This month’s favorites include Dierks Bentley, The Brummies, John Prine, Erik Dylan, Wild Feathers, Kacey Musgraves, and Tyler Farr.
Lydia: “Living” by Dierks Bentley
I’m so excited for the forthcoming Dierks Bentley album (The Mountain, out June 8), and based on what I’ve heard so far I won’t be disappointed. “Living” is the latest track released, and it’s an inspiring piece with a pretty simple yet important message. Life goes by so quickly, and most of the time we are simply living it. This song reminds you to not just live life, but make a conscious effort to enjoy it, because as we are so often reminded that important times, people and memories don’t last forever.
The lyrics perfectly put its message into perspective: “Some days you’re just breathing, just trying to break even / Sometimes your hearts pounding out of your chest, and sometimes it’s just beating / Some days you just forget, what all you’ve been given / Yeah some days you just get by, and some days you’re alive / And some days you’re living.”
Natalie: “Drive Away” by The Brummies feat. Kacey Musgraves
This dreamboat of a song waltzed its way onto my favorites list a few weeks ago, just before The Brummies’ album Eternal Reach was released, and now it’s in heavy rotation. The whole album is excellent indie-folk-pop with strong Nashville roots (check out “Lovers Do,” “Do It Tomorrow” and “Norway” ASAP), but I can’t get enough of the Kacey-coated vocals on this track. The lyrics’ convey a picture of urgent messages and covert escape plans, with production that gains both momentum and buoyancy from the weightless harmonies and sparkling electric guitar.
Preorder on iTunes here.
Emily: “Big Sky” by The Wild Feathers
Each song – while perhaps not as thematically out-of-the-box as her past work – is written with care, and with a level of cleverness and intelligence that allows for Musgraves’ perspective to shine. From the hook-laden “Lonely Weekend” to the melancholic “Space Cowboy” and the reflective “Oh, What a World,” Golden Hour finds Musgraves pushing herself artistically, and therefore delivering what may just be her most enjoyable project to-date, as well as one that may go on to define her career.