably think about two things: witty writing and incredible guitar solos. While of course there are exceptions with his love ballads and his dabbling into gospel songs, those are the two primary associations with the Mud on the Tires singer. There’s one song, however, that has resonated with me throughout my life and it’s none other than his his 2008 #1 hit, Letter to Me. In this solo write, Paisley explores his formative years of everything that went right, wrong, and in between. While there have been many songs reflecting on artists’ younger…

With Zach Bryan’s popularity seemingly growing by the hour, it seems like it’s always an opportune time to sit and reflect on the Something in the Orange singer’s always-growing discography. From his self-reflective ballads to his reckless romps, Bryan has put together an incredibly diverse set of songs over the past four years. Earlier in the month, I ranked Bryan’s four albums. Today, I’m going to dive into his three EPs. 3. Boys of Faith Bryan’s most recent release, Boys of Faith, is an extremely solid albeit unfocused EP. He’s playing with a lot of different sounds whether it’s the…

Just in time for the fall, Flatland Cavalry is back with their fourth studio album, Wandering Star. The independent band has made waves in the genre over the past few years. From having Mountain Song appear on Yellowstone to touring with superstar, Luke Combs, it seems like Flatland is on the brink of breaking into the mainstream any minute now. The question that remains is “Will Wandering Star provide the aforementioned push into the mainstream?” The album comes out of the gate firing with the opening track, The Provider. Heavy on electric guitar and percussion, it’s an excellent opening track…

It’s no stretch to say that Dylan Gossett is one of the hottest artists in the independent country scene. With 3.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify and 322,000 followers on TikTok, Gossett has been growing at a seemingly exponential rate. With the viral success of his second single, Coal, which has garnered over 32 million streams on Spotify and millions more on TikTok, it seemed like a no-brainer for Gossett to release a full-length EP. Gossett announced the records release date along with the release of his third single, Beneath Oak Trees, on October 6. The six-song EP contains three…