A return from HAIM, twangy crossover efforts from Chappell Roan and Calvin Harris, and bonus tracks from Sabrina Carpenter, Kelsea Ballerini, and Carly Pearce all offer their own highlights, but none as pivotal as Dolly Parton’s moving musical eulogy to her late husband.
Kelsea Ballerini- “Hindsight Is Happiness” (Black River)
This confessional bonus track from the new deluxe edition of Patterns finds Ballerini taking a clear-eyed account of the messy drama and pain of the divorce that inspired her 2023 breakthrough, Rolling Up the Welcome Mat. It paints the portrait of a formerly bitter and emotionally battered woman finally embracing the perspective, forgiveness, and peace that comes with moving on. The arcs of growth and maturation in both her personal and professional life continue to evolve in beautiful harmony.
Sabrina Carpenter- “Busy Woman” (Island)
More deluxe edition bonus track releases bring us more Sabrina bops to devour, and “Busy Woman” offers all of the humorous charm and playful catchiness to help it easily reside amongst all of the smashes off the album’s proper version. Carpenter’s cutesiness-meets-raunch schtick is nowhere near becoming stale, and this track only further confirms her status as the new queen of frothy pop ear-candy. You’ll easily begin telling this guy’s bitch-ass off along with her by the time the second chorus hits.
Eric Church- “Hands of Time” (EMI)
The country troubadour continues to experiment with his sound as he preps for the release of his eighth studio set, though in much more subtle fashion than on preceding single, “Darkest Hour”. “Hands” finds the Chief blending his classic country-meets-Heartland vibe with brassy blues and gospel vocals to craft a perfectly-timed spring anthem that uses the time-stamped emotions of one’s favorite records to cope with the passage of time. Another solid anthem added to his already sturdy arsenal.
Selena Gomez & Benny Blanco and Gracie Abrams- “Call Me When You Break Up” (Interscope)
Rising singer-songwriter Abrams joins the party for this lead single to the forthcoming Gomez-Blanco collaborative album, and the blending of her voice with that of veteran pop-tart Gomez delivers her most engaging performance on record to date. The effervescently nervy pace of this swirling pop nugget makes it instantly infectious and leaves you thirsty for additional spins.
HAIM- “Relationships” (Columbia)
A long-awaited return from the Haim sisters, easily the sharpest women in all of modern rock. This fetching lead single follows in the quirky, stylish footsteps of their previous work, perfectly illustrating the exhausting emotional bankruptcy that is left in the wake of a toxic romance. The narrator here knows that she needs to assess the problematic signs and pull the plug on her current union; she just literally doesn’t have the energy or mental wherewithal to deal with it right now. It’s the kind of musical storyline tailor-made for the band’s deeply sardonic signatures.
Calvin Harris- “Smoke the Pain Away” (Columbia)
The EDM-master returns to the vocal booth for the first time in seven years, and does so on the most irresistible and convincing melding of modern country and modern dance since Avicii’s “Wake Me Up” led a simmering movement of the same kind of style-clash a dozen years ago. Harris’ ashy voice perfectly embodies the spirit of the song, while the beat-backed harmonica riffs are utterly intoxicating.
Rebecca Lynn Howard- “Heart Still Does” (Pump House)
Of all the missed opportunities littered through Nashville’s shameless sea of discarded female prospects in the 21st century, Rebecca Lynn Howard easily ranks among the most head-scratching. Her pipes and pen were both certified Yearwood-worthy by the legend herself, and her early records displayed her ability to tackle everything from bluegrass to contemporary pop. The “still-does” mentality of this song suitably describes all of these talents two decades later. She goes full-on swamp-twang here and sounds splendid doing so. How refreshing to see that she and peers like Jamie O’Neal, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Cyndi Thomson and others have carried on decades after the Music Row system unfairly spit and chewed them out.
Jason Isbell- “Ride to Robert’s” (Southeastern)
A surefire highlight from Isbell’s new acoustic album, “Ride to Robert’s” immediately sets a vivid visual setting for any listener who has had the pleasure of visiting the legendary honky tonk haunt named in the song’s marquee. It should come as no surprise that Isbell matches that vibrancy with his legendary triple threat talents in the arenas of eye-popping lyrics, heart-churning vocals, and expert picking on his trusty 1940 Martin. It’s highly recommended that you snack on a Moon Pie while listening…
Elton John and Brandi Carlile- “Swing For the Fences” (Interscope)
Carlile sings the absolute fire out of this latest splashy preview from the pair’s impending duets record, and Elton’s backing vocals blend to create a commanding vocal blend that exudes the kind of artistic passion that clearly has gone into crafting the overall record. Producer Andrew Watt’s charismatic piano-rock arrangements, combined with the track’s sweltering and frenetic pace, fires the entire performance out of a proverbial canon that will leave your speakers joyously smoking.
