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Reviews

Album Review: The Lost Brothers–Halfway Towards a Healing

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Rating: 7/10

Time to take an album off my 2018 back burner while it’s still manageable and not out of control like the back burner of 2017. And first on the list is the latest album from Irish folk duo The lost Brothers, (Oisin Leech and Mark McCausland(, known as Halfway Towards a Healing. The title track of this record made our January playlist, and I’ve also done a reflection on them in the past, but finding words for this album has proven to be difficult.

This is primarily because it’s one of those nice, pleasant listens, very much a mood record. It’s definitely a good album, and the songwriting is strong throughout most of it, but what really holds your attention is the atmosphere surrounding it. Songs like the opener, “Echoes in the Wind,” really capture the peaceful, introspective thing this album was going for. It’s going to be an album a lot of people enjoy just for how relaxing it is; those that love the more polished, stripped back stuff like Sam Outlaw or the Secret Sisters will gravitate toward this. And speaking of the Secret Sisters, the harmonies throughout this are just excellent, definitely another highlight of this record. It’s almost like listening to a modern-day Simon and Garfunkel. All that said, you’ve still got to be in a certain mood to really appreciate this album.

Even still, compared to some of their earlier material, there is more variety in tempo and mood here. The excellent Spanish style instrumental “Rains of Ruin,” paired with the title track which also carries this Spanish flair and speaks about a Spanish church, comprise the most interesting moments of the album musically. The title track also serves to provide some much-needed energy on the album. “Come Tomorrow” stands out a bit on this record as well, as the percussion here really adds some life; this is the third track, and after two introspective, acoustic numbers, some life was certainly in order. It’s also nice to hear textures like the horns happily contributing on “Where the Shadows Go” to make this song fuller. On an album mostly reliant upon acoustic guitar and their flawless harmonies to carry the weight, subtle things like this can really make a difference, and these little nuances serve to add character to this project. Thank you, Lost Brothers, for adding yourselves to the ranks of independent artists actually taking the time to care about your production and instrumentation as much as your lyrics.

The same strengths of this album, however, are also going to be its weaknesses. Some people will find it too slow or sleepy or boring, in varying degrees. Although there’s definite improvement on that front for the group, they could still do with infusing some more life here. There are more moments of variety, but equally, there’s nothing as bright as something like “The Goodbye Kid” from one of their previous records. And I have no idea what the hell “The Ballad of the Lost Brother” thinks it’s supposed to be, but it’s just…weird. I could definitely do without this track completely.

This is an album that’s being criminally overlooked, and one I think many of you will enjoy. As previously mentioned, fans of a more polished, stripped back, singer-songwriter style are going to be more inclined to like this, but stuff like the title track may appeal to everyone. This was one reason it was the song featured in our playlist. It wasn’t easy to write about this group, but this is an album I enjoyed from a band that needs to be on more people’s radar, and they deserved some words. That said, just as I can see the appeal for many people, I can see how some would find this really sleepy/boring. For this listener, it was just peaceful and pleasant. Hopefully, for the right audience, this album and artist will be a cool discovery, just as they have been for me.

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Reviews

Single Review: Cole Swindell’s “Break up in the End”

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Rating: 7/10

First of all, it doesn’t help the state of country music for people to judge a song based on the artist. If people refuse to listen to this on principle because Cole Swindell has basically released nothing but mediocrity or complete shit his entire career, this is comparable to a mainstream listener refusing to listen to Jason Eady because he’s not on the radio. This is not about people who have given this song a shot with an open mind and happened to dislike it; rather, it’s directed at the ones who refuse to give Cole Swindell a chance to improve. If we don’t acknowledge when artists like this release something better but can only comment when they give us something terrible, what is the motivation for any of them to actually churn out better singles and thereby improve the state of our beloved country music? Not only that, it undermines the value of music to assume that certain artists are only capable of producing crap–the power of music and its ability to make people feel something goes far beyond the restrictions of artist or genre. Restricting your listening habits based on these things only makes you miss out on good songs.

So I’ll go on record proudly and say that Cole Swindell, singer of some of the most clichéd, uninteresting, misogynistic bullshit in mainstream country’s recent history, has actually released a good single. It’s a well-crafted song, a song with substance and emotion, and damn it, a song that actually sounds like it belongs in the country genre.

This is a song explaining that, even though he breaks up with this woman in the end, he’d go back and do everything over again. Their time together was worth it, and he includes little details like introducing her to his parents that add a personal touch. Think of a modern take on Ronnie Milsap’s “I Wouldn’t Have Missed it For the World.” Cole isn’t the greatest singer and never will be–a criticism for this track which I can understand more than some of the other problems people have had with it–but he gives a convincing, emotional performance here that makes up for his rather average technical skill. The chorus in particular really finds him in a vulnerable moment, and I’ll also add that it’s nice to see one of these previously faceless, interchangeable bros not only sing something with substance but actually add some heart to it. It doesn’t feel like this came off the songwriting conveyor belt, it feels like something Swindell actually felt. It feels honest in an era where honesty is glaringly absent from country music in the mainstream.

