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The Importance of Discussing Mainstream Artists: Featuring The Musical Divide

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Too often, in the discussion of “real country” and keeping tradition alive, we see independent fans choosing to dismiss the mainstream altogether. It’s certainly easy to do when you discover all the alternatives and realize there really is substantive songwriting and actual country instrumentation out there thriving, just beyond the lenses of radio and streaming playlists. But completely turning our backs on the commercial side of country music could potentially have damaging effects on the genre’s longevity. I teamed up with Zackary Kephart of The Musical Divide to talk about why paying attention to and covering mainstream country is still necessary. Read that below!

Megan: Last year around this time we did a piece together on “real country” and the artists still keeping it traditional. But there’s also the other side to this coin, where many traditionalists and fans of independent country dismiss the mainstream out of hand. I know for you, this came to a head recently over Lauren Jenkins’ album. What would you say in response to people who say country radio and the mainstream are lost causes, and we should just focus on the independent world?

Zack: Well, I’d say it’s entirely their choice as music consumers. But personally, as a self-appointed critic and scholar of the genre, I’d advise against this. Whether we like to admit it or not, the country music industry is a business. Critically, and objectively, I always think of country music in terms of how others see it. For example, right now it’s likely viewed as a dumping ground for unfair stereotypes given the Lil Nas X debate. When artists like Maren Morris, Kane Brown, or Luke Combs, three of the biggest current names, release a new song or album, they’re the faces of country music. So I’d say it’s important to take stock in and care about the genre’s mainstream. Like it or not, the debates always circle back to the mainstream anyway. Right now, country music is in the midst of an identity crisis not unlike the one it suffered in the early-to-mid ’80s. Sure, I have other options, but I still care about country music and how it’s being portrayed to the public.

Megan: Don’t get me started on that debate; that’s a whole other piece entirely. But yes, country is definitely in an identity crisis and is being ridiculed on the basis of a lot of negative stereotypes right now. Some of those stereotypes certainly have a basis, but it’s discouraging to see such a one-sided, disparaging approach to the genre by so much of the mainstream media right now. Again, though, that could generate a whole other discussion on its own. As far as how the genre is presented to the public, I can’t overstate the importance of this. I think that often, we who have turned off country radio and discovered the independent scene forget that at one time, we didn’t really know there were alternatives. You can argue that radio is irrelevant, an assertion I don’t completely agree on anyway, but even if you do hold this viewpoint, streaming playlists are arguably even worse than radio at portraying the country genre. It’s easy to forget that the mainstream is the mainstream for a reason; it’s still the most popular music. It’s still what most of the next generation will use to determine what “country” sounds like. If we abandon it altogether, I believe we put the long-term future of the genre in danger. You mentioned the ’80s, which is a great comparison, but where would we be right now if everyone had given up on the mainstream back then?

Zack: Well, the thing with the ’80s compared to now is that we didn’t have those alternative sources. You lived and died by those radio playlists. Of course, we had also had an onslaught of country music related movies such as 9 to 5 and Honeysuckle Rose during this time. The biggest example is obviously Urban Cowboy, an event that caused everyone to want to be “country.” When that trend faded away, and all of the bandwagon jumpers left, country music had to reclaim its core audience. I think we’re seeing that now with the career resurgences of Brooks & Dunn, Reba McEntire and George Strait. Luke Combs, Riley Green, and Midland are further examples of trying to bring that traditional balance back in. That balance is what’s off-center, currently. The faces of the genre are the aforementioned names along with, say, Thomas Rhett. Granted, I liked his last album, but critically, he’s barely a country music artist. But he represents country music to so many right now. He’s also popular, and people like his music, statements that apply to every other popular country music artist right now. Radio is not irrelevant, but again, that also depends on whether you’re talking personal or cultural importance. People often think within the limits of their own perspectives, which is fine. But you’re right, it’s still the leading platform for preferred listening experience. It’s the same thing as saying award shows don’t matter. Tell that to Chris Stapleton.

