DISClaimer Single Reviews: New Lee Brice Is ‘Dandy’

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Lee Brice. Photo: Chase Lauer

Country music is experiencing a tidal wave of new artists these days as the genre shifts into a new audio era.

We have several of these promising baby acts in the column today, including NEEDTOBREATHE, Ryan Langdon with Randy Savvy, Mae Estes and our DISCovery Award winner, Wyatt Flores.

Among the established artists, Joe Nichols, Jordan Davis, Ne-Yo and Trace Adkins all posted worthy new sounds. By harking back to classic country, Lee Brice earns a Disc of the Day honor.

MAE ESTES / “The 90s Called”
Writers: Aaron Raitiere/Benjy Davis; Producer: Paul Sikes; Label: Blue Highway Records
– The nostalgia for ‘90s country now has an official theme song. The sprightly country rocker has dance-floor beats and witty lyric that references Brooks & Dunn, Billy Ray and the hats, jeans, mullets, boots, pickup trucks and other touchstones of the era. Cute & catchy.

MARSHMELLO & KELSEA BALLERINI / “Another Drink”
Writers: Alysa Vanderheym/Earwulf/Jessi Jo Dillon/Joel Castillo/Kelsea Ballerini/Marshmello; Producers: Alysa Vanderheym, Earwulf, Marshmello; Label: Mercury Records
– Electronic gobbledygook clatters and clutters around Ballerini’s exhausting repetition of the same phrase over and over again.

WYATT FLORES / “Scared of Heights”
Writers: Charlie Handsome/Gian Stone/Jacob Kasher Hindlin/Wyatt Flores; Producers: Charlie Handsome, Gian Stone, Jacob Kasher Hindlin; Label: Island Records/MCA
– He screws up every potential romance because he’s terrified of  commitment. The echoey production is lovely, and his vocal performance has great dynamics, from husky whispering to plaintive tenor soaring.

JORDAN DAVIS / “Let It Go”
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Label: MCA
– No, it’s not the Frozen movie anthem with this title. Quite the contrary, the moody tune is about the crumbling of a relationship and the resigned realization that it’s time to leave the past behind. As always, Davis is a superb communicator. I remain a huge fan.

LEE BRICE / “Dogs Are Barking”
Writers: Jeff Hyde/Jimi Bell/Rodney Clawson; Producers: Cody LaBelle, Jerrod Niemann, Lee Brice; Label: Curb Records
– Very cool. I love a good country murder ballad, and this one’s a dandy. The trucker returns from his run a day early and realizes that she’s been having an clandestine affair. The Cadillac-driving town banker mysteriously disappears after our boy catches the cheaters red handed.

NE-YO / “Up Out & Gone”
Writers: David Tomasek/Louis York/Milan Modi/Shaffer Smith; Producers: Curtis “Sauce” Wilson, Yung Lan; Label: Compound Ent/HSG
– The r&b hit maker has been spending time in Nashville’s songwriting community, and the result is his first “country inspired” album, Highway 79. This single from it is a bright, good-timey ode to an all-night party on the town. It’s already an r&b hit, and I hear to reason why this couldn’t enliven a country playlist as well. Well done.

NEEDTOBREATHE / “Last Drink”
Writer: William Rinehart; Producers: NEEDTOBREATHE, Phillip Smith; Label: NEEDTOBREATHE
– I dig the shuffling, shambling rhythm pattern and the drowsy instrumental accompaniment. The mix is a bit muddy, but this midtempo groover has definite charm.

SHANIA TWAIN & JOSH HOMME / “Faded Blue Jeans”
Writer: Shania Twain; Producer: Zach Dawes; Label: Republic Records
– Between the beats, the audio mush and the background noise, I can’t tell you what this lyric actually says. I can tell you this: It’s her bopping performance all the way, and Queens of the Stone Age member Homme adds nothing to the proceedings.

CRYSTAL SHAWANDA / “Come Unto Me”
Writers: Allen Miller/Raul Malo; Producer: none listed; Label: New Sun Music
– The Canadian native-American pays homage to the late Raul Malo with an able assist from Mavericks guitarist Eddie Perez. She wails with power and bluesy grit while a Tex-Mex flavored track rumbles around her. Twang abounds.

TRACE ADKINS / “American Made”
Writers: Johnny Cummings/Krista Marie/Trace Adkins; Producer: Mickey Jack Cones; Label: TA
– Adkins premiered this during the Capitol Fourth PBS-TV celebration. It salutes the hard-working everyday people who have built the nation. The vibe is positive and uplifting.

RYAN LANGDON & RANDY SAVVY / “Bring It”
Writers: Andrew Martino/Brian Rivlin/Dan Bewick/Jason Paul Bonilla/Leonard Ian Dalsemer/Nicholas James Maker/Randy Savvy/Ryan Langdon/Stephen Molella; Producers: Andrew Martino, Brian Rivlin, Stephen Molella, TEMLO; Label: The Elements Music
– Ever since Crown Royal whiskey introduced this number in its new ad campaign a couple of weeks ago, I have been unable to get the insanely catchy tune out of my head. It turns out that it’s by two Canadian country artists, Langdon and Compton Cowboys member Savvy. The original track rocks just as splendidly as the ad snippet does. And, yes, there is an official line dance, just like in the ad.

JOE NICHOLS / “Say La V”
Writers: Brett Warren/Jason Sellers/Lance Miller; Producers: Jason Sellers, Joe Nichols; Label: Quartz Hill
– Sunny, shiny brass notes herald a feel-good, sing-along bopper featuring some background revelers and a dance-along tempo. A beefy, twangin,’ bass guitar solo, merry-making kiss-off lyrics, plus a woh-oh-oh finale are the ingredients of this audio pleasure. It goes without saying that Nichols sings the tongue-in-cheek ditty like a honky-tonk angel.

PHIL MADEIRA / “Hippie Chick Singer”
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Label: PM
– This abundantly talented songwriter, singer, producer and multi-instrumentalist is a longtime veteran of Emmylou Harris’s band. With harmony vocals by The McCrary Sisters and Vince Gill, Madeira unspools a happy ode to a musician’s life on the road. Steel guitar and fiddle romp along on this snappy country rocker.

Robert K Oermann
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