We’re well into November and Thanksgiving is right around the corner. While the holiday is still a couple of weeks away, music fans have plenty to be thankful for this Friday. The week brought us a grand selection of country and Americana songs and albums from a wide variety of artists.
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We can call a week that sees new music from the likes of Dolly Parton and Dwight Yoakam a good one and the list below has that and more. Here are five great songs from across the country and Americana spectrum from the last seven days.
Must-Hear Country and Americana Songs From This Week
“Walking Contradiction” by Sunny War featuring Steve Ignorant 🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵
Sunny War made waves with her 2023 album Anarchist Gospel and her next album Armageddon in a Summer Dress is already shaping up to be a rock-solid follow-up. She announced the new record earlier this week with the lead single “Walking Contradiction.” The song features an evolution of the blend of old-time country and punk that brought War praise from fans and critics alike in the past.
“Walking Contradiction” features hypnotic vocal delivery and instrumentation and sharp social commentary. War isn’t hiding her critique of the current system behind metaphor or allegory. She’s saying it with her chest. On top of that, she has one of the best voices in the game today. Those who enjoy angry, socially conscious lyrics need to hear this one.
“I Spell Love” by Dwight Yoakam 🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵
Dwight Yoakam delivered a gift to the country music world with his new album Better Days today and this song is a standout.
The “Guitars, Cadillacs” singer has released love songs in the past, but this one seems a little more heartfelt. He tied the knot for the first time in 2020 and he and his bride had their first child the same year. So, the album sees him writing and singing from a new point of view.
“I’m Still Fine (Live at the Ryman” by Red Clay Strays 🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵
The Red Clay Strays released the album Live from the Ryman today. The new 11-track set sees the band playing some of their best-known songs at country music’s Mother Church. It gives listeners who haven’t been fortunate enough to see them onstage a look at what they’re missing.
“I’m Still Fine” was a standout track on their most recent album Made by These Moments. The live version of the song, though, blows the studio version out of the water. While frontman Brandon Coleman introduces the song by saying it’s about “Going through so much that you just become numb,” his voice drips with emotion throughout the performance.
“Rosewood Casket” by Dolly Parton and Avie Lee Parton 🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵
Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain DNA: Family, Faith, and Fables dropped today. The collection features Parton and several members of her family. This recording of “Rosewood Casket” features her late mother, Avie Lee Parton. Mrs. Parton passed on more than 20 years ago. Fortunately, though, someone recorded her singing this old traditional song and now her voice will live forever on this album.
The song is beautifully haunting. The late Mrs. Parton’s voice is steeped in age and gives this recording a special kind of mountain magic that one rarely hears in modern recordings.
“Hey Mr. Nashville” by Charley Crockett 🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵
Grammy-nominated country singer Charley Crockett has never been shy when sharing his feelings about the Nashville machine and this song continues the trend. “Hey, Mr. Nashville” sees Crockett in top form. Like other tracks of this nature, it is barbed and bristly while maintaining the “Welcome to Hard Times” singer’s usual buttery smoothness.
Featured Image by Theo Wargo/WireImage
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