A classic Reba McEntire ballad, a Guy Clark cover from his acolyte Steve Earle and a Spanglish love song from the Last Bandoleros make up our list of the best country songs to hear this week.
The Last Bandoleros, Enamorado
A bilingual love song, Enamorado mixes the ramped-up romance of Latin pop ballads with the hooks and harmonies of Southwestern roots music. YouTube singing star Alexander Stewart co-wrote the track and released his own version last summer, but Enamorado sounds like a Last Bandoleros original, with all four bandmates contributing to the songs layered vocals.
Chris Janson, Good Vibes
If you aint got anything good to say, then shut your mouth, commands Chris Janson, whos preaches the gospel of positive thinking with this summery pop/rocker. Co-written alongside Ashley Gorley and Zach Crowell, Good Vibes delivers exactly what its title suggests: a blast of upbeat, major-key euphoria, shot through with guitar riffs and a beach-worthy bounce. The single helps kickstart Jansons promo cycle for a new album, which is slated to arrive in September.
Reba McEntire, Stronger Than the Truth
On Reba McEntires agenda for the year: a Las Vegas residency with Brooks & Dunn, a high-profile hosting gig at the ACM Awards and, most importantly, her first album since 2017s gospel-flavored Sing It Now. Stronger Than the Truth, the records title track, is a power ballad about infidelity, with Reba looking to dull the sting of her lovers wandering ways with plenty of whiskey. Unfortunately, not even firewater can wash away the truth.
Molly Tuttle, Million Miles
Back in October 2018, Jason Isbell tapped Molly Tuttle as an opening act during his annual residency at the Ryman Auditorium. She returns the favor with this new single, which makes gorgeous use of Isbells vocal harmonies, Sierra Hulls mandolin playing and Tuttles award-winning flatpicking. Also getting a piece of the action are songwriters Steve Poltz and Jewel, who began co-writing Million Miles two decades earlier. The song remained unfinished until Poltz gave it off to Tuttle a move that feels like a passing of the folk-music torch.
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Steve Earle & the Dukes, Dublin Blues
Steve Earles upcoming albumGuyfinds the songwriter setting aside his own material and, instead, paying tribute to longtime influence Guy Clark. Dublin Blues marks the records kickoff track, with Earle and company reworking the stripped-down title track from Clarks 1995 record into an amplified Americana anthem.
Shovels & Rope, The Wire
Itll be a busy April for Shovels & Rope, whose new albumBy Bloodarrives one day before the start of the bands yearly High Water Festival. While 2019 marks the third installment of High Water, The Wire the duos first release from By Blood hints at changes on the horizon. After all, the song owes as much to indie-pop as the bands Americana roots, with a percussive pulse gluing everything together.
Randy Rogers Band, Crazy People
Raised by devout parents in small-town Texas, Randy Rogers Band kicks off Crazy People by recalling his familys strict moral code. . .then finds a shoebox of old photographs that prove his parents once knew how to party. Its a tried-and-true country storyline, and Crazy People delivers the expected highlights, from the tongue-twisting lyrics in the chorus to the heartland hooks that run throughout.
Marcus King Band, Goodbye Carolina
Produced by Dave Cobb and championed by Chris Stapleton, Goodbye Carolina burns slowly, building its way toward a fiery blaze of slide-guitar pyrotechnics and Deep-South soul over six minutes. What begins as a ballad officially turns into a barn-burner during the final moments, with Kings guitar leading the charge.
Lula Wiles, Good Old American Values
A descendant of the Abenaki Native American tribe, Mali Obomsawin sings about the dark side of American traditions on this folky protest song. Bandmates Isa Burke and Eleanor Buckland back her up on fiddle and acoustic guitar, adding heft to a track that tackles the countrys longtime habit of subjugating indigenous peoples.
Caroline Spence, Sit Here and Love Me
A bare-bones ballad about the intersection between depressions gloom and compassions sunny uplift, Sit Here and Love Me finds an anxious Caroline Spence singing directing to her partner. Ive been this way as long as Ive been here, she says, nodding to her ongoing struggle with anxiety while an acoustic guitar rings in the background. The solution to her issue isnt medication; its the mere presence and support of her lover. I dont need you to solve any problem at all, she assures during the chorus, adding, I just need you to sit here and love me.