Megan: “People often think within the limits of their own perspectives”; this is a great point and absolutely correct. People forget that the artists you mentioned are rewriting country’s history, and the people that grow up listening to Rhett and Morris will believe this is what country is supposed to be. This kind of thinking will erode the genre and completely rip it from its roots. This is also why I think the other important reason to cover and discuss the mainstream is to highlight those artists who are moving the genre forward and still respecting the roots. This is why it’s so frustrating that an artist like the aforementioned Jenkins, who can rightly be called pop country, has had virtually no support from Big Machine Records while Rhett, Morris, and others are the faces of the genre. Why do you think labels are ignoring artists like Jenkins while promoting straight pop and R&B and rap as country?

Zack: Well, Jenkins has explicitly stated that her team won’t even bother with radio, since they believe they can reach an audience without exploring that avenue. Perhaps it’s a bold, innovative move, but it’s also frustrating that this is a new mindset. I’d of course love if this could be the new model, but as you said, the alternative is streaming playlists. Even there, the idea of radio continues to live on. People enjoy being given a playlist they can listen to hassle free. With an endless array of music, we’re now faced with the tyranny of choice. Basically, it’s easier to listen to someone else’s recommendations. So playlists that are somehow even more male-focused are the new “norm” for listeners. There are many things worth fighting for in country music. Gender equality, representation of other sorts, and sanctity of the genre’s roots. Caring about having that equal balance though brands you as out of style or as a “purist.” It should come as no surprise that the face for traditional country music right now is Luke Combs, a guy who looks like he could change your oil at Jiffy Lube. Jamey Johnson and Stapleton are further examples. Meanwhile, here comes Rhett, Morris or King Calaway where it’s clear the focus is more on the image. And again, this has little to do with pure taste. I personally like Rhett, but critically, I believe it’s still worth our time and effort to care about country music and its portrayal.

Megan: It’s interesting in the case of Jenkins that they believe they can promote her album without radio. In general, I believe that can be done; we’ve seen it with Stapleton certainly and most recently with Kacey Musgraves. But with Jenkins, it feels like she’s caught in a weird place with that strategy, being too pop for many independent fans to take notice. She’s the kind of artist that should be promoted in the mainstream because the music seems to find more of a balance and be more radio-friendly without compromising the lyrics. It’s a shame they went this route because this is the kind of music I want to see pushing the genre forward. We need good pop country as much as we need the traditionalists like Luke Combs. As far as taste, yes, it has very little to do with that. Once again we are called to look beyond ourselves and see the bigger picture. People like Combs aren’t ever going to be the next Jason Isbell, but that’s not what we need in the mainstream to help carry the genre forward. You mentioned King George Strait a moment ago, and this brings me to a point I’ve made several times on CE while defending the importance of the mainstream. People point to the outlaw movement all the time as saving country music from Nashville in the 70s and putting the creative control back in the hands of the artists. This is all true, but look at Strait. He was signed by MCA in 1981 and given only one single because he was thought to be too traditional. Here we are almost forty years later, and he’s still on that same label with one of the longest, most commercially successful careers in all of country music. He did his part, along with others, to turn country back to its roots, but from the inside. King George never reinvented the wheel, but he is as important to the genre as any of the outlaws. We need artists like that today, solid, traditionally minded artists who can carry country music’s legacy forward by making it appeal to the masses.

Zack: Your points about Strait call important points to mind. With him, and even Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson before during the outlaw revolution, they wanted to change the system. Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson and Margo Price don’t care to bring that type of change, which is fine. But it highlights a big difference between decisions made then and now. Strait represented an alternative to what was popular, just as certain artists such as Combs and Midland do now. Is it the exact same scenario? Of course not. But change requires more than just firing off a few tweets. It requires active change on the inside. Of course, that also involves being entrenched in the politics of it all, so it’s a tricky line to walk. And of course, this conversation isn’t strictly limited to traditional or pop country. It’s about caring about country music’s representation. Even someone like Eric Church, who’s hardly a traditionalist, represents a desire for true artistry. Within country music, he embodies that vagabond spirit that’s certainly familiar to country music, despite what his music may actually sound like. It certainly takes all kinds, but a lack of care will only mean that the bottom line gets served. Country music hasn’t needed saving in terms of pure quality. That’s hard to judge. But between the onslaught of the rockabilly movement, the Urban Cowboy movement, the stagnation of the Nashville Sound era (note again, “stagnation,” not an indictment of the era itself), and even now, country music has certainly needed saving.

