Benson Boone- “The Time of My Life” (Warner)
This dramatic break-up ballad, and the first taste of new music from the pop heartthrob since last year’s American Heart, places the spotlight firmly on the most theatrical aspects of Boone’s soaring vocal range. It trades in contagious hooks and splashy pop production for a raw and swelling depiction of depressing heartache. Consequently, it won’t be the tune that gets your adrenaline pumping this summer, but it nonetheless stands as additional proof that Benson is one of the most dynamic young vocalists to break through in recent memory.
Riley Green- “Think As You Drunk” (Nashville Harbor)
A genuine, flat-out fun launch to the fourth studio album-era for Nashville’s reigning hunk, “Think As You Drunk” is a no-frills yet crisply produced toe-tapper that recalls mainstream country’s high-quality sonic standards of the 1990s and early 2000s. It wears its Toby Keith-influences heavily, to the point of crediting Keith and long-time co-writer Scotty Emerick for sampling of Keith’s perennial-funny 2005 smash, “As Good As I Once Was”, which had me immediately dusting off my over-neglected Toby playlist. Green pulls all of this off with a harder-than-it-looks combination of charm, charisma, and sex appeal that is quickly becoming his signature.
Alan Jackson- “Still the One” (EMI)
This one-off release from the venerable country legend covers the 1976 Orleans soft-rock smash, and also coincides with Alan Jackson’s final concert that took place earlier this month. Jackson built his massive legacy on his seamless ability to touch our hearts with both tenderness and joy. This track emphasizes the latter quality, and the song naturally translates to Jackson’s infectious, Cajun-tinged brand of contemporary honky tonk, and he sounds positively jubilant singing it. (Side-note: TIL that Bill Anderson also provided his own country-take of the song back in 1977.) Jackson may be understandably calling it a day on the road, but this track demonstrates that he’s still got plenty of vigor left in the studio.
Carly Rae Jepsen- “On Wires” (Interscope)
The lead single from the Canadian pop-princess’ forthcoming double album finds Carly Rae Jepsen exploring one of the most overt stylistic pivots of her career thus far. Bright piano strokes collide into oblique and distorted bursts of psychedelia, while Jepsen’s vocals glide back and forth between coy flirtation and dreamy yet demanding determination. It all combines for a curious and captivating listening experience, and announces Jepsen is unafraid to expand her creative path beyond the bevy of certifiable bops that she has blessed us with for the past dozen years.
Parker McCollum featuring Lee Ann Womack- “Killin’ Me” (MCA)
McCollum already had a solid song on his hands with “Killin’ Me”, but like anything she touches, it unsurprisingly reaches new heights when transformed into a duet with the fabulous Lee Ann Womack. It was already a thrill simply hearing her luminous harmonies lingering in the background, but when she takes the lead on the second verse, we’ve reached a whole new level of musical euphoria. My God, do we need her back in the studio ASAP. Meanwhile, this track captures as well as any McCollum’s solid middle-ground between mainstream polish and Red Dirt/Americana grit. A killer track, indeed.
The Menzingers- “Nobody’s Heroes” (Epitaph)
I made a shamefully belated discovery of this track, the lead single from the veteran punk band’s forthcoming eighth album, while making an overdue catch-up on the recent rock scene via Apple Music’s Today’s Rock playlist. I’ve been playing it on repeat ever since, and it may become one of my personal dark-horse hits of this summer. “Nobody’s Heroes” considerably sands away The Mezingers’ punk edges, but without sacrificing any of their authenticity or grit. Greg Barnett’s vocals are just so warmly evocative and bittersweet here, especially against the Heartland-tinged backdrop of anthemic guitar chords and nostalgic keys. A stirring rock anthem to cling to, in a music world that is far too stingy in providing them on the regular.
