This week’s crop of new songs includes an array of offerings ranging from Dan + Shay’s emotional new ballad that addresses loss and mental health support, to Mackenzie Carpenter’s sunny new love song.
Meanwhile, Sam Barber’s new album features a contemplative, fiddle-driven track, while 49 Winchester gives a clear-eyed look at the formidable process of making enduring, life-shifting change. Paul Cauthen’s swaggering new song is an ode to steely-eyed ambition, while bluegrass group Lonesome River Band gives a 1920-era song a modern spin.
Check out all of these and more in Billboard‘s roundup of some of the best country, bluegrass and/or Americana songs of the week below.
Dan + Shay, “Say So”
Dan + Shay’s latest release is filled with the dynamic, sleek polish and soaring vocals that have become the duo’s hallmark, but they trade the duo’s typical romantic fare for a song that’s no less about devotion, though this time, it’s a raw, heartfelt song pleading for a friend struggling with mental health issues to reach out for help. “It’s crazy the pain we carry when nobody’s watching,” they sing, as the song ultimately becomes one of hope and reassurance on lines such as “Love ain’t afraid of sharing the burden.” Dan + Shay’s Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney wrote the song with Jimmy Robbins and David Hodges, with co-production from Smyers and Scott Hendricks. They’ve crafted a timely message well worth giving attention to.
Sam Barber, “The More I Hope”
Sam Barber just released his sophomore project Broken View, including this fiddle-laced, guitar-driven track. Barber’s muscular, weathered voice sings achingly of contemplating the trajectory a fledgling romance will take, envisioning a future together even as he berates himself for failing to share some of those feelings aloud. “Walked out with a lock on my mouth… I think it all but nothing comes out,” he sings. Barber is known for songs including “Straight and Narrow” and the Avery Anna collaboration “Indigo,” but on his new album, he continues building a musical body of work that explores the complexities of romance, the gravity of loss and the shifting perspectives that come with maturation.
49 Winchester, “Slowly”
49 Winchester previews its upcoming May 15 album Change of Plans (Lucille Records/MCA) with this new release, which finds lead singer Isaac Gibson lending his powerful, grainy vocal to a song about being deep into the early stages of a life-transforming personal shift. The song’s initial verse makes it clear that the song’s subject has made numerous previous attempts to curb an alcohol dependence, conceding, “I’m starting to lose track of all the ways/ That I’ve let the people I love down.” But instead of continuing with an onslaught of self-criticism, the song offers a clear-eyed acknowledgement that change doesn’t always come swiftly or easily. “I’m slowly growing up/ Slowly slowing down,” Gibson sings, while the song ultimately becomes a declaration of determination to prove that internal improvement is one that will last. This song’s candid expression and earnest delivery underscores its broad emotional appeal.
Paul Cauthen, “Texas Gravel Road”
From his new album Book of Paul, singer-songwriter Cauthen creates a tapestry of soul, rock, country and Gospel elements, fusing them into a compelling soundscape. Among them is this rocking tribute to the grit and determination that build dreams. Over a raw, rippling groove, Cauthen’s rumbling, commanding vocal pays homage to the years of work, creativity, intent and passion that are required of any kind of success. “Ain’t nothing come easy, baby/ And nothing comes cheap,” he sings, his full-bodied voice dripping with a bruised, lived-in honesty. As always, he approaches this project with unfiltered creativity, experimenting without hesitation at every turn.
Mackenzie Carpenter, “All In Already”
Listeners are already familiar with Carpenter’s songwriting skill, thanks to her co-writing on songs such as Megan Moroney’s “I’m Not Pretty” and “The Girls.” But Carpenter has also steadily been building her artistic resume, most recently with this breezy, summery track about rushing boldly toward a promising new romance. “You don’t sip a straight shot slow,” she sings with full-tilt enthusiasm, radiating optimism over this new love. Meanwhile, the song’s pop-leaning charms serve as an ideal foil for Carpenter’s laid-back, but charismatic vocal. The song has all the makings of a summertime anthem.
Lonesome River Band, “Pretty Little Widow”
Lonesome River Band gives a full-throttle, bluegrass jamband reinterpretation to a song that has roots in the 1920s, originally recorded by Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers, though Lonesome River Band’s rendition was inspired by a version by country musician David “Stringbean” Akeman, performed during a 1960s episode of The Porter Wagoner Show. The song builds at a frenetic speed with a mesh of banjo, mandolin, fiddle, upright bass and guitars, the song’s storyline propelled by the group’s consummate musicianship.
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