Hunter Hayes has often been criticized for his immature material (which, when you think about it, is pretty ridiculous considering he's only 22) and it seems people have been clamoring to see him record something a bit deeper. His new single "Invisible" tackles something more serious, but the execution falls a tad flat.

Melodically there's not a whole lot here. It's dull, it's boring, and does nothing to excite me. Production, same thing. This is simply a record that doesn't catch my attention.

While I have to give him credit for trying to dig deeper than his peers, it lyrically comes across as forced, and Hayes' delivery does nothing to elevate it, putting in a performance that is technically among his worst to date. While I think Hayes' sounds pretty bad here, he does convey a fair bit of emotion into the lyric.  


Props for the effort, but as for the results, ehhhhh....



Grade: B-

Listen: "Invisible"

 

I want Cassadee Pope to succeed. I really do. Country music could use more female hit makers. I actually quite like her voice, and her debut album wasn't half bad. 

That said, her debut effort was definitely leaning more towards pop than "country". Which is understandable since she was the lead vocalist of a pop-rock group 
pre-The Voice win. Her latest single, "I Wish I Could Break Your Heart", is a fairly accurate representation of her music early in her career.

The verses are actually very good. Pope sounds great and the emotion is evident. But when the chorus comes around, it hits you right over the head with loudness, to the point where she has to scream to be heard. It's the exact same issue I had with her debut top 10 hit "Wasting All These Tears". The cluttered chorus.

It's still a decent effort, and should bring her back to the top 10. She has potential to do great things. Let's just make sure we can hear that potential next time.


Grade: B-

Listen: "I Wish I Could Break Your Heart"

Much like the Kenny Chesney modern classic "Don't Blink", Austin Webb's sophomore single is a gentle reminder to not take even the smallest things in life for granted, because one day you might be wishing you could have it all back. Is it as good as Chesney's take? No, but that would have been a mighty feat. That said, Webb's is still pretty darn fantastic.

The story is told from the perspective of an old man that the narrator converses with looking back at his life and recalling the regrets of his past, leaving the narrator thinking over his own life. This story line leads into a bridge where the narrator calls up his wife and tells her how much he loves/needs her, then finishes off with a fantastic final chorus where Webb preaches to the listener "god only gives us so much precious time, don't let it slip on by".

Webb's performance is both passionate and urgent, giving it a seemingly personal connection, and he's a strong enough vocalist technically to keep such a strong lyric afloat.

All this backed by an gorgeous melody and production. Major props to the producers for not letting this reach full blown power ballad territory, as this would have been the perfect time for overproduction to strike.

Austin Webb and co. have truly crafted a stunning single. Too bad I found it after I submitted my Best of 2013 list.

Grade: A

Listen: "Slip On By"

There's no escaping the inevitable. "Play It Again", Luke Bryan's next single from his 2013 release Crash My Party, was a virtual lock for a single choice based on the fan reaction and stellar (by album track standards) digital sales. But still, I can't help but feel a little disappointed by it, especially coming on the heels of the outstanding "Drink A Beer".

"Play It Again" is your typical radio hit. Tanlines, tailgates and trucks all make their appearance before the first chorus even kicks in. The chorus isn't much better. What could have been a decent earworm of a chorus is bogged down by wall-of-sound production and a grating repeated title hook.

And while past the first verse Bryan lays of the bro cliches, it's not much better. The characters are faceless, giving the listener no insight into what is so special about this girl he meets at the bar, and the general lack of vivid details is really what derails this song from escalating. And as always it's a hip-hop beat that drives the production

But what is most disappointing about this song, is the absence of the almost always present charm and energy of Bryan. That charm and energy has elevated lyrical duds such as "Country Girl (Shake It For Me)" to an enjoyable level. Luke just sounds awkward and out of place singing this, which is a darn shame.

If there's one redeeming quality, it's that the melody is quite nice and somewhat catchy. But even with that, "Play It Again" just does nothing to separate itself from the pack. It doesn't reach the disastrous lows of "That's My Kind Of Night" but still feels nothing more than lukewarm.