Jonas Brothers- “Love Me to Heaven” (Republic)
Deliciously breezy and fully stocked with the kind of hypnotic guitar ripples and underlying funk that defines their best work. Plain and simple: the JoBros remain one of the most skilled curators of modern-day bubblegum in the modern pop pantheon.
Lola Kirke- “Raised By Wolves” (One Riot)
With collaborations with the likes of Kaitlin Butts, First Aid Kit, and Rosanne Cash under her belt, it’s a mystery to me as to why Lola Kirke hasn’t been more acquainted with my playlists up to this point. That’s all corrected now after one listen to this jangly country-rock dynamo that boasts heavily discernible influence from Cash’s own best work, King’s Record Shop. That sort of acclaim pretty much guarantees Kirke a spot amongst our 2025 best singles. And with this track’s positively stacked armory of biting lyrics, chilling vocals, and crackling melodies and musicianship, that’s precisely what Kirke has delivered on “Wolves”.
Lil Nas X- “Hotbox” (Columbia)
It’s been a while since we’ve seen a star drop off the mainstream pop radar as quickly as Lil Nas X has with his recent run of singles. There’s plenty of potential reasons that this happens, but in Nas’ case his mainstream shelf-life was always going to be short given the unapologetically edgy aesthetic of his music. He seems unconcerned on “Hotbox”, as he not only doubles down on his racy imagery but also brings the detractors of his success to task. In reality, this is simply Lil Nas X delivering the kind of funky, pointed rap that he really always designated as his bread & butter. It won’t reclaim his Billboard stats, but it is the music that both he and his core following are clearly most satisfied creating and consuming respectively.
Lizzo- “Still Bad” (Atlantic)
For the second month in a row, Lizzo lays claim to the hottest bop in the Digest. “Still Bad” gloriously juxtaposes a dreamy pop beat against a punchy funk anthem of a chorus that adamantly punctuates both the star’s perseverance over recent controversies and her signature brand of self-empowerment. The vocals are pure fire, the music blood-pumping, and her lyrics as cleverly catchy as ever. Oh, and the subtle Michael Jackson shout-out offers its own fun touch. Regardless of how her chart success or celebrity profile fares in this new comeback, there’s no denying that her pop powers remain at their peak.
Maddie & Tae- “Drunk Girls In Bathrooms” (Mercury)
The charms of Maddie & Tae never cease. The same cheeky humor that captured audiences over a decade ago with “Girl In A Country Song” are on their A-game here. They paint an entire layered setting around poking fun at the humorous quirks of female camaraderie, while backdropping it against a floating country-disco soundscape that perfectly taps into the same campiness of the song itself.
Tim McGraw featuring Parker McCollum- “Paper Umbrellas” (Big Machine)
My 2000s country-beach song radar and all the dread that accompanies it was firing off on all cylinders when I first came across this track. Fear not though, McGraw and McCollum turn in a solidly pleasing outing here. This is owed to the fact that the song employs the kind of sunny but still traditional country sounds that guys like George Strait and Alan Jackson used when they first started pulling influences from Jimmy Buffett, before country radio turned into a poor man’s reggae dial for a good while in the mid-Oughts.
Mumford & Sons- “Malibu” (Glassnote)
Like much of their new album, the opening track and new single off Mumford & Sons’ Rushmere is steeped in the band’s most vintage vestiges. Hushed verses that predictably but comfortably crescendo to a heightened emotional and musical avalanche on the chorus. It’s nothing groundbreaking or surprising, but in the case of a band that spent the past decade journeying further from their fabled and beloved origins, the familiarity is incredibly rewarding. Marcus Mumford is also singing with the most clarity and nuanced textures of his career, after the exorcism of personal demons on his 2021 solo album. This is most clear on the passionate final chorus where the gratitude and devotion or which he’s expressing in this song is beautifully palpable.
Lukas Nelson- “Ain’t Done” (Sony)
The debut solo single for this second-generation talent, the first without his firecracker band, Promise of the Real, is a gorgeously twangy tour-de-force, a primal showcase for the soulfully emotive powers of Nelson’s ultra-twangy and ultra-underrated vocal range. Producer Shooter Jennings assembles the perfect musical surrounding to show that Lukas will flourish in this setting as much as he has within the confines of his blistering ensemble.