PinkPantheress featuring Zara Larsson- “Stateside + Zara Larsson” (Warner)
I’ve managed to go almost the length of a pregnancy without reviewing this viral smash, and that’s certainly not because I’m immune to falling for a fizzy electro-pop moment like “Stateside”. We all know by now that I’ve got a considerable pop sweet-tooth and have made no effort to hide it. Nonetheless, something’s just not clicking for me with this track. I’m just not hooked by anything yet, whether it be the vocal, the beat, or the lyrical hooks themselves. And the checking of all three boxes is certainly not required; there are plenty of pop confections that I adore that only contain one or two of those elements. “Stateside” just hasn’t cleared that bar for me….yet. That doesn’t mean it won’t eventually do so if given another nine months or more. It wouldn’t be my first late party arrival, nor will it be my last if it does come to fruition.
Olivia Rodrigo- “Stupid Song” (Geffen)
“Stupid Song” is anything but. It’s another perfect exhibit of Olivia Rodrigo’s definitive signatures when it comes to her brand of pop-rock, and how she continues to impressively blossom and mature in terms of its song-craft and studio execution. It’s anchored by her beautifully dichotomous blend of confessional coffee-house songwriting and angsty, punky rock. The lyrics expertly depict the messy and mentally rattling range of emotions that accompany the highs and lows of young (and not-so-young) love. Meanwhile, the pace of the vocals and production are unnervingly but ever-infectiously emblematic of this emotional ride, as if to mirror a high-speed train about to dangerously veer off the tracks into absolute destruction. And even more impressive is the fact that “Stupid Song” just begins to scratch the surface of the new artistic peaks she reaches on moments like the “The Cure” and others on You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love.
Taylor Swift- “I Knew It, I Knew You” (Disney)
In hindsight, it’s sort of amazing that it took until 2026 for Taylor Swift and Disney to team up for a juggernaut collaboration, and a soundtrack smash that would rule the summer charts. Culled from the Toy Story 5 soundtrack, that’s precisely what “I Knew It, Knew You” has more than accomplished, and it unsurprisingly proves to be a perfect match, with the record and song itself striking a perfect sweet-spot of bittersweet nostalgia and innocence. Stylistically, it also has many proclaiming the track as Swift’s long-awaited return to proper country music. It’s certainly her most organic, rootsy moment since the pandemic-era, folk twofer of Folklore and Evermore. And, while this track owes just as much to folk-pop and soft-rock as it does straight-forward country, so did the majority of Swift’s country smashes. (It’s important to remember that the banjo-centric “Mean” was mostly a one-off.) But yes, regardless of genre-labeling, “I Knew It, I Knew You” is very much a joyful, full-circle return to Swift’s origins of guitar-based, coming-of-age storytelling, and an affirmation of how great she sounds in this realm in the modern day. Whether it sets the stage for a proper return to country, or at minimum an anticipated Taylor’s Version of her debut for its upcoming 20th anniversary, remains to be seen.
Shania Twain featuring Tanya Tucker- “Little Miss Twain” (Republic)
The title track and second single from Shania Twain’s upcoming seventh album is where the country legend really previews the beautiful intimacy, autobiographical nature, and return to the singer’s country and folk songwriting roots that await listeners on this new passion project. “Little Miss Twain” refers to the stage-name bestowed upon the singer at a young age, and vividly revisits her deceased mother’s determination to parlay Twain’s prodigious talents into a recording career along the lines of then-teenaged sensation, Tanya Tucker. Naturally, this story setting results in some of the most personal and evocative singing and songwriting of her career. The imagery used throughout, particularly of Twain’s mother transporting her to perform at smoky dive bars in frigid Ontario, is among the most vivid we’ve ever heard from Shania’s pen. Sonically, the track is steeped in gorgeously gritty country trappings, which likewise bring out a richly rewarding quality in the legend’s present-day voice. However, what really transcends this vocal performance to one of her career best is undeniably the gripping personal nature of what she’s singing about. The song’s bridge–where Shania finally makes it to Nashville and signs her record deal, fulfilling her mother’s steadfast prophecy–is layered with both the triumphant glory of that monumental achievement, as well as the stark devastation that her mother didn’t live to witness it. But then cue up this song’s beautifully comforting and poetic bonus: that Tucker herself provides the vocal support throughout. “Little Miss Twain” is both stirring, classic country storytelling, and a poignant tribute to not only her musical journey, but to the lost mother whose pride, love, and foresight set Shania Twain on that path in the first place.
