In this week’s new crop of musical contenders, Jelly Roll teams with Apple Music to give an older demo track new life. Meanwhile, Tyler Childers and Silas House team to release a stirring music video (and new song from Childers) that highlights unyielding love.
Jelly Roll, “Dragging These Roots”
Over his past rap and country projects, Jelly Roll has only grown more adept at crafting and vocally unfurling songs with dynamic melodies and dramatic rock fluency, as on his latest, “Need a Favor.”
Here, he takes a song written by Jesse Frasure, Josh Thompson and Ben Hayslip, about never being fully capable nor inclined to shuffle off one’s native outset, and fuels it with his growling, agile vocals. Jelly Roll teamed with Apple Music to record this previously unreleased track as part of Apple Music’s Lost & Found project.
Tyler Childers, “In Your Love”
This stirring song, written by Childers with Gino Seale, is accompanied by a gripping, tender and essential music video (with the video treatment written by journalist/novelist Silas House). The clip highlights the love story of two men, Jasper and Matthew, who escape work in the coal mines in 1950s Appalachia — and the violence and discrimination of their co-workers — to build their life together on a farm deep in the country.
The beautifully-shot video depicts the love, passion, joy and sorrows the couple experiences– from having dinner with friends to enjoying a concert– but also the discrimination and fear that threads through their time together. “In Your Love” offers a rich look at the complete arc of the couple’s relationship, and a romance that lingers long after Matthew passes away from black lung, due to his work in the coal mines.
The song is the first glimpse into Childers’ upcoming album Rustin’ in the Rain.
The Oak Ridge Boys and Alabama, “Jesus and John Wayne”
For the first time, these two Country Music Hall of Fame-inducted groups (the Oaks in 2015; Alabama in 2005) team up for a vocal collaboration that pays tribute to gospel songwriting duo, Bill and Gloria Gaither. The song, previously recorded by the Gaither Vocal Band, was written by Bill and Gloria as well as Benjamin Gaither and Kim Williams, and pays tribute to the influence of both a hard-driving, uncompromising father and a soft-hearted mother. Sonically, this fiddle-drenched track is reminiscent of Alabama’s 1980s country sounds, though the lyrics fail to rise above country/gospel tropes. However, the song reaches its zenith when the music momentarily quiets, leaving the two iconic vocal groups to blend their signature harmonies.
Parker Ryan, “First on My List”
This Texas native issued his debut project, Talbert Street, Pt. 1, in 2020, followed by Pt. 2, and a eponymous project. His recently released three-song project includes “First on My List,” an amalgam of airy folk, country and bluesy-rock tones. Here, over a swirl of hypnotic acoustic guitar, he sings of spending his days piling up miles, money and vacation time in pursuit of dreams. “Maybe part of me wishes you would fix up all my feelings/ Help me with my healing,” he contemplates, before doubling down on where his commitment lies. A chorus of voices joins as the song ascends to its close, as he reconfirms that the relationship remains his priority.
Carter Faith, ‘Cowboy Forever”
Singer-songwriter Faith previously issued her debut EP Let Love Be Love. On her latest, Spanish guitar flourishes, a cinematic Western vibe and Faith’s unique, sultry twang meld to convey this tale of a young woman who falls for a headstrong, restless cowboy. “I was dreaming of his cattle ranch/ His grandmother’s diamond on my left hand,” she muses, later calling herself a “lovesick fool.” Masterful use of Faith’s airy falsetto lends to the song’s freewheeling-yet-wounded mystique. Faith wrote this song with Lauren Hungate and Tofer Brown.
Mitchell Tenpenny, “Bigger Mistakes”
“At the End of a Bar” hitmaker Tenpenny adds to post-breakup misery in this pop-punk-tinged track, telling his ex-lover, “I’ve made bigger mistakes than you.” On the surface, it’s a searing insult, but embedded in the lyrics is his realization that a breakup isn’t the end of the world. He reserves those weightier, more haunting self-recriminations for failing to have a drink with his good friend (and fellow country singer), the late Joe Diffie, before Diffie’s passing in 2020, or failing to put a ring on the finger of a different ex, whom he calls “the one who got away,” years ago. Tenpenny’s gravelly voice is all remorse and swagger here, to great effect.
Cooper Alan, “Never Not Remember You”
Alan has become a TikTok sensation thanks to songs including “New Normal” and “Colt 45 (Country Remix).” His latest, a ballad about remembering the sweeter moments after a loved one’s passing, is somewhat of a throwback — no hip-hop leanings, no angst-fueled rock shadings — just a straightforward song that swells with piano and strings, and one that highlights Alan as an elegant-voiced crooner with a hint of twang. Alan also further proves his growth as a songwriter as a co-writer on the track, alongside hitmaking writers Victoria Shaw (“The River”) and Seth Mosley (“Fix My Eyes,” “Joy”).
Drake Milligan and the Reklaws, “Honky Tonkin’ About”
Texas native Milligan teams with duo The Reklaws for this hard-charging, rousing track. The song centers on a guy questioning a potential lover’s country bona fides (“Was there dust on your driveway … did your daddy drive a tractor?”), before deciding that no matter her origin story, he’s ready to see where the evening takes them. Milligan’s hearty voice is as commanding as ever, even on this more lighthearted outing. The song comes courtesy of writers Blake Redferrin, Thomas Salter, Callum Maudsley and The Reklaws’ Stuart Walker.