The production is simple here, with prominent acoustic guitar and light percussion. It works mostly because the main focus on a song like this should be the lyrics, but it almost feels a little underproduced, like it could have had a bit more variety in instrumentation or an interlude. This is definitely better than overproduction, but somehow, it does feel like it needed something more. That also could be due to his previously mentioned limited vocal ability, and the fact that the song was restricted to his range.

Overall, though, this is a really solid song, and we’re just going to have to deal with that. More importantly, it’s part of a subtle shift happening in the mainstream country format. When he’s releasing this, and Luke Bryan’s giving us the best single he’s produced in years with “Most People are Good,” it signals a definite, if small, change on country radio and in the mainstream. Whatever your personal feelings about this song, the best thing is that it’s actually helping the country genre for once, both in sound and substance. Well done, Cole Swindell.

Written by: Chase McGill, Jessie Jo Dillon, Jon Nite

Reviews

Album Review: Caleb Caudle – Crushed Coins

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Rating: 7/10

The two most important things in life are loss and love. This album has songs that are about both of those things, and from what I can conclude from listening to the lyrics, those are the two themes here; loss, and love. What better way to make a record about life?
“Lost Without You” gets right into the loss part. He’s missing someone, and he says, “until it’s over, I’m lost without you”, so perhaps that means he has no way of getting someone back. Perhaps they’re dead, or with someone else. The vagueness of these lyrics makes it hard to understand. I do like the instrumentation of this song, though. The guitars and overall sound are nice. “N.Y.C. in the Rain” also has lyrics I cannot seem to puzzle out. It seems to be a song about loneliness, how everyone is on their own course. People leave each other behind, or treat them badly, which causes them to feel like outsiders. While that’s a very sad theme, I can’t quite connect to this song emotionally. There is some very nice piano, though, and I definitely like the song instrumentally.
Everything changes for me lyrically with the third song, “Headlights”. It’s a song about dreams and how they never turn out quite like you would expect. I like how the lyrics address the fact that dreams look better until you start putting real effort into them. He’d rather dream something crazy than to see his dream is dead. “Empty Arms” is a song I really enjoy. To me, it’s about a long-distance relationship. He buys postcards, sends them with words she already knows, that they’re going to stay together, despite the brutality of the world. It’s a nice moment of lightness after the three heavier songs. I also like the more rock-sounding guitars on the song. It’s one of my favorites off of the album, I think.
“Love That’s Wild” has an interesting beginning, where I thought the sound would be completely different. After a few seconds of effects, steel guitar hits your ears, and makes this one of the most country offerings from this album. This is yet another love song. It talks about a couple who are deeply attached to one another. She made him better after he was broken, and now she’s his queen. I can’t help liking this song for its simplicity. The title track is a more acoustic offering, with only guitar and a couple other instruments backing up Caleb’s vocals. The line that really gets me is “there’s no laughter in this house”. I wish he wouldn’t repeat it, but he really paints the picture of a broken home very well. Once again, I’m wishing we had more specific details so that I could connect emotionally with this song, but it’s not a bad track by any means.
“Way You Oughta Be Seen” describes someone whom he’s seen through many different phases in their lives. He’s seen the highs, the lows, and the way they ought to be seen. He wishes everyone could see her the way she should be seen. “Stack of Tomorrows” once again has that more upbeat tempo that I really like on this album. It seems to be a song about time. He wants to do as much as he can before his time is up, so he’s stacking up tomorrows with his partner. He spends the last of the song repeating the same line about three or four times in a row, and it gets a bit tedious.
One of my other favorites off of the album is “Madelyn”. It has some really well-done fiddle. It’s the first song I listened to off of this album, and it made me interested to try the rest. In the song, he’s talking to Madelyn about their lives together. He talks about some of the painful things in their past, and then says he knows they’ll make it. He’ll help her when she needs it. Again, I really like these earnest love songs. “Six Feet From the Flowers” is one of the saddest songs I have heard all year. It’s all about a man who has lost his wife. He talks about how he has her pictures and trinkets. He has his workbench, but he hasn’t used it to build anything because he has nobody to build for. These are the kinds of details that really connected me to this song. The backing vocal of a sort of choir, and the organ in the background really give this song a somber feeling. In the end, years have passed, and the man dies, going home to see his wife. This has to be the highlight of the album. There is just too much feeling and thought poured into this track. If you listen to anything off of this record, make it this song. It’s unbearably sad, but it makes up for all of the other songs I failed to connect with.
“Until It’s Over” is the final track on the album. It’s a love song, where he talks about a woman who keeps him on track. The thing about this song is he keeps repeating the word “anymore”. It quickly got old, but I did like the idea of the song, as well as the acoustic instrumentation. It harkens back to the first song, because he says “until it’s over, I’m lost without you”. I’m not a fan of the instrumental that ends the song, but as everyone reading my posts knows, that’s just my personal taste.
In the end, I thought this was a solid album. The instrumentation was always very well-done, and the musical styles varied enough that I never got bored. There are some really good songs on here. Still, the thing that really brings this album down for me is the vagueness in a lot of the lyrics, and the fact that I can’t quite connect to the majority of the songs. If they had all been more specific in the pictures and characters Caleb Caudle painted with his words, this could easily have been a great album. Still, this has definitely made me interested to try out some of his other albums, and he is now an artist I’m intrigued to watch.

