New Music Tuesday: Vol. 3-2025
Busy little week in the new music space
Ok, this was a busy week of great new music. We got albums, we got singles and we got music videos. I’m very excited about what this crop of new music says about where we can go this year. Because that is the only thing I’m excited about what this year is saying about itself so far.
Melissa Carper & Theo Lawrence - “Thank You, But No Thank You”
These voices and collective driving strings make this neo-classic country song come alive. Lyrically, it’s much more complex than it lets on. I’ve been a fan of Carper for a long time, and Lawrence is one of those players who fall into rotation on playlists, stopping me in my tracks every time I hear his voice. Together, they make great music — I hope they make more.
Johnny Marfa and the Lights - Take Me Back to Texas
It was 2021. We were locked down. We just moved to Los Angeles, and life kinda sucked. My lovely wife told me she found my new favorite band while searching for good Texas queso. Homestate, the LA-based Texas taco shop with a strong social media game and high-quality white queso, posted about these guys playing a socially distanced show on their patio. And I’ve been a stan ever since. Honestly, I was nervous to meet the guys after their Grand Ole Echo debut. But they are just good dudes, and, good god, they play an incredible live show. And I’m thrilled they got this new album out there. No Skips.* Also, all proceeds of BandCamp sales will go toward fire relief for the next month. If you take nothing from today’s extra-long post, trust me and listen to this album.
Brea Burns & The Boleros - “It Ain’t Drunk Drivin’ If Jesus Has The Wheel”
Brea Burns plays honky tonk music, and if you don’t like it, get out of the way. I happen to like it very much, even though I find her taste in antique dolls unsettling. The Honky Tonk Queen of Arizona puts on a great show, and you should check her out when she comes to town — it’s fun country music, something we all need right now.
John Mutchler - “Young Man’s Lament”
Frontman of the now-dissolved The Golden Roses brings the heat with his solo project exploring themes of getting old — but not much older. It’s that rut called middle age, he explains, as he hits me where it hurts. The song dances on the edges of classic Texas songwriter traditions and is a better take on what could find its way on Country Radio™ if things made more sense in that space, as he outlines all of my feelings. Come on, John. Why ya got to be like that?
Juliet McConkey - “Drifting”
The second single off her forthcoming album, “Drifting,” solidifies McConkey’s country bonafide (not that it would matter) with an absolutely incredible presentation of James Steinle’s lyrics and production. I’m also a sucker for incredible packaging — and this Soggy Anvil Records artist is promoting her down-home country album with five Juliet tomato seeds. The rest of this album promises to be an incredible experience, and there is nothing like a homegrown tomato.
Vinnie Paolizzi - “The Song That Makes Me Rich”
What a smart play on a list song format about love lost.
“It’ll be three chords
And anything but true,
The song that makes me rich,
won’t be about you.”
So good.
Pug Johnson - “Believer” (Video)
Natalie Weiner had an incredible long read on Don’t Rock the Inbox about the intersection of jazz and country music last week — and here is a good modern example. Johnson’s sound spans genre without any trouble. Johnson notes the song slips into Swamp Pop, according to the release. Also, I like that his wife stars as his wife in the video about their love.
Bigger Names With New Music
I try to highlight folks who won’t get a ton of press elsewhere in this column. But sometimes, there are new songs from folks I’ve loved forever and this week, I couldn’t ignore two of my favorite singing Jasons and a Hailey.
Hailey Whitters - “Casseroles” — Twenty-five seconds. That’s all you need to hear. But you’ll want to keep listening and get that good cry. This deserves to be in the pantheon of the best saddest country songs — I’d put this up against any song about loss. Whitters’ vocal capability and the haunting steel on this track deliver a gut punch.
Jason Isbell - “Bury Me” — Oh, boy. Isbell and an acoustic guitar. And a “Live Oak” allusion? You had me at the acapella opening bars — and all the bars between. Please listen to this song — or, at the very least, read these lyrics.
Jason Boland & The Stragglers - “Drive” — This song needed Boland, and he embodies it. Jamie Lin Wilson (who doesn’t get enough credit for being such a badass) collaborated with Jason Eady (Band of Heathens, solo work) and Kelley Mickwee (The Trishas, Shinyribs’ Shiny Soul Sisters, solo work) to write this song. And when you add the legendary producer Lloyd Maines to the mix, it’s obvious why this works so well.
*The kids say No Skips, right? That’s a thing?
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