First Country is a compilation of the best new country songs, videos & albums that dropped this week.
Maren Morris, “Background Music”
The latest release from Maren Morris’ upcoming Humble Quest album, this lovely, dusky ballad finds Morris reckoning with human mortality and the timeless nature of music. Though the biggest reminder of a musician’s life might be “three minutes in a car, in a bar, that says we were here,” she takes comfort in how precious that is, saying, “Not everybody gets to leave a souvenir.” This top-shelf, heart-filling track, which she wrote with Jimmy Robbins and Laura Veltz, highlights her best of her R&B/country blend.
Ronnie Dunn, “Broken Neon Hearts”
Keith Whitley’s “Miami, My Amy” gets a tip of the hat in this delightful ’90s honky-tonk throwback from Dunn. As newcomers in the genre increasingly incorporate elements of ’90s country sounds, one of the era’s original practitioners and most soulful vocal stylists offers a master class in the kind of rousing, rollicking country that earned Brooks & Dunn so many of their hits. The track is from Dunn’s upcoming project, which follows 2020’s Re-Dunn, a collection of country and rock covers.
Chris Janson, “Cold Beer Truth”
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Janson follows up his poignant recent release “Bye Mom” with this celebratory list of homespun virtues, with all the requisite references to hunting, fishing, NASCAR and college football. “All the best songs have a fiddle and steel/ You can still count on a handshake deal/ It ain’t what you say, it’s what you do,” he sings, lifting the track further with his appealing earnestness. Janson penned with Brad Clawson, Mitch Oglesby and Rob Pennington and the song is featured on his upcoming album All In.
Willie Nelson, “I’ll Love You Till the Day I Die”
At 88, this living legend is still one of the most prolific, indefatigable creative forces around. His latest song is from the upcoming album A Beautiful Time, which will be his fourth album release in a two-year span, landing on April 29, Nelson’s 89th birthday. He also released the book Letters to America last year. Bolstered by understated piano and harmonica, Nelson brings his warm, rustic voice to this Chris Stapleton and Rodney Crowell co-write about a chance meeting that spurred a lifelong emotional connection.
Thomas Rhett, “Us Someday”
Over the course of his past few albums, Thomas Rhett has earned considerable success with songs drawn from his own love story with his wife Lauren.
“Us Someday,” from his upcoming album Where We Started, continues with the winning formula, taking listeners to the beginning of the couple’s relationship. Here, led by an unexpected string section introduction, Rhett brings his pop-country hybrid to the story of a young dreamer in a new relationship. The lyrics sketch out his vision of a wedding, a home filled with children, family road trips and, eventually, a gray-haired married couple sitting in rocking chairs and reminiscing about a life well lived. Rhett wrote the song with his father and fellow hit songwriter Rhett Akins, as well as Jesse Frasure and Amy Wadge.
Noah Schnacky, Thoughtfully Reckless
Schnacky co-wrote all but one of his Thoughtfully Reckless album’s dozen songs, each of which fits squarely into the vein of pop-country all over country radio at the moment. The album includes his viral hit “Hello Beautiful,” and he gets an assist from Jimmie Allen on “Don’t You Wanna Know.” Vocally, Schnacky is at his best on swirling, uptempo tracks such as “Feels Like Love,” but overall there is little here to differentiate this newcomer from the glut of similar pop-country vocalists out there.
Jenny Tolman, “Afraid”
For this adventurer, fear is just another four-letter word. She can ride a bull and the dark and heights don’t faze her. But even this bold, determined woman pauses at the moment she realizes she’s at the precipice of another, more emotional, adventure and facing how deep her love runs for her significant other. With her previous release, There Goes The Neighborhood, Tolman became known for crafting songs packed with personality and vivid characters. Here, she proves her sterling voice and sense of craftsmanship are just as potent, with straightforward, sentimental songs.
Alyssa Bonagura, “Paper Airplane”
Bonagura is known for her work as part of the duo The Sisterhood Band, and her musical family lineage, but also for her own solo work and her writing for other artists, including Jessie James Decker and Jo Dee Messina. In her latest release, she regrets how a relationship ended, comparing the risk of a relationship with flying a fragile paper airplane. “Put our trust in the folded wings/ I thought the wind was gonna take it higher.” What starts out as a tender piano ballad gets a wash of atmospheric, wistful pop, offering a solid foil for Bonagura’s sensual, intimate vocal.