Ryan Bingham featuring The Texas Gentlemen- “The Lucky Ones” (Thirty Tigers)
It’s been seven long years since we last heard new material from this Americana cult-hero, but it only takes one raspy, slightly boozy, and gravelly soulful word to remember just how singularly enthralling of a vocalist Ryan Bingham is in the contemporary music landscape. He still attacks his vocal deliveries with the same, acerbic, Dylan-esque phrasing and guttural and unpolished emotion. And while this track is definitely a slow builder, it really takes flight once his billed backing band grab center-stage on the song’s sweeping instrumental bridge, featuring Daniel Creamer’s piano and Richard Bowden’s mandolin. A much overdue return from one of this century’s best troubadours.
Gnarls Barkley- “Pictures” (Atlantic)
The recently released Atlanta marks Cee Lo Green and Danger Mouse’s first united effort in nearly two decades, and also the final chapter in the annals of Gnarls Barkley. This centerpiece single finds Mouse’s signature sonic stylings crafting a vivid backdrop of the evocative and slightly trippy neo-soul trappings that colored the duo’s first two projects, while bringing the nostalgic musings of the song to subtly gorgeous life. Green’s voice meanwhile shows a bit of its age, lacking some of the full-throated power it did in the late 2000s, but retaining its sweet resonance nonetheless.
Iron & Wine- “In Your Ocean” (Sub Pop)
Like much of Iron & Wine’s catalog, the folky and romantic whimsy of “In Your Ocean” sounds like a vibrant, modern intersection between the New York-based folk of legends like Simon & Garfunkel and the Laurel Canyon heyday of musical poets like Neil Young, Jackson Browne, and James Taylor. As a listener, you’ll find yourself as equally enamored in the comforting hypnotism of the track as the narrator is with the object of his affection. A riveting and rejuvenating experience thanks to Sam Beam’s soothing voice, delivery, and instrumental prowess.
Nick Jonas- “Gut Punch” (Republic)
A striking conversation and confrontation between one and their own inner-demons, as the vastly underrated Nick Jonas rises above his own anxiety to face the painful revelation that he is his own emotional abuser. Obviously, popular music has always been a central outlet for deeper emotions throughout its existence, but it’s come a notably long way in terms of addressing topics of mental health, and our cultural’s anxiety epidemic, particularly from a male perspective. Jonas delivers the best such effort since Shawn Mendes’ 2018 smash, “In My Blood”. Impressively mature and vulnerable, “Gut Punch” is a much needed battle cry in these modern times, and will prove to be one of 2026’s dark-horse best moments in the pop realm.
Lizzo- “Don’t Make Me Love You” (Atlantic)
After abandoning last year’s planned pop comeback album (and the two excellent singles intended to launch it), Lizzo drastically pivoted back to her Hip-Hop roots with the mixtape, My Face Hurts From Smiling, leaving the fate of the other project mysteriously in limbo. This stunning mid-tempo resurrects hope for said album, with a Michael Jackson-leaning bass-line returning her to the dazzling pop/R&B/soul blend of “Still Bad”, while providing an even more prominent showcase for her lush range. Her moment on mainstream pop’s A-list has most likely passed at this point, but that’s no reason to leave the rest of this enticing batch of music in the vault. Let’s hear the rest of it!
Bruno Mars- “Risk It All” (Atlantic)
The superstar leaned heavily into his Latin roots on his recent return, The Romantic, with this opening track and newest single being the most richly prominent showcase of the lot. Among his many calling cards, Mars’ penchant for romantic balladry has easily been among his most beloved, and this is one of his most powerful in that realm. Musically, it’s pretty fantastic, from the strings and acoustic guitar licks to the bold mariachi moments, and it’s undeniably refreshing to see such a sonic endeavor bidding for mainstream attention. It’s Bruno’s voice however that remains the ultimate star of this record. Like “Grenade”, “When I Was Your Man”, and “Leave the Door Open” before it, “Risk It All” will prove to be one of the premier vocal performances of its release year, in any corner of music.
Jo Dee Messina- “Some Bridges” (Dreambound)
“Some Bridges” is precisely the sort of passionately plucky and defiant comeback anthem that you’d expect from Jo Dee Messina. Thematically, it’s squarely within the wheelhouse that became a signature during her peak while casting her alongside acts like Shania Twain and The Chicks at the forefront of country’s female empowerment wave during the turn of the millennium. Sonically, it’s also firmly planted in the Y2K country-pop sound that Messina helped solidify on records like Burn and Delicious Surprise. And frankly, it sounds fresh as hell and Jo Dee peppers every moment with an infectious joy and a passionate vocal power that hasn’t diminished one bit in two decades. She always deserved the chance at a deeper catalog, and one can’t help but smile seeing her make up for lost time.
