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Single Review: Jake Owen, “Days of Gold”

October 26, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 4

Jake Owen Days of GoldIt sounds like even Jake Owen got bored singing songs about girls and trucks and summer days and nights.

How else to explain the rapid fire delivery and fierce banjo and guitar on “Days of Gold”, which has him spitting out every country summer song cliché as quickly as he can get them out of his mouth?

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Getting to Know Brandy Clark

October 20, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 4

Brandy ClarkAs a general rule, you can scan the credits of any new country album and assume that if Brandy Clark is a writer on one of the songs, it’s the best song on the album. As Clark readies the release of 12 Stories, her debut album as an artist, it’s a great time for fans of that remarkable set to get caught up on Clark’s work to date.

Believe the hype. Clark really is as good as everyone is saying she is. Possibly even better, as these twenty tracks suggest. Scroll down to the bottom, and you can listen to snippets from all of them as you read along.

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Single Review: Zac Brown Band, “Sweet Annie”

September 30, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 17

Zac Brown Band Sweet AnnieZac Brown Band’s laid back approach can make it easy to miss when they are actually digging deeper with their lyrics.

Their music often sounds designed to fade into the background, particularly on their radio singles, which usually land somewhere between faceless and mildly interesting, but rarely compelling in any meaningful way.

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Single Review: American Young, “Love is War”

September 8, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 8

American Young Love is WarThere’s a country radio station in NYC proper for the first time in nearly twenty years. The last one went off the air before I was old enough to drive, so when I found out it existed, I immediately checked it out.

Then I immediately checked out. It’s not listenable to me. It’s playing all of today’s hits and those from the past couple of years, and sometimes a song that I like will come on, but it’s always sandwiched between filler that hurts my ears.

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Single Review: Taylor Swift, “Red”

August 3, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 18

Taylor Swift RedBeing a great songwriter can be just as much about being distinctive and unique as it is about writing great songs. Being a great songwriter that records her own material requires not getting in the way of your own song.

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Single Review: Kacey Musgraves, “Blowin’ Smoke”

July 28, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 9

Kacey Musgraves Blowin' SmokeOne of my longest running criticisms of contemporary country music is the disappearance of the working poor. It’s a segment of the population that has been growing exponentially, but the genre that has historically been associated with chronicling their experiences has instead chosen to lionize and romanticize small town partying and country living. Lots of songs about Sunday mornings and Saturday nights, but almost none about those tiring days in between.

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