Megan: Great point on Eric Church and the spirit of artistry. That’s important for country music and for all of music in general. Within country music, I’d argue that’s just as important, if not more, than keeping the traditional sounds alive. It’s more than fiddle and steel and even storytelling, it’s also about being an artist instead of a businessperson. In the mainstream, you have to be both, but someone like Church perfectly illustrates the difference between making a genre-bending record as an artist and exploiting country for cash like many of these artists do. I’m a big fan of Church, but even if you aren’t, or you prefer a more traditional sound, it’s important to see the larger impact of Church’s music and artistry on the culture. I’d rather listen to an artist with something to say than one who is simply going through the motions, even if their sound is traditional.

Zack: Agreed. And that’s still occurring in mainstream country. There’s still music worth discussing and championing, despite what naysayers say. More than that though, I think we’ve established that these conversations matter. To give up on the mainstream is to give up on country music and its potential. The current country charts are a cesspool because we’ve abandoned that hope and drive to fight for an American art form. In 20 years time, perhaps the entire landscape will change. I’d certainly expect a radical departure in the system at some point. Country music as a commercial genre isn’t even 100-years-old yet. But for now, examining and critically discussing artists within the mainstream isn’t worthless, it’s fighting for country music.

Megan: So for the naysayers and people who dismiss the mainstream and focus only on Americana and Red Dirt, who would you say is really pushing the genre forward right now in mainstream country? Who would you say is making the case for good pop country and making good modern music that still respects the roots of the genre?

Zack: You already mentioned Jenkins. I’m a big fan of what she’s doing. I’d say Combs represents the fact that country music is still for the everyday person. He also presents a curious case for how authenticity matters in the industry. Church represents the hangdog spirit that’s always been embedded in the genre. So does Miranda Lambert, despite recent setbacks. Riley Green, Jon Pardi, Midland, and even Blake Shelton now represent a turning of the tide for the genre. Carrie Underwood, despite an underwhelming recent album, also represents how country music can be accessible without completely compromising its roots. Stapleton is the mystifying oddity who both defies expectations and also represents that same outlaw spirit in country. Even Kane Brown, love him or hate him, represents the future of country music. Between him and Combs, there are no hotter artists out there right now in terms of commercial success. Again, this is me looking outside of my own perspective. Of course too, there’s names I’d love to say are killing it, but at the very least are trying to make it in a broken system. Cam, William Michael Morgan and Runaway June immediately come to mind, among others.

Megan: I agree on Combs being important for representing the everyday person in country, and not doing it in a patronizing way, or with cliches about trucks and moonshine. Stapleton and Church both represent that desire for artistry, that intangible thing that makes artists connect with an audience because we believe they’ve lived out their songs and have something genuine to say. Lambert has been important both in her solo career and through the Pistol Annies, keeping a more traditional sound and providing a much-needed female perspective. Underwood’s last album was underwhelming, but she’s always done a fine job of mixing country and pop in a way that’s respectful to both genres. I’d also cite Brothers Osborne as being somewhat similar to Combs in that they’re representing everyday people. Their last album really drove home the fact that in forsaking substantive lyrics and interesting melodies, we’ve also lost appreciation for guitar solos and instrumental flourishes. They aren’t traditional, but they are making very good modern music and evolving the country genre in the right way. And Dierks Bentley really returned to form on his latest record as well, managing to find a smart balance between contemporary and traditional. And of course there’s the aforementioned Musgraves, who achieved an Album of the Year Grammy for a country record. That’s victory in 2019. A staunchly traditional album is not going to see that kind of reception, and although I’m going to continue to stand and fight for the inclusion of traditional country and fair representation, Musgrave’s win is a victory for women, for substance, and yes, for music that can rightly be included in the country genre. It’s important to champion the good modern country, because these are the artists that will influence generations. And like it or not, I’m sure most of us would much rather Golden Hour be the album that influences younger audiences than anything by Rhett, Morris, etc.