Kacey Musgraves- “Dry Spell” (Lost Highway)
It would be horribly inaccurate to say that Kacey Musgraves has gone through anything resembling a dry spell creatively over the past decade. She’s consistently been one of contemporary music’s most vibrant forces. Notwithstanding, her time spent in the traditional country setting that launched her to stardom has been undeniably dry, and her signing with Lost Highway promised to provide the full-circle return that her core fans have been thirsting for. Such anticipation placed considerable pressure on this lead single from that first Lost record, but oh boy, does Kacey deliver in enticing fashion. We shouldn’t have ever expected her to simply retread the stylings of Same Trailer, Different Park or Pageant Material, and she doesn’t here. But “Dry Spell” more than amps up the twang factor, while sprinkling it with a tasty Mexican influence that gives her overall soundscape yet another fresh brushstroke. Most striking however is how hilariously randy this song proves to be. Written during a “reeeeeal looong three hundred and thirty five days” of both romantic and physical inactivity for the singer, this track brilliantly combines all of Musgraves’ signature John Prine-inspired wordplay and turns of phrase with the classically brazen horniness of Conway Twitty. And the results are insatiable. As with all of her best moments, this record is just as much about the wit with which Musgraves performs, as it is with what she writes. It all adds up to a delightfully, hilariously dirty package. It’s easily my favorite single of the year thus far, and I can’t wait to hear more when the full-length drops on May 1st.
Carly Pearce and Riley Green- “If I Don’t Leave, I’m Gonna Stay” (Big Machine)
A lovely, plaintive country duet between the genre’s current mainstream heartthrob and its most criminally under-appreciated leading lady. Pearce remains firmly settled in the splendidly grassy, neo-trad sound that is clearly her voice’s sweet spot, and Green plays the role as her pensive temptation wonderfully, while sounding damn great in this setting himself. It never really elevates to the next level emotionally or musically, but it’s really not supposed to. In fact, doing so would have offset the track’s beautifully tender spirit.
Raye- “Where Is My Husband!” (Human Re Sources)
A sensationally suave and infectious bop that gleefully balances slickly modern pop, vintage soul, and Hip Hop vocal frenzy. The rising British vocalist sounds gorgeously commanding whether she is belting out the silky smooth chorus or on the rapping, spoken-word speed of the bewildering verses. The brassy instrumentation supporting her gives the track a backdrop that feels simultaneously throw-back and newly fresh. It all adds up to one irresistible record that easily holds the repeat button hostage.
Shakey Graves- “Time Flies” (Dualtone)
The lead release from Shakey Graves‘ pending May album finds the scrappy Americana enigma delivering an obscure cover of a track by the underground NYC rock troop, Frankie Sunswept & Silver Moons. In a recent press release surrounding the new album, Graves detailed his intentions for it to be a throwback to a stripped-down Roy Orbison 50s pop relic. While we’ll have to wait a few months to find out if the entire record meets that grade, it’s safe to say that “Time Flies” unequivocally does. It features one of his most intimate and resonant vocals to date, supported mostly by soft-spoken guitar strums and hushed drum beats, before lush but subtle strings and a retro rock & roll guitar solo give it the same simple but powerful flourishes as the classics that helped birth the rock & roll movement in that golden period.
Harry Styles- “American Girls” (Columbia)
The next proper single from Harry Styles’ new full-length, “American Girls” is very much akin to preceding single “Aperture” and the majority of the record itself in that, while utterly infectious, it doesn’t wear its pop bop credentials obviously on its sleeve. Instead, there’s something more mysteriously seductive and intoxicating about it. From the alluring house piano introduction, to gently pulsating backbeats, and finally the superstar’s haunting vocal rasp, even on the energizing chorus. At the core of it all, you can discern a maturing, young narrator at a crossroads with the freedom of his past, and the yearning to settle down in his future. It’s an impressive reminder that disco/dance/electropop–hell, whatever you want to call it–has the ability to offer plenty of reflective substance in addition to its hypnotizing beats and hooks.
Taylor Swift- “Elizabeth Taylor” (Republic)
When Taylor Swift unveiled her most recent record, The Life of a Showgirl last fall, she smartly launched the track-list with a certifiable hat-trick of instant smashes–“The Fate of Ophelia”, this track, and “Opalite”. And now with “Elizabeth Taylor’s” release as the record’s third proper single, that destiny is properly fulfilled. It features all of the same dazzling synth-pop sonics of its counterparts, while the titular tribute to legendary Hollywood queen Elizabeth Taylor fits the showgirl sheen perfectly. Meanwhile, Swift’s connection to the way fame impacted Taylor’s personal life is especially relevant, and potentially prescient, as she finally settles into married life in the aftermath of the global dominance of the Eras era.
Joshua Ray Walker- “Capital Letters” (Thirty Tigers)
This indie-country darling’s voice has slowly but surely earned its deserved status as one of the most revered forces in all of modern music. Meanwhile, his valiant battle with cancer over the course of the last few years has only elevated the weighty gravitas of his unflinching music. “Capital Letters” finds Walker delivering one of the most bone-chilling deliveries of his career to date, amidst a collision course of gorgeous steel, haunting fiddle, and crashing rock guitars, all of which his robust and soaring twang sounds uniquely powerful and inspired singing against. A stop-in-your-tracks worthy record.
Lainey Wilson- “Can’t Sit Still” (Broken Bow)
“Can’t Sit Still” prominently features what is, in my humble opinion, the perfect sonic landscape for Lainey Wilson’s firecracker twang and uninhibited charisma. Grounded in mostly acoustic guitar riffs and handclaps, its the kind of dusty, muddy, swampy confection that feels like the best 2026 version possible of both country AND western. Meanwhile, her impressively frenzied vocal feels enticingly grounded in the whiplashing pace of her rise to superstardom these past few years. As her hit resume has expanded, she and producer Jay Joyce have shown a tendency at times to rely excessively on excessive caricatures of both country music, and Wilson as a performer. This track however is the perfect balance of it all, and a stellar example of how great Wilson truly is when all of her A-game qualities align.
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