It's fitting that 2018 has been an excellent year for Country music thus far. It's a year that (thus far) has seen many artists return to the spotlight after three or four years off to deliver some of their best work yet. While I wasn't a huge fan of the polish that loomed over Ashley Monroe's last album, 2015's The Blade, she was still an artist who I was excited to hear again.

Unfortunately the polish hasn't really gone away. In fact, it's even worse on her lead off single to new album, Sparrow with “Hands On You”. Honestly, the entire problem with this song is that its completely faceless. Ashley Monroe is talented, but to return with a song that's this derivative, boring, and utterly forgettable is disappointing for sure.

I don't even know what to say. I swear if I hear another slow, soulful song that's got as much energy as a college student in an 8 a.m. class, I'm going to scream. Granted, that's just my personal bias taking shape at this point. As always, we need to judge the song on its own merit.

On that note, there still isn't much to say. Lyrically it's a very basic song that speaks to having a burning desire for “companionship.” The only way you're going to make a song like this really all that memorable or fun is if it's got a little more sizzle to it, and as already established, this song gets stale quickly. It's repetitive and boring musically, and even Monroe herself sounds bored and uninterested in this song.

Overall, I'm confused at having this particular song be the leadoff single to Monroe's upcoming project, because even when you push quality aside, this is too faceless to really make much of an impact. I don't mind a more soulful direction, but if it's going to be like this, then no, thank you.

Grade: C-
Listen: “Hands On You”
 
Author: Zackary Kephart

​If there's one thing I regret in the three years that I've been writing these blog posts, it would be that I pigeonholed myself at one point into being a fighter for “real country music.” For me, the genre argument has gotten nauseating, mostly because I think both sides are missing the true point, but I truthfully don't mind Pop-Country when it's done well. In fact, I would love to champion it. I would love to say that I'm wrong and that there IS quality out there. Thankfully between some recent singles from the likes of Thomas Rhett, Russell Dickerson, and the new single from Jillian Jacqueline among others, I think it's time to put my money where my mouth is.

As for Jacqueline, she's been floating under the radar for the past couple years now making solid, modern Pop-Country tunes with some real bite and texture to them. She got her shot last year with Big Loud Records and has readied the release of her debut single, “Reasons”. Thankfully, this is a strong choice for a debut single.

In terms of the production, you may think this is nothing revolutionary, and by all means, it isn't. It gets away with being purely solid though even if it is familiar. There's a nice whistling riff backed up by a spacier piano and some hand claps. The mix equals a nice, blended atmospheric sound, and the minor chords used help to give off a more serious tone. It's not the most unique sound in the world, but it works.

Vocally, Jacqueline shows what a hell of a voice she's got on the chorus by really giving an excellent performance that feels like she's invested in the material. Enough can't be said about how well she handles the performance here.

​The lyricism is easily the highlight of this track though. While some tracks in this vein try to solve the problems evident in a relationship and think that everything will magically work out, “Reasons” takes a different approach by just being honest. Sometimes love doesn't work out, and instead of pretending that they still love each other for various (specific) reasons given throughout, they both decide it's just best to end it. It might sound pointless, but the entire point of the song is to explore why they stuck it out as long as they did, and again, we get some honest, specific reasoning here. Both of them are afraid to be alone, and both of them are afraid of the judgment that might be cast on them by friends and family. Plus, there's also the hassle of having to move to a different place and start anew. Still, at this point, they've both decided it's best to just move on despite whatever potential consequences there are, and I do appreciate that honesty and maturity.

Overall, “Reasons” might not “sound” like a unique breakthrough hit, but it hits the right marks elsewhere in terms of a commanding vocal presence and excellent lyrical content. It might be too polished for some, but this is a strong debut single.

Grade: B+
Listen: “Reasons”

Author: Zackary Kephart

“Success” seems to carry a different meaning depending on who you ask to define it. For some, success means living in the lap of luxury never having to worry about anything ever again. For others, success can simply be hurdling over a goal in life only to be faced with another. For newcomer Jimmie Allen, I'm pretty sure success for him is just making it to where he is right now.

That's not a personal statement. Allen literally came to Nashville with $21 and a dream, and unfortunately the dream is the only thing that lasted long. He was homeless for awhile, but that fire never burned out. Eventually, he got his break from publisher Ash Bowers as well as some streaming popularity from a song of his called, “Blue Jean Baby”. Now, he's set to release his debut single, “Best Shot”.

The best way to describe this song is like it's a less fiery version of Russell Dickerson's “Yours”. It's going for the same sentiment lyrically, but ultimately where the aforementioned song conveyed its message with some power and raw intensity, “Best Shot” opts for something more subtle.

Vocally, I wouldn't say Allen is necessarily a strong singer. His voice is a little too generic, and he sounds a little breathy during the verses. The song feels a bit too low in general for him. However, he shines during the chorus due to his knack for conveying some real emotional nuance. He's a bit intimated (which we'll explore more in the lyrical content), but I can believe that he's going to try his hardest to make this love work because it's something he truly believes in. Production wise, there's some nice acoustic and spacier textures blended together with some softer percussion to craft something that's a little more serious in nature. There are some unneeded hand claps which distract from the song as well, but overall in terms of the mood, the song hits the right mark in terms of creating something with a grounded, serious swell to it.

Lyrically, the song fails to match the mood set by both Allen's performance and the production. It's a classic, cliched case of a guy who's been beaten down and stupid with his decisions in regards to past relationships. It's a classic list case of “I've done this and I've done that” before getting to the chorus which has him expressing how much of a better man he is now that he has his significant other. As I said before, Allen sells a good enough performance to make it seem like he's serious about making this love work, but the writing doesn't make this stand out enough, especially in regards to songs in this same vein lately. Even the second verse only contains about two lines. That's not enough space to flesh out a story. Still, his choice to just simply say he'll give love his best shot instead of saying how he has it all figured out does at least come from more of an honest perspective. I can respect that.

Overall, while there are a lot of things that Jimmie Allen does right on his debut single, it ultimately doesn't stand out enough to really be a true great song. Still, there's potential here, and there's more good than bad here, so give it a spin or two and see what you think.

Grade: B-
Listen: “Best Shot”

Author: Zackary Kephart ​