• ABOUT
    • Contact
    • The Team
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Events
    • FAQ
    • Use & Privacy Policy
  • ADVERTISE
  • ROWFAX
  • THE SPORTS CREDENTIAL
  • JOB LISTINGS
MusicRow.com
  • CALENDARS
    • Album/EP Releases
    • Single/Track Releases
    • Industry Events
  • OBITS
  • CHARTS
    • Radio Chart (Current)
    • Radio Chart (Archives)
    • No. 1 Challenge Coin
    • Songwriter Chart (Current)
    • Songwriter Chart (Archives)
  • REVIEWS
  • MY STORY
  • NEWSLETTER
    • Newsletter (Current)
    • SIGN UP (FREE!)
    • Newsletter (Archives)
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • STORE
  • Search
  • Menu Menu

DISClaimer Single Reviews: Tyler Hubbard Continues To Impress With Solo Releases

July 21, 2022/by Robert K Oermann

There is a lot of disposable pop in today’s listening stack.

Take it from me, you can skip the new offerings by Walker Hayes, Kane Brown and LeAnn Rimes. Dan + Shay are pop too, but at least they are gorgeous pop.

If it’s real country music you crave, allow me to direct your attention to the new music by Tyler Hubbard and/or the Zac Brown Band with Cody Johnson. They finished in a neck-and-neck race for the Disc of the Day, with Tyler Hubbard getting the win.

This week’s DISCovery Award is also solidly country. Tim Dugger, take a bow.

TIM DUGGER / “Heart of a Small Town”
Writers: Brandon Hood/Tim Dugger/Tim Nichols; Producer: Brandon Hood; Label: Curb
–His heartfelt-hillbilly voice is perfect for this stirring ode to the American heartland. The pounding drums and strumming guitars accent a cleverly written lyric and the catchy melody. I’m in.

DAN + SHAY / “You”
Writers: Dan Smyers/Dave Barnes/Jordan Reynolds; Producers: Dan Smyers/Scott Hendricks; Label: Warner
–Glossy pop with a paint-by-numbers love lyric. Pretty as all get out.

TEBEY / “Sink With the Sun”
Writers: Kelly Archer/Tebey Ottoh/Danick Dupelle; Producers: Tebey Ottoh/Danick Dupelle; Label: Jayward Artist Group
–Tebey briefly charted on RCA/BNA back in 2003. He returned to his native Ontario and wrote a clutch of million-selling international pop hits. His return to Nashville demonstrates that he hasn’t lost his feel for country music. He dreams of getting out on tropical water on a boat to drown his heartache with the sunset. Nicely done.

WALKER HAYES / “Y’all Life”
Writers: Walker Hayes/Pete Good/Josh Jenkins/Cornell Haynes Jr. (Nelly)/Jason Epperson; Producers: Walker Hayes/Joe Thibodeau/Shane McAnally; Label: Monument
–It’s awfully difficult to follow a giant novelty hit like “Fancy Like.” Hayes tries his best by doubling down on the hick-hop delivery and offering another chant-like chorus. Head bobbin’ stuff. Can lightning strike twice in the same place?

LILY ROSE / “In My Drinks”
Writers: Jamie Davis/Jordan Gray/Rob Pennington; Producer: Joey Moi; Label: Big Loud/Back Blocks/Mercury/Republic
–She has such a cool voice, full of soulful drawl and swallowed pain. The mid-tempo heartache lament has loads of barroom authenticity and is super listenable. It also breaks ground as a country performance by a woman yearning for another woman.

KANE BROWN / “Grand”
Writers: none listed; Producers: none listed; Label: RCA
–He has a current country hit with “Like I Love Country Music.” This single is his pop release. It has no tune.

HANNAH ELLIS / “Country Can”
Writers: Hannah Ellis/Parker Welling/Nick Wayne/Jason Massey; Producers: none listed; Label: Curb
–I believe this song. At its best, nothing can speak to your heart like country-music can. Ellis delivers the sentiment in a soaring, anthemic melody that begs to be turned up loud. Applause, please.