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Random Reflections, Reviews

My Country Exclusive Anniversary

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Time flies. That was my first thought when Megan told me I have been writing for Country Exclusive for nearly a year. It certainly doesn’t feel like I’ve been part of the site for that long. When I first joined, I had only written one album review. Writing about music was something I had thought about doing, but never to any serious degree. However, when Megan and I started talking about music, it led to her asking me to be part of Country Exclusive, and here I am.
In writing for Country Exclusive, I’ve definitely learned a lot. I have been on blogs where I’ve talked about and reviewed books, but writing about music is different. It causes you to have to think deeply about the possible meaning of song lyrics, and the reasons why a song’s instrumentation is the way it is. Writing about music can be a challenge, because it’s a very personal thing. A song could mean something to you, and a completely different thing to someone else. That’s the beauty of music, and the challenge for me, as a reviewer.
All of this is to say, being a writer for Country Exclusive has been very rewarding. It has caused me to think about music critically, as opposed to simply saying “I don’t like this”. It also gives me an outlet to discuss my favorite bands and albums, which I’ve never had before. Therefore, on my one-year anniversary as a reviewer for Country Exclusive, I’d like to thank Megan for taking a chance on my writing, and to the readers for following the site. I hope everyone continues to like what I write here, and I can’t wait to find my next favorite album or artist with you all.

Reviews

Song Review: Ashley Monroe’s “Hands on You”

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Rating: 7.5/10

First of all, whose idea was this to release the new Ashley Monroe single on the very same day that Kacey Musgraves is debuting new songs and giving us information on her next album? Invariably, Musgraves is going to overshadow Ashley Monroe today, and this becomes especially important when you take into account the ridiculous competition which has been manufactured among the very few women allowed to release country projects on major labels. It just seems like bad marketing strategy to release Ashley’s first song in three years on a day where it has to compete with Kacey Musgraves for attention and coverage…but I digress. It’s here, so let’s discuss the song.

So yeah, this is a sex song. Or, if you like, it’s an “almost-sex song,” as apparently the narrator didn’t actually get to have sex and instead is now lying in bed alone wishing for the things they could have done. It’s hard to review a song like this because they are what they are, but the main concern really becomes how well a singer can pull this off, and Ashley does well with it, giving a convincing performance and selling the lyrics well. Lyrically, it also manages to draw a good line between generic and overly detailed, so that the lines are specific enough within these parameters to make this song stand out among many that are similar. It’s also worth noting, especially in an environment where Maren Morris characterized women in country as having to be sexy all the time but not allowed to actually be sexual or express their desires, that Ashley Monroe seems to be breaking this stereotype here and is quite comfortable admitting these things.

The melody can start to get slightly samey after awhile, and it’s a good thing there’s an interlude breaking up the verses, but a bridge might have added something more to the song. There’s also some ambiguity inn the lyrics; the biggest question is why didn’t they lay their hands on each other? Was she simply shy, guilty about another relationship, or something else? It works because it can apply to many situations, and also the focus is really not meant to be on this part, but still, there could have been a line or two explaining this a little better, perhaps in the nonexistent bridge. She calls it “forbidden company” at one point, so would this have been adultery?

This is definitely Monroe’s least country moment to date, not really going completely in favor of pop country, but mostly adding that East Nashville vibe which has become even more cliché in independent and lesser-known mainstream music than Luke Bryan singing about tailgates. Not saying it doesn’t work on this song because it’s actually produced quite well, but it’s been done to death, and if her whole album is like this, it will be a shame to see such a traditional voice being used for more polished and modern music. For now, though, it does fit this song, and this is definitely a better start than “On to Something Good” was for The Blade. Promising song overall, and I look forward to her album.

Written by: Ashley Monroe, Jon Randall