Zack: I’d have mentioned Brothers Osborne, Bentley and Musgraves if I had only thought of them. Like I said, there are plenty of artists who could stand toe-to-toe with artists in the independent scene, and your contributions are also fitting names. As a fan, it saddens me that country music is looked upon as “yeehaw culture” or a genre of music people can make fun of since they don’t like it. To an extent, there is a danger that artists such as Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan, and Jason Aldean have brought to the forefront – rural pride pandering. Now we’re seeing the consequences of it all. And people do care about what’s happening in mainstream country music. Former journalist and current YouTuber Grady Smith’s viral snap-track video is further proof of that. In the end, I’d say it’s important to care enough about country music to examine it personally and critically.

Megan: It saddens me that country music is seen that way as well, and I do believe some of it is the aftermath of bro country. But country has been the victim of stereotypes, both warranted and otherwise, for its entire history. This is almost another entire discussion, and certainly an important one. It’s one I wouldn’t mind having in the future. But as far as this particular topic, I think ultimately you’re right. It’s important to care about the genre both personally and critically and to be subjective as well as objective enough to see others’ perspectives and the bigger picture. We shouldn’t give up on the mainstream, and we should champion the artists still doing it right on Music Row. As you said, these conversations matter, and I certainly enjoyed this one.

Reviews

Album Review: Maren Morris–Girl

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Rating: 2/10

This is not going to be a traditionalist bashing of the new Maren Morris album on the grounds that it isn’t country in the slightest. Every artist should have the right to his or her own self-expression and should make the music they want to make. I am not going to criticize Maren Morris for making a pop/R&B album, or even for marketing that album to country; you can read enough about my opinions regarding that on Twitter, and it’s really a separate issue. Regardless of your position, we are music fans first, and although I will not pretend that I believe this music is right for the country genre, and I firmly believe it is less deserving of the precious few slots that this broken system will allow women than many other more country-sounding women, traditional and modern alike, I will not bash a record simply because it isn’t my taste. Kelsea Ballerini’s latest album was, somehow, less country than this one, but i reviewed it as music first because it’s a pretty good pop record. Questions of genre distinction are important, but there are larger points being ignored here by both sides.

Simply put, this is not a very good album no matter what genre you label it. It’s not only that it doesn’t belong in country; in fact, that’s almost beside the point compared to all the other problems with GIRL. It’s mediocre and derivative lyrically and littered with bad production decisions. It’s also proof that bad music in the country format doesn’t just arrive via bro country or Sam Hunt’s style of spoken word, a case that uniqueness isn’t necessarily synonymous with quality.

The brightest spot on this record is the vocal ability of Maren Morris. Her phrasing and styling are certainly not country, but again, that’s a secondary concern. She’s a fine singer in a technical sense, and she has a pretty unique voice. She sings the more upbeat material with energy and personality, and you get the feeling that this is indeed mostly the record Maren wanted to make.

It falls terribly short, however, in the songwriting department. Some of these tracks do have great messages, but the actual execution is often empty and derivative, devoid of anything truly meaningful to say. Take the title track, for example, which offers a good message about not comparing women to one another and advises women to think positively and keep their heads high when life is hard. Certainly a worthy subject, but the writing itself is just so empty and generic. As a woman listening to this, I don’t feel inspired or empowered, not the way I do when Emily Scott Robinson sings of struggle and abuse, or when Angaleena Presley sings about the institutional sexism in the country industry and the way some women feel trapped in harmful marriages by archaic ideas. “GIRL” is just an empty, feel-good mantra that, even if it wasn’t intended to, comes across as pandering to the media and calculated and formulaic lyrically.

“Common,” a duet with Brandi Carlile about loving one another despite our differences, suffers from the same fate. Carlile sings the hell out of this, and I look forward to seeing what these two and Amanda Shires will deliver with The Highwomen, but this song feels shallow and underdeveloped, like it could have been so much more. Once again, it’s a good message that fails to really say anything in its execution, much like Carrie Underwood’s recent single, “Love Wins.” There’s nothing really wrong with either of these tracks, but both try so hard to appeal to everyone and bring a universal message that they ultimately don’t say anything important or lasting.

We also have several sex songs on this record, and sex songs are not inherently bad, but the God-awful production of “Make out With Me” makes this song absolutely intolerable. To add to that, it is literally written as a drunken voice mail, and I question whether or not a man could record this in today’s country format and not be called misogynistic, fairly or otherwise. “RSVP” is also just insufferable, especially with the word “gots” replacing “got” in the chorus to add R&B phrasing and further drive home the point that this is miles from anything you could reasonably call country. Once again,, a secondary concern, but it only adds insult to injury as you struggle through this album.