Soft Cell- “Danceteria” (Republic of Music)
This intoxicating title track, and the forthcoming album that it supports, serve as a tribute to the famed New York City nightclub (which, interestingly, is also immortalized on Madonna’s upcoming album), as well as one of the final tracks from the synth-pop Brits. The record was completed shortly before Dave Ball’s death last October, now leaving Marc Almond to unveil this new body of work as a final triumph and tribute to both Ball and the duo’s legacy. Both the energy and the lyrics paint a vivid picture of what a night at Danceteria looked like during its early 80s heyday. The connective tissue of it all indeed proves to be Almond’s ever-alluring vocals, which will not only evoke memories for those that personally populated that dance scene, but also the rest of us who have been blaring “Tainted Love” from our speakers over the course of the last four-and-a-half decades.
Weezer- “Shine Again” (Reprise)
The rock veterans launch both a new album era (The Gold Album, this go-around) and a new record deal (with Reprise) with the rousing “Shine Again”, which serves as the band’s first single to be entirely composed by drummer, Patrick Wilson. It’s beyond cliched to coin a new label tenure as a rebirth for a band, but there’s an undeniable presence of this theme throughout both the lyrics and the delivery of “Shine Again”. Weezer’s last several album cycles have actually been incredibly fertile, but there is nonetheless a renewed spirit at the core of this record. Their confident defiance and quirkiness was never abandoned, but it’s peppered here with a new sense of focus and determination, and certainly feels as tethered to their peak-period run as anything they’ve released in over a decade.
Jesse Welles- “Won’t You Come Out Tonight” (Welles)
Despite a dozen years as a recording artist under one monicker or another, and quietly becoming one of the most prolific in any sphere of music, Jesse Welles is still likely one of the most pivotal musical forces that you’ve yet to hear about. He’s both a folk and a rock troubadour in some of the most classic iterations of those terms, and this new single from the new Masks albums proves to be one of the most accessible distillations of those qualities that he’s released to date. The rugged immediacy of his vocal delivery is underscored by both contagious guitar riffs and harmonica, crafting a riveting combination that recalls at least 3/5 of The Traveling Wilburys’ best solo moments. You’d be well-served to make this a fetching introduction to an even deeper and socially outspoken catalog that is ripe for widespread discovery and acclaim. His musical musings won’t be for every side of the aisle, but it’s also refreshing to find a track like this that can branch out from that polarizing realm as well.
Wynonna- “Kentucky Queen” (ANTI)
What a sensational roots-revisitation this is for Wynonna as she previews her first studio album in a decade, and pivotally, the first since the loss of her mother and Hall of Fame-collaborator, Naomi Judd to suicide in 2022. That sad tragedy will certainly inform much of what awaits on The Hard Truth, but for now, “Kentucky Queen” is a riveting celebration of Wy’s origins. This track has the same vibe and feeling elicited by hearing one of The Judds’ records for the first time. Like those classics, “Queen” is rooted in a rich melting pot of country twang, bluegrass trappings, and swampy Delta blues, with Wynonna’s gutsy soul serving as the wondrous through-line. I smell a classic legacy album on its way from this powerful, legendary voice.
Yellowcard featuring Good Charlotte- “Bedroom Posters” (Better Noise)
A recent resurgence on the Alternative charts for both of these seminal bands, “Bedroom Posters” was also produced by Blink-182’s Travis Barker. Given all of the parties involved, it’s no wonder that this has become a dark-horse summer anthem, and an overall reminder of how potent pop-punk was, and still can be. It’s made all the more authentic and arresting given the song’s sentiments of bittersweet nostalgia, and the mourning of one’s long-gone glory days. The vocals from Ryan Keys and Joel Madden, along with Barker’s production choices, astutely capture that sense of despondence, while still shading it with all of pop-punk’s classic tones of driving energy and rebellion.
The 706 
Leave a comment