Two underappreciated talents make much appreciated returns.
“Heart Still Does”
Rebecca Lynn Howard
Written by Elisha Hoffman and Rebecca Lynn Howard
Jonathan Keefe: Howard was born and raised just one county over from Loretta Lynn’s fabled homestead down in the hollers of Eastern Kentucky, and Howard has never sounded more like Lynn than she does on “Heart Still Does.” Always a gifted writer and vocalist, Howard has demonstrated a broad skill set, mastering slick pop-country balladry (“Forgive”), sophisticated and complex spins on trad country (“I Don’t Paint Myself Into Corners”), and even alt-rock inspired Americana (“I’m Not Who You Think I Am”). On her latest single, though, her lyrics and phrasing lean hard into the traditional genre forms that Lynn helped to define, and she shows that she can master those, too.
The economy of the language impresses for how Howard’s narrator is still able to be clever while not mincing a single unnecessary syllable as she details the ways her head and her heart are misaligned. “Put my hand on a Bible and I swore to the Lord / But my head and my chest are still a-fightin’ this war,” is the kind of feisty line Lynn might’ve written in her prime, but Howard’s lived-in performance makes it clear that this story is hers to tell.
Credit where it’s due: Lee Brice produced the hell out of this record in a way that far exceeded my perceptions of what he’s capable of doing. It’s twangy AF– as it should be– but still slick enough to sound contemporary. Howard’s not a threat for a radio comeback based on her gender and her age, but this single is one of the year’s best and is very much of a piece with the finest trad-leaning material in today’s mainstream. It’s just so, so good to have Howard back in the mix. A
Kevin John Coyne: Howard was one of the most unfortunate casualties of the great genre gender assault of the early aughts. “Forgive” should’ve been a career record for her, and “Corners” should’ve been one for Trisha Yearwood, but Howard was largely silenced as a singer and a songwriter just as her voice was starting to break through on both fronts.
“Heart Still Does” is a blissful reminder of just how effortless her talent can sound. While she can belt with the best of them, she also knows how to wrap her voice around a steady groove and set an understated, down low mood. The lyric finds a fresh take on an old idea – I’ve moved on, but my heart hasn’t – and delivers on the promise of its conceptual hook. A good effort all around from a great and underappreciated talent. B+
“Bed of Roses”
Caylee Hammack
Written by Benjy Davis, Caylee Hammack, and Jeff Hyde
KJC: Hammack’s sweet and lilting vocal style recalls Dolly and Faith at their most fluttering, and it adds potency to the steel magnolia lyric that she has crafted.
This is a woman who will happily lay down in the bed that she has made, but you can keep her company while she does so if you play your cards right.
She’s going to grow and flourish with or without you, so gamble carefully. The last guy didn’t, and he won’t be returning to her garden. B+
JK: Excluding her stellar contributions as a resident of Lindeville, “Bed of Roses” is handily Hammack’s finest moment since “Small Town Hypocrite” all the way back in 2020. She and her co-writers don’t overplay the central images that they’ve built the song around: Hammack’s narrator is engaging in a major landscaping project, and it sounds like she knows exactly what to do and why.
A record that centers around resilience requires a confident vocal performance, and Hammack nails this one. She has such deceptive power to her voice– her timbre can recall Dolly Parton’s at times, and then she will just unleash a full-on diva-worthy belt– and she puts that power to brilliant use here. The polished production doesn’t distract from her performance, either, though I love how it allows the mandolin to figure so prominently in the mix. It’s been a minute since she had a single that fully captured all of the reasons why should’ve been a massive star already, and “Bed of Roses” fits that bill. A
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