Best of Music: February 2021

*check out my last music round-up here!*

I went a bit mad with music this month. I favourited loads of playlists, listened to them at all hours of the day, skipped, shuffled, and liked until I had a pretty well-compiled playlist of my own. With almost 50 tracks, getting it down to my top eight was a challenge, but I think you’ll like them; and if you fancy listening to that full playlist, who am I to stop you? Find that here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4hwR6WqSciJ5j5RYGuErMt. Without further ado, here are the top songs I listened to in February 2021!

Breakups – Seaforth

I will never forgive Covid19 from stopping me seeing Seaforth live. I was due to see this Aussie country-pop duo perform at CMC Rocks Festival 2020 which sadly didn’t go ahead. However, at that time, I’ll admit I’d never heard of Seaforth. Perhaps seeing them at the festival would have introduced me to their music sooner, but this weird year has given me the opportunity to delve into their discography with a renewed passion. Breakups is a soft song that anyone who’s ever been through a breakup needs to listen to, because I promise it’s one you’ll be able to relate to: “All I wanna do is hear your voice, pretend it doesn’t hurt like hell. Drink some wine and talk about the past, and not go ten steps back, but breakups don’t work like that.” If breakups aren’t your thing, listen to Everything Falls For You which is a song guaranteed to make anyone fall in love with you. 

https://genius.com/Seaforth-breakups-lyrics

 

Somewhere Drinking – Lexie Hayden

Obviously I was in the mood to get in my feelings this month (it was Valentines month, after all) so Lexie Hayden’s Somewhere Drinking came along at a perfect time. Lexie has a truly beautiful voice, and this relatively stripped back ballad allows that voice to shine, full of emotion. This song charts what we all think about the one that got away: “I’m gonna be here a while, somewhere drinking something strong, sitting here singing along to some heartbreak song. Wondering if there’s a shot that you might be somewhere thinking bout me, somewhere drinking.” It’s really no wonder that I like Lexie given that she cites her inspirations as being some of my favourites - Maren Morris and Kacey Musgraves – so if you like them too, you’ll love this one. 

https://genius.com/Lexie-hayden-somewhere-drinking-lyrics

 

Freedom Was A Highway – Jimmie Allen ft Brad Paisley

I hold a soft spot in my heart for Jimmie Allen for recording a lovely video for a friend of mine who wasn’t able to go to a concert of his. Anyone who’s nice, I’ll listen to their music, but I didn’t need an extra reason to listen to Freedom Was A Highway. The first time I heard it, I didn’t know who it was by, so finding out it was Jimmie and country legend Brad Paisley. This is a proper summer jam that evokes images of cruising down the highway in a convertible, worries flying away behind you in the wind. Both Jimmie and Brad have done themselves a favour with this song by opening them up to each other’s probably quite different fanbases. This song is fun personified. 

https://tasteofcountry.com/jimmie-allen-brad-paisley-freedom-was-a-highway/

Long Night Letting Go – Jaden Hamilton

Country music loves a man with a deep voice and heartfelt lyrics – think Josh Turner, Jason Aldean, Chris Stapleton, Luke Combs… I’m already calling it that the next one to be added to that list is Jaden Hamilton. At only 20 years old, Jaden already has a voice for the ages, and the social media savviness to make himself a star – I discovered him via Spotify but see he already has over 350k followers on TikTok too, and we all know how good that platform is at taking people from obscurity to semi-stardom. Long Night Letting Go follows the same theme as a song I loved last month – Troy Cartwright’s Love Like We Used To (check out last month’s roundup here) – with lyrics like “Well baby, we’re just bottle rockets in this fifth of July town, that old moon is dropping and we’re gonna have to come back down. I don’t wanna waste no time, if we gotta say goodbye, do it slow, and make it a long night letting go.” Bonus points just for the way he says July.

Unsaid Emily – Julie and the Phantoms

We love a surprise track here at Ciara’s Country. Did I think one of my favourite tracks of the month would be from a Netflix musical comedy-drama series? Absolutely not. In fact, I had no real interest in watching Julie and the Phantoms until I kept seeing post after post saying that it was actually very well-scripted, and had good music to boot; and who am I to say musical series don’t make good music – ever heard of Hannah Montana or High School Musical? Don’t tell anyway, but I still listen to that. I hold absolutely no shame about listening to Unsaid Emily – this song has very little aside from a simple guitar and Charlie Gillespie’s voice, and that’s probably what makes it so great. It’s so raw and real, and leaves you thinking with lines like “the words I most regret are the ones I never meant to leave unsaid.” 

https://www.amazon.com/Julie-Phantoms-Season-Netflix-Original/dp/B08HDNZCZX

 

Message In A Bottle – Lakeview

I obviously have a thing for male country duos (Florida Georgia Line, Dan + Shay, Seaforth), and lyrics with puns in them, so you’d best believe I like Lakeview. Lead singer Jesse Denaro has raspy vocals that go so well with country anthem tracks, and coupled with Luke Healy’s guitar skills, the two of them have made a somewhat upbeat power ballad. It’s no wonder the song has a lot of kick behind it, as both boys made their start in the metal genre, but I’m glad they’ve made their way over to country. The lyrics are as smooth as the whiskey in the music video, with lines like “I’ll get drunk on the memories of you and I. If I text you, honey, when I get to the bottom, you can call it just a message in a bottle,” (get it?) Get these two on stage somewhere soon! 

https://musicstax.com/track/message-in-a-bottle/12MKdcz5qn4wmZQr2xKzcK

Chasing After You – Ryan Hurd ft Maren Morris

I’m honestly surprised there aren’t more country music power couples – if I was in country music, you’d better believe I’d be falling in love with another country star – if they can write songs like that, what more do you want? We have Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani, but I don’t think we can quite call Gwen country, and so my vote for country’s hottest power couple has to be Ryan Hurd and Maren Morris. Chasing After You is the first duet the couple has dropped, and I’m going to have to petition that the two release an album together. Anyone who’s read any of my other music roundups knows I love a good intro, and Ryan plays a beautiful guitar solo to kick this one; and you should also know I love Maren’s voice too, so this track is heaven for me. Goes to show that making music with the one you love can create something really beautiful. 

https://tasteofcountry.com/ryan-hurd-maren-morris-chasing-after-you/

 

The Way You Look Tonight – Tenille Townes ft Keelan Donovan

There’s something different about Tenille Townes. She has a voice that is so uniquely hers – you’d hear it on the radio and know it’s her, the same way you would with someone like Elle King or Halsey – it’s that slightly indie tone that can come off as annoying for some singers, but doesn’t for Tenille. She finds her male counterpart in Keelan Donovan for The Way You Look Tonight - a sweet song about showering your SO with love because they really are just something special. The song has most appreciated links to Frank Sinatra, and the vintage vibes don’t stop there. If you like music from the 70s, the likes of Fleetwood Mac, or don’t like the style of any of the other songs I’ve mentioned on this list, give this one a try. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. 

https://genius.com/Tenille-townes-the-way-you-look-tonight-lyrics

February was a fun month for me for music. I’ve found a lot of songs I really, really like, and hope you do too – if you want to see more of what I’m listening, my Spotify can always be found here: Ciara's Country Spotify.  I’d love to know what made its way onto your playlists this month, so drop me a message on Twitter @CiarasCountry, and tune in to my radio show every Friday GMT 5-8pm on www.ukcountryradio.com where I’ll play songs from my roundups too! Thanks so much for reading :)