Kevin John Coyne

Getting to Know Brandy Clark

October 20, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 4

As a general rule, you can scan the credits of any new country album and assume that if Brandy Clark is a writer on one of the songs, it’s the best song on the album. As Clark readies the release of 12 Stories, her debut album as an artist, it’s a great time for fans of that remarkable set to get caught up on Clark’s work to date.

Believe the hype. Clark really is as good as everyone is saying she is. Possibly even better, as these twenty tracks suggest. Scroll down to the bottom, and you can listen to snippets from all of them as you read along.

Single Review: Zac Brown Band, “Sweet Annie”

September 30, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 17

Zac Brown Band’s laid back approach can make it easy to miss when they are actually digging deeper with their lyrics.

Their music often sounds designed to fade into the background, particularly on their radio singles, which usually land somewhere between faceless and mildly interesting, but rarely compelling in any meaningful way.

Single Review: Ty Herndon, “Lies I Told Myself”

September 29, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 5

I’d imagine that to young fans who have discovered country music in the last couple of years, the new Ty Herndon single will sound remarkably dated.

Single Review: American Young, “Love is War”

September 8, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 8

There’s a country radio station in NYC proper for the first time in nearly twenty years. The last one went off the air before I was old enough to drive, so when I found out it existed, I immediately checked it out.

Then I immediately checked out. It’s not listenable to me. It’s playing all of today’s hits and those from the past couple of years, and sometimes a song that I like will come on, but it’s always sandwiched between filler that hurts my ears.

Single Review: The Band Perry, “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely”

August 22, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 9

For any other artist, “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely” would be just as forgettable as it is for the Band Perry. But given the unhinged creativity they usually show, it’s befuddlingly conventional.

Single Review: Blake Shelton, “Mine Would Be You”

August 11, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 8

What a twist!

Single Review: Randy Travis and Joe Nichols, “Tonight I’m Playin’ Possum”

August 5, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 6

Could there possibly be a more emotionally and sentimentally charged record released this year?

Single Review: Taylor Swift, “Red”

August 3, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 18

Being a great songwriter can be just as much about being distinctive and unique as it is about writing great songs. Being a great songwriter that records her own material requires not getting in the way of your own song.

Single Review: Kacey Musgraves, “Blowin’ Smoke”

July 28, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 9

One of my longest running criticisms of contemporary country music is the disappearance of the working poor. It’s a segment of the population that has been growing exponentially, but the genre that has historically been associated with chronicling their experiences has instead chosen to lionize and romanticize small town partying and country living. Lots of songs about Sunday mornings and Saturday nights, but almost none about those tiring days in between.

Single Review: Kelly Clarkson, “Tie it Up”

July 24, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 24

There’s such an obvious trend of genre-hopping between pop, rock, and country right now that I can totally understand the enthusiasm surrounding Kelly Clarkson dabbling with a switch to country music.

After all, if we’re going to have pop and rock stars crossing over anyway, we might as well get one of the best ones, right? She’s got a strong knowledge of and affinity for, at the very least, the past two generations of country music. Her pipes are pretty darn good, too. I prefer the purity of Carrie Underwood’s voice, but there are many who feel the first Idol is still the best.