Two solid efforts, courtesy of Brothers Osborne and S.G. Goodman.
“Fire Sign”
S.G. Goodman
Written by S.G. Goodman
Jonathan Keefe: I can’t remember the last time a lyric took me out the way, “I’ve been livin’ like the sun don’t shine / On the same dog’s ass every day,” and it’s to Goodman’s unending credit that her use of humor in no way undercuts the frustration that drives this record. She’s been living with brio and gumption in a universe that works to extinguish flames with the same indiscriminate and uncaring entropy, no matter which sign one was born under.
What Goodman describes here is elemental. And I actually love how the narrative arc of “Fire Sign” rhymes with Pixar’s tremendous– and wildly under-estimated– Elemental in the sense that this is a song about the struggle to be better in spite of ourselves and our purest instincts. Goodman’s always been a writer of uncommon insight and depth, and this is as fascinating a song as she’s yet committed to record.
I’ll admit that I wish the production boasted the same fearlessness, or at least some rougher edges. Goodman’s singing sounds somewhat at-odds with how smooth the arrangement is, particularly on the chorus. While that tension works on a structural level, I tend to think Goodman is most compelling when the tension between her frayed-nerve vocals and her aesthetic comes with some twang. As a song, “Fire Side” is as brilliant as anything I’ve heard this year. As a single, it’s perhaps just a bit too restrained. A-
Kevin John Coyne: I’m picking up on what Jonathan is dishing out here.
The song is absolutely brilliant, and a song with such fiery image needs a production to match.
I’m remembering Mary Chapin Carpenter’s befuddlement when journalists asked her why she whispered “shut up and kiss me.” Her response was simple: any other delivery would’ve gone against the lyric.
I think that’s what’s going on here, which makes this sound like the best demo I’ve heard in years. I’m just jonesing for Goodman delivering it with some musicianship that smokes. B+
“Finish This Drink”
Brothers Osborne
Written by TJ Osborne and Alysa Vanderheym
KJC: I ask myself, “Why Brothers Osborne?” a lot.
They’re a duo that could’ve easily gone the Americana route, and radio hasn’t really embraced them, but like Kacey Musgraves back in the day and like Ashley McBryde today, they’re managing to have a successful mainstream country career without pandering too much to radio, since they don’t get much airplay anyway.
That creates some space for terrifically creative records like “Finish This Drink.” Jonathan notes the varied influences below, and Lord do they get bonus points for drawing inspiration from this century’s fairly bleak rock scene. They couldn’t have as much fun here if they knew this was going to be played during every carpool pickup and dropoff of the next five years. No way we’d get that fierce fiddle or bass-laden bridge if the boys were getting spins like Wallen or Rhett.
This is music made for lovers of music, with the BrOs once again demonstrating real grit, personality, and the confidence that comes with genuine, authentic talent. I’ll be playing this one in heavy rotation, even if radio doesn’t. A
JK: I love it when Brothers Osborne pull in influences from some of the best rock music of the last twenty years. Their peers keep going for the butt-rock of Nickelback and Staind, but the BrOs are nodding to Franz Ferdinand, The Dead Weather, and The XX. “Finish This Drink” still has those elements of dancepunk and modern blues, but what I hear most of all is a record that sounds like the 2025 version of a Jerry Reed track.
And I love me some Jerry Reed.
This single is very much my vibe, much in the way the recent Cyndi Thomson single has taken up permanent residence in my lizard brain. The conceit is a fairly clever spin on a familiar trope, and Brothers Osborne can always pull off a party anthem with aplomb. TJ’s enunciation on this is a wild ride, as he veers between booze-slurred phrases and hyper-articulated, staccato consonants in a way that heightens his showmanship.
From the opening bars, this is recognizable as theirs, and who else among their peers has such a singular, immediately identifiable sound? If it’s not quite on the same level as “It Ain’t My Fault” or “Shoot Me Straight,” “Finish This Drink” is still the version of Brothers Osborne that has been one of the mainstream’s true bright spots for many years now. A-
Yes, Brothers Osborne is just so cool to my ears!
…since it does not seem to have gotten through enough, i gladly repeat it again for every songwriter on the planet: a melody is not your (insert any appropriate curse) enemy and wouldn’t take away anything from your lyrics! neither would it from the great ms. goodman’s. her collab with kelsey waldon or tyler childers’ take on her beautiful, beautiful (this adjective is officially to be used repetitively nowadays, isn’t it?) “space and time” may serve as a case in point.
…”tipsy”, season 2, episode 1 – summer’s inevitably coming and so may be honey. cheers to a catchy one!