Willie Nelson & Rodney Crowell- “Oh, What a Beautiful World” (Legacy)
While son Lukas branches out on his own, his masterful father just keeps clipping along in preparation for his seventy-seventh (!) solo album, a collection of songs from his fellow Texas poet, Rodney Crowell. It’s a dream union to be sure, but I’m most delighted that Nelson is launching the project with one of Crowell’s more recent gems, and as a duet with Rodney no less. Crowell is one of his generation’s most prolific talents, but like so many legends, his catalog tends to be get grossly understated when it comes to cover selections. Nelson’s already recorded most, if not all of those standards anyway, so it’s rewardingly new and fresh to hear him cover this closing number from 2014’s Tarpaper Sky, one of Crowell’s very best latter-day LPs. Both the singers and the song itself sound wondrous in Nelson’s classic gut-string/harmonica setting, and Willie’s twilight years-appreciation for life’s general beauty is a lovely caveat to last year’s Last Leaf on the Tree.
Brad Paisley and Dawes- “Raining Inside” (EMI)
A solid and solemn collaboration that is precisely the kind of left-of-center efforts that Paisley should be pursuing as he aims to evolve his artistry into his budding legacy era. Paisley and Taylor Goldsmith blend together vocally better than I expected, and Paisley’s signature guitar licks feel like a natural addition to the usual Dawes ambience. Now put out that Sons of the Mountains LP already, and get over the fact that you’re not a mainstream darling anymore. Your music will be better for it!
Dolly Parton- “If You Hadn’t Been There” (Butterfly)
It should come as absolutely no surprise that a song written and released by Dolly Parton following this month’s death of Carl Dean, her husband of nearly sixty years is nothing short of heart-wrenching. It’s a sterling tribute to the private man behind the curtain of the career of one of history’s most adored public figures. Parton delivers it with her classic sense of passionate but tender grace, and the production is similarly and appropriately soft-spoken as well. This will low-key be one of the more pivotal moments in the storied annals of her legendary songbook.
Carly Pearce- “No Rain” (Big Machine)
You can’t have and appreciate the good without the bad; it’s a classic country music trope, and that of life in general, that’s as old as time. And as she’s proven countless times over the past few years, Carly Pearce is as proficient as any of her current peers in carrying forward the genre’s ability to perfectly encapsulate these life lessons, and she does so with the same taste and grace as those heroes that preceded her.
Rainbow Kitten Surprise- “Espionage” (Elektra)
True to their band name, you never quite now what you’re going to get with a Rainbow Kitten Surprise track. Most of the times, as is the case with “Espionage”, you typically get a bastion of a whole lot of things. This track consistently pivots between elements of alt-rock, synth-pop, chill, and tinges of classical jazz, all thoroughly wrapped in the kind of sonic package that you could only expect from RKS.
Randy Rogers Band- “Break Itself” (Tommy Jackson)
Rogers and his boys remain one of the most consistent and criminally overlooked country groups on the planet, having been consistent palate cleansers through every country band era of the past two decades, from Rascal Flatts through Florida Georgia Line, right on through to Old Dominion. Rogers’ voice is sounding significantly more weathered these days, as evidenced on the verses here specifically. But this is a country tearjerker, so it truthfully only adds to the potency. And his acclaimed twang still hits its unique sweet spot once both the fiddles and the song’s tension take flight.
Rascal Flatts & Kelly Clarkson- “I’m Movin’ On” (Big Machine)
Speaking of the Flatts boys, the crown-princes of 2000s country-pop have reunited in advance of a duets record of their biggest songs. Like their overall career, that project is sure to be a mixed bag boasting collabs with everyone from Jason Aldean to Backstreet Boys. Smartly so, they’ve reserved the undeniable jewel of their catalog for an ever-worthy vocalist like Clarkson. And therein lies the risk of bestowing your best song upon a generational talent like Clarkson: by the end of the track you’ve surrendered all ownership of the classic over to her. She dazzles here as expected…oh, and Gary LeVox is there too.
Chappell Roan- “The Giver” (Island)
This one gives mighty generously, and what it’s dishing out is 90s country girl-power in the glorious vein of vintage records from Shania Twain or The Chicks. It’s three minutes of hooky, boot-stomping cross-over bliss, loaded with more fiddling that you’ll ever find on today’s average Nashville record. But these evil pop interlopers are the real invaders in the country scene, right? Sure, this is just the latest in Roan’s overall pop-drag package, but dammit if she doesn’t wear it plum perfectly.
Remi Wolf- “Soup” (Island)
Sharp, spitting, and delightfully danceable bedroom pop that packs the biting wallop that bigger-named contemporaries like Billie Eilish admittedly leave you a little cold on from time to time. Remi delivers this with an intoxicating, perfectly cascaded sense of unhinged recklessness that still manages to never throw the record out of balance. This is an artist to watch.
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