As the year comes to an end, we have closed off the eligibility for our year-end lists, with only releases through November 30 under consideration.
We weren’t able to cover everything this year, despite reviewing over one hundred singles and tracks during our weekly round-ups. We’re borrowing the format of our album bullet reviews to catch up.
Here are the final ten single reviews of 2024, bullet style:
Kashus Culpepper, “… Pour Me Out”
Spectacular. “I know I’m not the only drink in town / But I can’t just be another round / If you don’t wanna drink me, baby / Don’t sip me, baby / Just pour me out,” is a stanza George Jones would’ve nailed to the wall in his prime, and Culpepper in no way embarrasses himself by the comparison to an all-time great. His raspy, soulful warble is perfectly matched to this song and the vintage Southern Soul production. One of the year’s finest singles sneaks in under the wire. A (JK)
Ella Langley featuring Riley Green, “you look like you love me”
This week’s No. 1 hit at radio borders on being a novelty record. It has its charms, but it’s easy to imagine this as an early eighties SNL skit. An entertaining romp with little substance. B- (KJC)
Shemekia Copeland, “Blame it on Eve”
Copeland’s always been a powerhouse, but her latest album– for which this single serves as the title track– is a career-best that finds her refusing to be confined by arbitrary matters of politics or genre. Here, she rejects the notion of original sin on the grounds that Eve was just thirstin’ for knowledge, and Adam certainly didn’t have a car or much else to offer in the way of support. A brash, unapologetic declaration of self. A (JK)
Blake Shelton, “Texas”
The most fully realized example of Shelton’s musical style tracing back to early eighties country. I love the back and forth between Shelton and the backup singers, as well as the contrast between classic Texas country song imagery and the slick pop-flavored production. B+ (KJC)
The Ting Tings, “Danced on the Wire”
Color me skeptical that this is anything more than just a piss-take of an Americana pastiche; I was there for how they deliberately nuked their career with a sophomore album that was terrible on purpose. So this is kind of pretty on its own merits and has some on-trend flourishes of yacht rock in its production, but I’ve listened to it more than a dozen times now and cannot recall anything about it after it ends. C (JK)
Sam Hunt, “Country House”
The listless production holds back a lyrically fantastic celebration of the country life that has far more in common with “My Tennessee Mountain Home” and “Where the Green Grass Grows” than the two bro country drivel records below. B (KJC)
Ron Pope, “In the Morning with the Coffee On”
Anyone looking for a spiritual follow-up to Jason Isbell’s “If We Were Vampires” need look no further. Pope already dropped one of the year’s finest singles with a paean of devotion to his wife (“I Pray I’ll Be Seeing You Soon”), but he’s outdone himself with this spare, heartfelt meditation on how many routine mornings they’ll be lucky enough to have together. It’s as beautiful as any record I’ve heard this year. A (JK)
Chris Janson, “Whatcha See it Whatcha Get”
At least the title is honest. The only trouble is this: What we got stinks. D (KJC)
Kacey Musgraves, “The Architect”
Musgraves’ reflection on Intelligent Design bears many of her trademarks: A keen observational eye, a gift for melody, and a wry sense of humor. She finds the divine in nature and then borrows– not on purpose, I hope– the language from Ridley Scott’s dreadful and ponderous attempt at a creation mythology, Prometheus. Musgraves keeps her tone a bit lighter than Scott did when she asks to engage directly with “The Architect,” and that makes all the difference. The easy standout from Deeper Well. A- (JK)
Tyler Hubbard, “Park”
As much as I prefer K.T. Oslin’s “Hey Bobby” over Brad Paisley’s “Mud On the Tires,” at least Paisley was able to get through his record without sounding like a sexual predator. Pick “Miles On It” over this. It’s all the backroad fun without the bitter aftertaste. D (KJC)
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