Single Reviews
I love how Hayden Panettiere’s “Juliette Barnes” character on ABC’s Nashville supposedly represents the “adolescent pop” side of country music… and yet somehow still manages to sound more country than half of what’s on country radio today.
An ambitious effort, but not quite as airtight as one would hope.
One of the things that frustrates me the most about today’s mainstream country music is the way so many of the songs just seem to be screaming ‘Like me! Like me! Like me!’
Single Review: Chris Young, "I Can Take It from There"
In some aspects, Chris Young’s hook-heavy new single may come off as a calculated bid to regain the airplay he unjustly lost from country radio’s tepid response to the excellent but underappreciated “Neon.” Unfortunately, it’s hard to call him out for peddling safe material when I can’t get my toe to stop tapping.
Sonically, newcomer Greg Bates’ debut hit is a pleasant, infectious slice of nineties-esque contemporary country with a moderate traditionalist bent. It’s the kind of song that country star Chris Young has made his calling card.
My natural inclination is to hate any song that employs the word “bikini” right in the opening verse, but there might actually be a decent feel-good country rock jam in here somewhere.