Whether you’re leaving Nashville, New York, LA, or somewhere in between, there’s no shortage of new songs, especially from artists who have yet to become household names. Rolling Stone Country select some of the best new music releases from country and american artists.
Elizabeth Cook, “Bones”
The Americana Badass puts her Mad Max in the apocalyptic video for “Bones”, a smoke show of a song from her upcoming album Aftermath. “I carry your bones around my neck / I am the keeper of the flame,” he groans, not so much threatening you as telling you what it will be like. It’s a dominant rock & roll performance, tailor-made for dark bars and even darker souls.
Town Mountain, “You can’t win them all”
The bluegrassers from Asheville, North Carolina, approach the bar looking for a honky-tonk to break the beer. A Hank Williams complement to “You Win Again”, “You Can’t Win Em Em All” is sad and dizzy, but there’s also something oddly reassuring: the message that no one lives a life without one or two losses. Written by the group’s Phil Barker, he calls it the “last song on the jukebox.” Fall into another room.
The Suffers, “Take me to the good times”
Houston, Texas-based group The Suffers steps up funk on “Take Me to the Good Times,” an animated ode to the joys of life on tour while pausing indefinitely for most musicians. Backed by a syncopated drum beat and poignant piano touches, leader Kam Franklin sings all the places he’s currently missing. “Spring in London / Autumn in Tokyo / I fall more in love every time I go,” he sings, as a brass chorus blows like a summer breeze.
Emily Barker, “The Woman Who Planted Trees”
British singer Emily Barker will release her new album A dark murmur of words on September 4 and in “The Woman Who Planted Trees”, she finds a connection to the past through nature. “I can tell my age by the height of the trees / By the years they’ve been growing on me,” she sings, her clear voice accompanied by a circular finger-style guitar pattern and an arrangement that swells and spins hauntingly.
Michael Logen and Jennifer Hanson, “The Tides Will Turn”
American singer-songwriter Michael Logen joins country singer-songwriter Jennifer Hanson (Wreckers’ “Leave the Pieces”) for five songs on the newly released EP Here’s to hope. In the meditative and dreamy “The Tides Will Change,” the two harmonize beautifully and imagine a point in time when problems will begin to lessen. Listening to anyone who is anxious about everything right now is recommended.