There are some better moments in terms of the writing, though. “Great Ones” is an interesting love song melodically and lyrically, although it is cluttered by the overproduction that unfortunately plagues this entire record. “A Song For everything” actually scales back the production enough to allow a relatable sentiment to connect with the listener, and here, Morris sounds invested emotionally and really sells the song. The idea that music can get us through anything is one that most of us can relate to, and it’s here in this more subtle moment on the record where Maren Morris makes a connection far stronger than with the empty platitudes of “GIRL” and “Common.” “The bones” is another of the stronger tracks, again helped by the emotional performance of Maren Morris and less clutter in terms of production.

That messy production renders a lot of the more mediocre tracks difficult to listen to. “All My Favorite People,” for example, a lively party song with Brothers Osborne that would be a lightweight, fun track on a better album, is just a disappointment here. There are some clever lines, but no one involved in this project could seem to resist producing the hell out of everything. It’s not random, cacophonous production reminiscent of Keith Urban’s latest atrocity of a record, but it adds unnecessary layers to everything until all the heartfelt sentiments that Maren Morris wanted to convey are lost. “To Hell & Back” and “Gold Love” are prime examples, two songs that might have been standouts if Morris didn’t sound lifeless singing them. As mentioned, she’s a great technical singer, but her heart doesn’t shine through on so much of this. It would be nice to see her personality as much on something more vulnerable like “Gold Love” as much as we see it on an energetic song like “Flavor.”

This is not about genre. As an artist, Maren Morris should have the creative freedom to make the record of her choice, and it’s great that she has. But the record she wanted to make just isn’t very good. It’s underwhelming lyrically, and much of its themes are too generalized and shallow to really make an impact. The production is cluttered at best and counterproductive to some of the songs at worst. Marketing this album to country is just the icing on the cake, and while we shouldn’t gloss over this fact either, the bigger issue is that this is just bad music in general. It’s not good pop music sorely mislabeled, it’s bad pop music with an unfortunate country label attached to it to rub salt in the wound. It’s not the genre-bending, inspiring blend of country pop it believes itself to be; it’s just another generic collection of songs that frankly, we wouldn’t even be discussing at all if they were being marketed to pop and it didn’t seem as if Maren Morris were courageously pushing some sort of arbitrary sonic boundary. Kacey Musgraves and Caitlyn Smith both made incredible albums in 2018 that pushed boundaries and fused the sounds of pop and country, but the difference is that these records were marked by unique, insightful songwriting and stirring vocal performances, helped rather than hampered by the production. GIRL boasts none of this; indeed, it offers nothing worth more than a passing glance, and in the vast music landscape of 2019, deserves to be forgotten.

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Album Review: Florida Georgia Line–Can’t Say I Ain’t Country

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Rating: 3.5/10

Florida Georgia Line, who have made a career out of rap verses, tired dirt road clichés, and unintelligible vocabulary, have decided to prove to us all on their fourth album that they are, in fact, undeniably and authentically country. The Apple Music description of this album actually says, in part, that they are making a case for themselves against the “self-anointed purists who don’t warm to their snap tracks or frequent collaborations across hip-hop and pop.” This whole record comes across as defensive, right down to the cover, as if walking out of a barn somehow gives them country cred. But it’s hard to be something you aren’t, and the result of their efforts is a walking identity crisis which, though not the worst thing they’ve ever released, is certainly the most awkward and unsure of itself. It’s like two warring personalities were fighting for control of this record, and neither one really prevailed, so we wound up with a cluttered, contradictory, defensive mess.

ON one side, we have the FGL that are desperate to prove to everyone that they’re still country. The title track actually does this sort of well, inserting humorous details like the fact that it’s easier to believe the moon landing was fake than to declare that these guys aren’t country. It’s pretty decent on its own, but in the context of the whole album, it loses some of its merit. “Can’t Hide Red” is the darker, edgier version of this, featuring Jason Aldean and boasting about the dumb reasons they’re still rednecks even though they live in the city and play hip-hop. The darker, heavier production here is actually quite good; in fact, the instrumentation and production of a nice portion of this album is good, and certainly a huge improvement for Florida Georgia Line. It’s the lyrics, much like most of the duo’s output, where this song really fails, citing stupid reasons like smoking and drinking as evidence of their country cred and rhyming “twang” with “sing” because Tyler Hubbard intentionally pronounces it “sang” in a horribly exaggerated Southern drawl.