Grade: C+

Listen: "Play It Again"

Kelleigh Bannen's debut single "Sorry On The Rocks" was actually pretty good, but made no impact on the charts. I should have seen it coming, but her new single "Famous" is a disappointment to say the least.

"Famous" comes across as a desperate attempt to replicate the success of pop-country offerings from genre megastars Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood. 

And while the two aforementioned artists do tend to lean to the pop side of the pop-country fence, they're (usually) well produced and maintain the occasional country element. "Famous" is pure pop. Not even remotely close to country music. It's overproduced and distorted vocals that would make "Drink To That All Night" proud.

Throw in a grating melody and a whiny performance that recalls some of Swift's worst work and you have a dud of a single.


Grade: D

Listen: "Famous"

I really don't want to like this. I am completely against most of this intelligence insulting trend that has dominated the genre over the past year and a half.

Yet I actually enjoy this to an extent.

Yes, the hook is pretty bad. Yes, it mentions cutoff jeans and hot women. But it's a single I can enjoy listening to.

The overall vibe and structure is similar to that of his breakout #1 smash "It Goes Like This", but the production and melody is far superior, and is just so damn good. 

Rhett is charming with his performance and sounds decent, and like Bobby Peacock of Roughstock said in his review, it's "more credible when coming from the mouth of a 23-year-old than, say, 37-year-old Luke Bryan".


Sue me.


Grade: B

Listen: "Get Me Some Of That"

Oh Tim.

You have the talent, and a discography to back up the fact that you can indeed make great music. And when I say great I mean GREAT.

But the fact that 3 of 5 singles you've released from Big Machine have been duds disturbs me to no end.

But the fact that your latest is the worst is even more disturbing. This ranks below "Truck Yeah" in terms of quality. At least that had.... OK, there weren't actually any redeeming qualities to that monstrosity, but it's better than this.

The fact that this is a straight up pop song (and a bad one at that) is the least of it's problems.

The lyrics are among the most offensive we've seen from any song over the past year or so. I'd go give you examples but I think I'd get nightmares. 

Then there's the auto-tune. Why do people use that crap? If you can't sing, why exactly are you in this industry? 

I kinda wish it was overproduced to death Dan Huff style so I didn't have to hear it.


Grade: F

Listen: "Lookin' For That Girl"

Country arena-rock done right.

Eli Young Band's latest single showcases how to create an rock-anthem without being cluttered and obnoxious, while also proving that these types of songs don't have to come at the expense of lyrical quality.

EYB have crafted a song worthy of being on everyone's pump-up playlist. The story line is one that we've seen before (not that that's a bad thing), the narrator leaving everything behind and getting a fresh start. 

Between that and the masterful chorus and hook, Mike Eli's passionate and sincere performance, we have a real winner on our hands and perhaps the finest single to date for these guys.


Grade: A

Listen: "Dust"

If there's one term that could describe BG's latest, it would be: bro-country in disguise.

Reasoning? The melody and production job here is pretty solid, and unlike anything else he's ever released. And the video is pretty creative to.

But all this doesn't change the fact that this is typical bro-country, at least lyrically speaking. "Pretty little mama looking at ya like that"? "Drop a tailgate on your truck"? Really? This is borderline embarrassing. But like I said, there are some redeeming qualities here, to make it tolerable. 

This guy has proven he can make great music (none of it gets released though), so lets hope his upcoming album has more songs like "Savin' Amy" and less of this.

Grade: C

Listen: "Bottoms Up"

At first glance, Billy Currington's latest comes off as moderately enjoyable radio fodder.

And there is something to that, the lyrics are fairly one-dimensional and really fail to do anything to keep the listener engaged.

But a lively melody backed up by tasteful production, all reeled in  by a solid Currington vocal make this one notch above the typical,  middle of the road fluff.

"We Are Tonight" doesn't do any one thing greatly, but everything comes together to make a solid single.

Grade: B

Listen: "We Are Tonight"