DISClaimer Single Reviews: Star-Studded Lineup Share Disc Of The Day

/by

Megan Moroney, Nate Smith and Zac Brown.

Summer is not singing its swan song in this Labor Day Weekend edition of DISClaimer.

Instead, the season is offering a soundtrack of remarkable vitality and quality. So much so, that picking winning sounds is really difficult. As a result, the Disc of the Day prized is divided in three. Our Female champ is the divine Megan Moroney. Capturing the Male prize is the steamrolling Nate Smith. For our Group/Duo winners, chalk another win up for the sunny Zac Brown Band.

It isn’t usually difficult to crown a DISCovery Award winner. But that choice, too, is a toughie. So I’m splitting it between The Band Loula and Mon Rovia. Happy listening.

CHARLIE PEACOCK / “Turtle In A Chinese Food Box”
Writer: Charlie Peacock; Producers: Charlie Peacock, Sam Ashworth; Label: Universal/Re-Think
– Charlie Peacock is and always has been a pop singer. But the lead track of his new LP sounds like skipping through a field of wildflowers, with Charlie McCoy’s harmonica, Dan Dugmore’s steel guitar and the rest of the light-hearted track giving it an undeniable country-music vibe. The lyric celebrates his innocent, youthful feelings at age 15, when he had the first date with his wife Andi. The rest of the album, titled Every Kind of Uh-Oh, showcases the brilliant producer/songwriter/keyboardist’s chops as a pop-jazz wizard. Peacock has produced more than 50 CCM albums and was behind the board for the Grammy-winning country-Americana records of The Civil Wars. BMI hosted a deluxe record-release party for the artist on Wednesday at RCA Studio A.  His memoir, Roots & Rhythm: A Life in Music, will be published in February.

NATE SMITH / “Fix What You Didn’t Break”
Writers: Ashley Gorley/Lindsay Rimes/Nate Smith/Taylor Phillips; Producer: Lindsay Rimes; Label: RCA Records Nashville
– His vocal and the track are very processed for country music, but this record is gorgeous however you label its sound. The uplifting, hopeful lyric is about the redemptive power of love, and Smith delivers it with heart.

BOOMTOWN SAINTS & SAM GROW / “Heart Breaks You”
Writers: Connie Harrington/Houston Phillips/Josh Dunne; Producers: Colt Ford, Gary Kraen, Noah Gordon; Label: 8 Track Entertainment/Average Joes Entertainment
– The handsome heartbreaker better watch out: Someday the heart that’s broken will belong to him. Soaring, melodic and oh-so listenable.

MEGAN MORONEY / “Am I Okay?”
Writers: Jessie Jo Dillon/Luke Laird/Megan Moroney; Producer: Kristian Bush; Label: Columbia Nashville/Columbia Records
– Ridiculously charming. She’s falling head over heels for a dreamboat who treats her right. So of course she thinks she’s going nuts. A bopper with a zillion smiles.

THE BAND LOULA / “Don’t Call Me”
Writers: Dave Barnes/Logan Simmons/Malachi Mills; Producer: John Osborne; Label: Warner Music Nashville
– It’s a smoldering, slow-burn, stately outing delivered by a pair of blue-eyed soul singers who really turn up the heat. Also check out their performance of “If I Never Stayed the Night.” Hailing from north Georgia, the male-female duo’s members are Malachi Mills and Logan Simmons. I hear stardom.

DYLAN SCOTT / “You’d Think I Was A Cowboy”
Writers: Dylan Scott/Jaxson Free/Michael Whitworth/Will Weatherly; Producers: Dylan Scott, Jaxson Free, Will Weatherly; Label: Curb Records
– Sorry. The lyric’s “western” metaphors all sound forced and phony.

MOORE & MOORE & JANIE FRICKE / “Dispatch The Angels”
Writer: Debbie Moore; Producer: Moore & Moore; Label: DOV Records
– The twin Moore sisters have been on the country scene for a good 20 years or so, and they have never sounded better than they do on their new Angels CD. The title is drawn from this touching ballad, a lovely swirl of trio harmony, thanks to the addition of the flawless Fricke to the sound. The song is penned by Debbie Moore, who co-wrote the Mark Wills hit “Wish You Were Here.” This fine country collection also features collaborations with Johnny Lee, David Frizzell, Marty Haggard and James Caruthers. How sweet the sound.

LAINEY WILSON / “4X4XU”
Writers: Aaron Raitiere/Jon Decious/Lainey Wilson; Producer: Jay Joyce; Label: Broken Bow Records/BMG
– Romance in a pick-up truck sounds like a total delight when this woman sings it. Love the sizzling organ notes in this slow-burn banger.

TY MYERS / “Let ‘Em Talk”
Writers: Anderson East/Trent Dabbs/Ty Myers; Producer: Brandon Hood; Label: RECORDS Nashville/Columbia
– This 17-year-old Texas phenomenon takes it nice and easy on a languid ode to young love.

MICKEY GUYTON / “My Side Of The Country”
Writers: Corey Crowder/Mickey Guyton/Tyler Hubbard; Producers: Corey Crowder, Karen Kosowski, Tyler Hubbard; Label: Capitol Records Nashville
– Guyton takes on a rhythm-happy number with this sunny celebration of country living. Vivacious, fun and winsome. It will be the kick-off track of her sophomore album, House on Fire, which drops on Sept. 27. She opened last week’s Democratic Convention in Chicago with her unifying anthem “All American.”

MON ROVIA / “Crooked On The Road”
Writers: Andrew Lowe/Cooper Holzman/Sam Hudgens; Producer: Cooper Holzman; Label: Nettwerk Music Group
– This newcomer bills his style as “Afro-Appalachian folk” music. Which makes sense since he was born in Liberia, lives in Tennessee and has an enchanting acoustic sound. This meditation on pain and hope is simply beautiful in its twinkling tapestry of guitars, echoed background singing and gently thumped percussion. It’s easy to hear why he has racked up half a billion TikTok views, garnered an international following, earned a booking at Bonnaroo and is slated for Austin City Limits this fall.

ZAC BROWN BAND / “Two Blue Chairs And You”
Writers: Ben Simonetti/Jonathan Singleton/Rob Snyder/Zac Brown; Producers: Ben Simonetti, Zac Brown; Label: Home Grown Music/Warner Music Nashville
– This bopper will make you instantly yearn for a Caribbean vacation. Loved the wordless, harmonized, a cappella vocal interlude. An absolutely perfect single.

Robert K Oermann
Latest posts by Robert K Oermann (see all)