But it’s on this more country side of the record that we find the brighter spots. “Speed of Love” is just fun, and instead of rapping, it feels like the second verse is more of a spoken word thing that’s always been a part of country music. It’s nice to hear a prominent steel guitar in a Florida Georgia Line song as well. “Colorado,” one of the pre-released tracks that made the idea of this album interesting, is still one of the highlights, and yes, also sounds like modern pop country. “Simple” is still a fun track as well, although it’s a bit worse in light of the whole album, as the references to the simple life and flying down back roads feel more pandering in context.

By the same token, this attempt to cement their country status resulted in one of the worst things you’ll hear on any 2019 release: four useless skits featuring some redneck pastor named Brother Jervel. How anyone thought these would actually contribute to any of us taking Florida Georgia Line seriously is beyond me. I could go on, but these speak for themselves, and you have to hear them to fully appreciate their awfulness.

But even while trying to be as country as possible, they’ve somehow managed to also be less country than they’ve ever been on this album. WE have “Women,” featuring Jason Derulo, because you know, the presence of Jason Derulo is vital to any truly country record. The song itself is a lame attempt to do what Keith Urban attempted with “Female,” but it just fails spectacularly. “Talk You Out of It” is the first of several sex songs and the least offensive, as the production sort of works, and the lyrics aren’t completely cringe-worthy. It’s forgettable fluff on its own, but then, near the end of the record, we have the completely self-absorbed “Like You Never Had It,” a waste of three minutes where Tyler Hubbard tries to be charming by declaring that he’ll be the best sex this woman has ever had and that she’ll be calling her friends to brag about it. It’s followed up by “Swerve,” which, if possible, is even more God-awful. The hook of this is literally, “you’re makin’ me swerve.” Aside from the fact that that doesn’t really even make any sense, it’s filled with “Sun Daze” style innuendos and backed by horrifyingly bad production. And all of this begs the question: how can you call yourselves country in the same breath as giving us this crap?

What a confusing record. The dual personalities make this album a jarring, random, messy listen. On one hand, Florida Georgia Line seem hell-bent on proving that they’re still country and still fit in with their critics. ON the other hand, they’re stretching boundaries on some of these tracks further than they ever have, releasing some of the least country material of their careers. It’s obvious they don’t have a clue about their identity, and it’s a shame because behind all of the marketing and bullshit, there are a few really good selections here, bright spots on a strange album and in the duo’s career as a whole. Maybe they can’t say they aren’t country, but this record makes it clear that they can’t tell us who they are either.

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Album Review: Carrie Underwood–Cry Pretty

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Rating: 4/10

Carrie Underwood’s sixth album could have been her best one so far. It certainly had possibility. It marked the transition from Sony to UMG, her first label change since she won American Idol all those years ago. There were hints of this album being particularly personal to her, and the first single, the title track from the album, certainly seemed to be. It was strong, explaining that no matter how hard you try to keep your emotions in check for the public, sometimes everything comes pouring out. I commented in my review of the single how different it was from almost everything on country radio at the moment, being written solely by women, containing actual country instrumentation and being able to be correctly labeled pop country, and most importantly, just being substantive. “Love Wins,” though not quite the stirring anthem of unity it thinks it is, still showed promise for the album. I’ve been intrigued by this record both as a reviewer and as a fan. This was Carrie Underwood’s opportunity to show leadership in the country genre, and she seemed to be doing that pretty well ahead of the release.

As for the album? If I could sum it up in one word, it would be disappointing. It just destroys all your hopes and dreams and expectations and leaves you thoroughly dismayed that Carrie Underwood has squandered another chance to live up to her incredible potential.

