It’s finally Friday, and that means one thing: new country music. From deluxe editions of albums to singles and brand-new projects, this Friday, September 15, has plenty to offer from a wide range of different artists.
Cherokee Rose – Colby Acuff
Cherokee Rose is an absolute heart-wrencher, depicting the story of a man reminiscing about his late wife, the titular “Cherokee Rose.” Acuff’s storytelling ability shines here. He packs the track with incredibly detailed imagery/phrases such as “with aging eyes as misty as an early morning dew” and “then we sat there in silence as he held hands with her ghost.” These lyrics show the poetic side of Acuff’s songwriting and show the strong disconnect between prominent independent songwriters and the shallow lyrics many Nashville writers are pumping out lately. The combination of acoustic guitar, banjo and fiddle interwoven into the production provides the perfect amount of backing to this expertly written song. 9/10
Rollercoaster (Forever And A Day) – Brothers Osborne
When you think of Brothers Osborne, you’ll most likely think of rocking, electric guitar-heavy tracks such as It Ain’t My Fault, Stay a Little Longer, and Shoot Me Straight. It’s the sound they’ve built their brand on because, well, it sounds incredible. Rollercoaster throws a wrench in this notion and completely strips back everything with a piano ballad and hints of a violin strewn about. The song is a delicate one playing with the “opposites attract” concept. The closing lyric, “I could ride this rollercoaster for forever and a day.” is such a simple, yet effective one that feels equally romantic as it does effortless. 8/10
Burns Like Her – Randall King
Burns Like Her is one of the most mainstream-sounding tracks I’ve heard from Randall King so far, but I honestly don’t hate it. Unlike Chevrolet, the track sounds like a radio song that actually brings something to the table. It has some slick electric guitar work, great vocals from King and simple albeit catchy lyrics that don’t sound AI-generated. It sounds much more of a stadium crowd-pleaser compared to many his dive bar-esque tracks, but that’s not a bad thing by any means. Burns Like Her will ultimately catch the ear of mainstream audiences and hopefully bring more listeners to the red dirt sound he’s known for. 7/10
Southern Comfort – Darius Rucker
Overall, Southern Comfort is a very safe, pleasant song from Darius Rucker. Sonically, it’s a fun, light track filled with nice touches of fiddle throughout. Lyrically, it feels a bit like his 2015 song, High On Life; it shares a similar sentiment of being high (or drunk) off of the simplicities of a Southern lifestyle. It’s not breaking any ground in terms of storytelling at this point in his long career, but it’s a fun enough song that wouldn’t prompt me to switch the radio off. 6/10
Other singles/projects released today include:
- “Destiny” – Tanner Usrey
- “Lovin’ Not Leavin'” – Wade Bowen
- “Stomp” – Ben Gallaher
- “Chevrolet” – Dustin Lynch & Jelly Roll
- “Bigger Houses” (album) – Dan + Shay
- “Bluegrass” (album) – Willie Nelson
- “Kiss Like You Dance” – Charlie Worsham & Kip Moore
- “Country Chapel” – Travis Tritt
- “Stirring Memories” – Clayton Mullen
- “Ram” – Wheeler Walker Jr.