ZAC BROWN BAND & CODY JOHNSON / “Wild Palomino”
Writers: Ben Simonetti/Jonathan Singleton/Wyatt Beasley Durrette, III; Producers: none listed; Label: Warner
–Johnson’s burnished-baritone charisma totally steals the show here. The trademark ZBB harmonies are in place, but this is the Texas cowboy’s show. It’s also a super-cool and beautiful heartache song.

TYLER HUBBARD / “Way Home”
Writers: Tyler Hubbard/Corey Crowder/Canaan Smith; Producers: Jordan Schmidt/Tyler Hubbard; Label: EMI
–Hubbard’s solo career continues to gain ground with this new track. It also reclaims his country bona fides, because it pairs his delightful drawl with a down-home, spiritual lyric about redemption. Full of hillbilly heart.

BRIAN KELLEY / “American Spirit”
Writers: Brian Kelley/Jake Rose/Blake Redferrin/Canaan Smith; Producers: Brian Kelley/Jake Rose; Label: Big Machine
–This isn’t very promising. His debut post-FGL solo single is a fairly generic patriotic ditty. “The red, white and blue…is flying for me and for you.”

JASON ALDEAN / “That’s What Tequila Does”
Writers: Kurt Allison/John Edwards/Tully Kennedy/John Morgan; Producers: Michael Knox; Label: Macon Music/ Broken Bow
–The shouted choruses try to stir up excitement, but the verses just kinda lay there.

LEANN RIMES, MICKEY GUYTON & SHEILA E / “The Wild”
Writers: Darrell Brown/LeAnn Rimes; Producers: Darrell Brown/LeAnn Rimes; Label: EverLe/Thirty Tigers
–Vaguely tribal sounding pop music with wordless “woa-woa’s,” many repeated phases and thumping percussion. A collection of sounds in search of a song.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Robert K Oermann
Robert K Oermann
Robert K. Oermann is a longtime contributor to MusicRow. He is a respected music critic, author and historian.
Robert K Oermann
Latest posts by Robert K Oermann (see all)
  • DISClaimer Single Reviews: The Late Jimmy Buffett ‘Encourages Optimism & Hope’ - September 28, 2023
  • All-Around Nashville Music Man Mike Henderson Passes - September 25, 2023
  • Ringo Starr Honored At Musicians Hall Of Fame - September 25, 2023
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail
https://musicrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/TH_WH_Cvr_10x10_HIres_WEB-scaled.jpg 2560 2560 Robert K Oermann https://musicrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/MusicRow-header-logo-Mar19B.png Robert K Oermann2022-07-21 13:40:322022-07-21 13:40:32DISClaimer Single Reviews: Tyler Hubbard Continues To Impress With Solo Releases

RECENT NEWS

  • New IRS Rule Affects Concert Ticket Resellers September 29, 2023
  • Neil Medley Shares His Stories On Debut Project, ‘South End Kid’ September 29, 2023
  • Worldwide Stages Announces Investment Opportunity In Its Production Campus September 29, 2023
  • In Pictures: Coastal Country Jam Closes Summer With Star-Studded Lineup September 29, 2023
  • First-Ever ‘People’s Choice Country Awards’ Airs Live From Nashville [Recap] September 29, 2023
  • Fifth Annual Charlie Daniels Patriot Awards Raises $400K For U.S. Military Vets September 29, 2023
  • Morgan Wallen Adds Multiple Nights In Several Markets For 2024 Tour September 29, 2023
  • Brittney Spencer Slates Debut Album ‘My Stupid Life’ For January September 29, 2023
  • Dylan Scott Earns MusicRow No. 1 With ‘Can’t Have Mine’ September 29, 2023
  • Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle Among Winners At 34th Annual IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards September 29, 2023
  • 2023 People’s Choice Country Awards Winners – Complete List September 29, 2023
  • DISClaimer Single Reviews: The Late Jimmy Buffett ‘Encourages Optimism & Hope’ September 28, 2023
  • Industry Ink: Wasserman Music, Merle Travis, Equal Access, More September 28, 2023
  • Shania Twain’s Multi-Platinum ‘Greatest Hits’ Makes Vinyl Debut In November September 28, 2023
  • IBMA Honors 2023 Industry Awards Recipients September 28, 2023

Like Us on Facebook

Follow Us on Twitter

Tweets by MusicRow
© 2023 Music Row Enterprises, LLC – All rights reserved.
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
Scroll to top