This disappointment is amplified even more by the impressive strength of the opening three tracks. First, we have the single and title track, followed by “Ghosts on the Stereo” and “Low,” two songs about getting over a relationship. Aside from both displaying country themes, there’s some country flavor to each of them as well, and though both are primarily pop with country hints sonically, they fit Carrie Underwood well. The lyrics are strong, and Underwood’s vocals on “Low” are just astonishing. This song does a great job building throughout, making the most of her raw vocal talent. Three songs into this album, I was starting to think this might end up being one of Carrie’s best. Mainstream records tend to get better as they go along as well, so this made Cry Pretty even more promising.

Then we get to “Backsliding,” and everything just starts to fall apart. Look, I get that Carrie Underwood is just as much, if not more so, a pop artist than a country one, but she’s always blended the two genres fairly well. These songs are increasingly cluttered by overproduction; instead of blending country and pop naturally, many of these songs feel like they’ve been forced into pop crossover status. If “Southbound,” your standard mainstream party anthem, disposable and lacking any real substance, were the worst thing here, we could excuse it as a misstep, an ill-advised attempt at radio relevancy. As it is, it’s comparatively harmless when the sixth track, “That song That We Used to Make Love To,” comes on, with its weird, unnecessary electronic sounds and generic R&B production. There are some especially distracting sounds at the beginning of this song that make me seriously question these producer’s ear for music–how does it enhance a song to add random squawking sounds in the mix? Who thought this made the track better? Similar to Keith Urban’s latest album, there are places here where it just feels like they went into the studio, pressed a bunch of random buttons, and sent it out. Someone needs to tell these people that more doesn’t always mean better because subtlety and nuance have clearly become lost concepts on Music Row. In Carrie Underwood’s case, I can’t even say her songs were screwed up by ambitious producers, for she herself did much of the producing on this record. This was something that initially excited me, especially given the lack of female producers in country and music in general, but this was clearly not a great production decision.

We do get one more outstanding cut on the latter half of the album with the piano ballad “Spinning Bottles.” This song looks at drinking and addiction and how it affects two people in a relationship. Carrie’s vocal performance is excellent, the piano is beautiful, and the production doesn’t get in the way of everything. this is one place where they managed to hold back, and it really paid off.

This song is flanked by “The Bullet” and “Love Wins,” this record’s attempt to get political, or more accurately, to promote unity despite this contentious political climate. “The Bullet” is a look at the lives of a victim’s family after he was shot, stating that the effects last far beyond the funeral. It’s careful not to take a side, with the line “you can blame it on hate, or blame it on guns” sticking out to let the song speak to all sides. “Love wins” is more generic, just your typical song about coming together and loving one another. Both songs are strong in light of the rest of the album, but equally, both are just a bit too sappy and obvious. On a stronger project, I don’t really mind these two songs, but they don’t add anything; here, they’re better than some of the rest but ultimately still feel a bit underwhelming. “The Bullet” is the better of the two since it has a bit more to say and more specific details.

The rest of the latter half is just unremarkable. Both “Drinking Alone” and “Kingdom” are fine lyrically, but again, the production is just messy. “Kingdom” actually starts out understated, but by the second verse, this simple ode to her family and home life gets drowned out by the arrangement. this song would have worked if they’d been able to resist turning it into a power ballad. WE get that Carrie Underwood can belt, but being able to pull out the simplicity and emotion of a song is just as important as sustaining all these high notes. “Drinking Alone” is one of those times where Carrie’s pop side would have come out naturally and made the song great, but instead of a good pop song, it’s infused with that same production style that hinders some of the other tracks, an almost R&B flavor. Underwood’s vocals are strong here, though, making this one mediocre rather than terrible. “End up with You” is just awful, annoying and overproduced as much as “That Song That We Used to Make Love To” on the front of the album. And of course we have “The Champion” as a bonus track, which serves its purpose well enough as a Super bowl hype song, but it’s just so unflattering to the vocal range and talents of Carrie Underwood. On an already disappointing, subpar effort, this track just seems like a fittingly bad closer.

I really wish I enjoyed this album more. Aside from “Spinning Bottles,” I remain distinctly underwhelmed from the fourth track onward. It’s not that there’s more pop material on this project either, it’s that everything is so forced and over the top. The production through so much of this is just a cacophonous mess. It only adds insult to injury that the first three songs and “Spinning Bottles” are so strong because these are some of the best of Carrie Underwood’s career. But this is easily her least consistent, least country, most disappointing, and ultimately worst album she has released to date. It had so much potential, and that potential comes out in several places on this record. Don’t overlook those places. It’s just such a shame, though, that this album so spectacularly fails to live up to expectations or to the talent and ability of Carrie Underwood.

