The title of Dustin Lynch's new single 'She Cranks My Tractor' will make the country boys snicker, but in case someone doesn't quite get the joke, the song doubles back with line after line of gratuitous innuendo. It's a rowdy good time, one that ends just before the singer finds it necessary to spell out S-E-X.
The title track to Toby Keith's 'Hope on the Rocks' album shows the singer's genuine understanding of the nuanced relationships between bartenders and their regulars. But it's not just barkeeps that will relate to the ballad. Servers, liquor store clerks, the dry cleaner, radio DJs... anyone who provides a service and a set of open ears will appreciate his story.
Sarah Darling's new single, 'Home to Me,' is a sweet southern love song that just might break an artist who's been working for a break since releasing 'Jack of Hearts' in 2009. The lyric has a girl-next-door feel, which is a good fit for the 30-year-old Darling.
With her second single, 'Whiskey,' Jana Kramer proves the vulnerability she showed on 'Why Ya Wanna' was no fluke. It's tough to turn away from her hurt, which on this song is aided by a tight lyric and sensible mix of pop and traditional country styling.
The new year will bring new music for fans of Texas country singer Granger Smith. The first single available for download is 'We Do It in a Field,' a wide-open country party song that paints a pretty familar picture to anyone who grew up unafraid of getting dirt on their jeans when having a good time.
Credit Charlie Daniels for not letting his personal politics overwhelm his new song about joining together to make America great again. On the surface, 'Take Back the USA' sounds like a rally cry for those who believe a change is needed in the White House -- and given the timing and the singer's opinion of the current administration, that's likely what he's hoping it becomes. But Daniels never places the blame squarely on Republicans or Democrats in this tune.
Toby Keith's new album 'Hope on the Rocks' is a loud and sudsy collection of songs about beer, barrooms, heartbreak... and beer. Much like a Saturday night out at your favorite watering hole, it's rowdy and fun, but difficult to remember the next morning.
Jason Aldean's new single 'The Only Way I Know' weaves from the same spool as his biggest hits. Themes of hard work, loyalty and small town values have been at the core of hits like 'Fly Over States,' 'Tattoos on This Town,' and most recently, 'Take a Little Ride,' even if you need to look beyond the cutie in the passenger seat to find them. On the new single from 'Night Train,' Aldean's message is more direct. but no less effective.
How do you convince a skeptical country audience that you're country? You get Vince Gill to sing and play guitar on your first true country single. That's what Kelly Clarkson did with 'Don't Rush,' a song she'll perform at the CMA Awards on Nov. 1. The pairing is magic.
October 31, 2012 How do you follow up a debut CD that exceeds all expectations, puts four songs in heavy rotation on Texas radio, and yields a #1 single on the Texas Music Charts. If you're Huntsville, Texas native Cody Johnson, the answer is simple: You make a better album that is produced better, written better, sung better and sends notice to the country music world that you are for real. That's exactly what we get with Cody's sophomore album, 'A Different Day'.
Carrie Underwood used Twitter to announce that her new single would be 'Two Black Cadillacs,' the darkest song on a delightfully stormy new album called 'Blown Away.' The lyric pushes the normally plucky country superstar to the edge of evil. It's as far as she can go without falling off the cliff of believability.
New label, same sound for Tim McGraw. His new single 'One of Those Nights' falls in line with the soaring ballads from the singer's last half-decade. The song's production value battles the simplicity of the storyline during this just-released-to-radio cut from the upcoming 'Two Lanes of Freedom' album.