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Review: Runaway June’s Self-Titled EP

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Rating: 7/10

It seems like forever since Runaway June burst onto the scene in 2016 with “Lipstick,” bringing excellent harmonies and a decidedly pop country blend to a mainstream that was most definitely pop. Certainly most male and/or less country-minded artists would have an album out by now and might even be working on a second. Runaway June, a group of three women who have the audacity to include actual country instrumentation like fiddle, steel, and twangy piano in their music, not to mention actual intelligent songwriting, have of course had to wait two years after their first single to release a project; and even now, we’ve only been granted an EP, a format that’s systematically ignored and undermined by the whole industry. It’s as if Music Row has collectively decided that projects containing any roots or substance must be limited to a certain number of songs so that the casual listener thinks this invasion of quality must be a fluke and continues to buy the endless amounts of uninteresting, recycled bullshit these labels mercilessly churn out, and God forbid this quality music come from women, that’s only another strike against it.

So a five-song EP is all we’ve been allowed from Runaway June even after this long wait, but it’s still new music from a promising trio in the mainstream and should not be overlooked. This is firmly in the pop country realm, so the stricter traditionalists probably won’t have much to enjoy here. But this is pop country, not straight pop, and this is for the mainstream listener who is tired of the lack of substance on radio and streaming playlists, the modern country fan who is still disenchanted with just how far the genre has slipped in recent years.

Opening this EP we have the fun, instantly re-playable “Buy my Own Drinks,” an anthem of singleness announcing that this narrator can move on by herself after her breakup. She doesn’t need the guy in the bar to buy her a round. She can pay her own tab and have a good time by herself. It’s a great message to women that we don’t need men to define us, but that’s an undertone–the song itself is lighthearted and delivered in a fun way, just saying that she can get over him and be fine on her own. “I Am Too” is sort of this song’s antithesis, as once again, our heroine is in a bar getting over an ex, but this time, she’s vulnerable, blaming herself for the things that went wrong in the relationship and admitting her mistakes, wondering if he’s somewhere drinking and thinking about her. It’s a bit hard to make an overarching statement on a short little EP, but these two songs together really do a good job of showcasing two equally valid reactions in the aftermath of a relationship.

Another angle of complicated relationships comes out in “Got Me Where I Want You,” as the narrator sings of wanting a man that she knows she shouldn’t. It’s not really clear why she shouldn’t, and this song could have done a little better at painting this picture, but it’s written well, framed around the hook, “you only want me when you got me where you want me, and you got me where I want you tonight.” This track is accentuated by some lovely piano and enhanced by the harmonies of Naomi Cooke, Hannah Mulholland, and Jennifer Wayne. Their harmonies also serve to make the next song, a cover of Dwight Yoakam’s “Fast as You,” work; It’s risky and arguably inadvisable to make one song a cover on such a short project, and I had my doubts about this, but it’s the strongest selection here. They manage to find that perfect balance between staying true to the original while making this song their own, and also, to the ones that came to country from the bros and Sam Hunt, this introduces an actual country artist, and with a song that’s fun and catchy and makes “true” country seem, for lack of a better word, cool.

The EP closes with “Wild West,” a version of which I reviewed when it first came out in 2017, and although this version is more contemporary, and I prefer the other, this is still the best original track here. Steel guitar can still be heard in this version, even if it is buried deeper in the mix, and that fiddle solo is defiant and prominent. After all the relationship troubles, this song manages to give the EP a final thought, a happy ending where so many sad ones had preceded it. Again, it’s hard to make a cohesive statement in five songs and sixteen minutes, but having “Wild west” as the closer helps to do so and makes the EP a little more complete.

This is a solid debut from a promising group. Not for the traditionalists, but a good blend of country and pop for the more pragmatic, contemporary listeners. There’s substance in the songwriting, and the harmonies are strong and well-defined. These harmonies add a uniqueness to Runaway June’s sound as well. I only wish we had more music to listen to from these ladies, but this is certainly a fine start.

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