Sunday 25 April 2021

Best of Music: April 2021

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

I don’t want to alarm anyone, but a third of 2021 has already gone! Time may be flying by, but I’m really glad to have a record of the year with the songs I’ve listened to. Each song can bring me back to a specific time or place, and I know I’ll have a lot of good memories to look back on from April. Read on for the best of my favourite songs from April, and if you want the full playlist (totally recommended!), that can be found on Ciara's Country April 21 Playlist - enjoy!

Mr Perfectly Fine – Taylor Swift

Starting off strong with The Music Industry herself. I was already looking forward to the re-release of Fearless (any excuse to blast You Belong With Me again), and the knowledge that we were going to get releases from ‘The Vault’ only made me more excited. Readers will know that I’m a big fan of Maren Morris, so having her featured on the first Vault track released set my expectations very high, and they were blown out of the water by Mr Perfectly Fine. This is a verified banger, and I will never get over the way Taylor says ‘hello,’ and ‘time, baby,’ – perfection. When even Sophie Turner, the wife of the inspiration for Mr Perfectly Fine, Joe Jonas, says this song is ‘not NOT a bop,’ you know it’s worth listening to. I kind of wish this had been on the original release of Fearless, but honestly, I think mid-twenties Ciara can resonate with this song on a whole new level. 

https://oor.nl/albums/taylor-swift-fearless-taylors-version/

Sometimes She Stays – Kenton Bryant

This song kills me. We start off with Kenton saying ‘1, 2, 3’ into the mic, a slow guitar melody, and then Kenton’s husky voice floating through the airwaves. I was immediately pulled in by that voice and the utter simplicity of the track, and then we hit the chorus: “Sometimes she stays and asks you what you’re doing that day, where you keep your coffee in an old sweatshirt, and all your walls start falling for her. One night turns into every day, turns into one more toothbrush at your place. There will come a time when you turn around and never see it any other way cause sometimes she stays.” I cannot tell you the pure perfection that this song is, just that the last song that I felt this way about was Steve Moakler’s How Have We Never, which remains one of the best songs I’ve heard this year. 

https://www.deezer.com/en/track/644671022


Tip Jar – Jackson Michelson

This song is so fun! Tip Jar is the definition of fun, free, and easy, about a guy using music as a means to get over his ex – my kind of man. This is upbeat, poppy, and exactly the kind of breakup song I’d want to be listening to that wouldn’t make me a) want to bawl my eyes up or b) pick up the phone and make bad decisions - “I told her she can keep my records, now I don't want 'em anyway, I'll find some songs that I like better that won't remind me of her face. I'll toss a 20 in the tip jar, I gotta keep 'em playing all night long. Tell all my buddies I won't miss her if I just keep 'em playing all our songs.
Ain't reckless behavior I gotta replace the memories we made here in this bar, and if the band can fix my broken heart, I'll toss a 20 in the tip jar.” Sounds like a plan to me! Bonus points for one of the most creative lyric videos I’ve ever seen – give it a watch. 

https://www.curb.com/2021/03/mcc-curb-records-recording-artist-jackson-michelson-lets-music-heal-a-broken-heart-on-tip-jar/

I Do – Morgan Evans

So, I’ve got myself a perfect break-up song, but how about if things go right? I’ve always had it in my mind that either Kacey Musgraves Late To The Party or Zac Brown Band’s Loving You Easy would be the ideal wedding songs, but I think I’ve found a third contender. It makes perfect sense that Morgan Evans would write one of my favourite love songs as he and wife Kelsea Ballerini seem totally smitten with each other (just listen to her song I Hate Love Songs if you need further proof), and I Do is the epitome of just feeling totally and irrevocably in love with someone: “Baby, I do wanna hold you forever, no, I ain’t ever been so sure. Just when I think I couldn’t love you any more, baby, I do.” What I particularly love about this song is that it breaks the mould of the usual wedding ballad, and adds a bit of spice – something a bit more exciting!

 https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/34652305/Morgan+Evans/I+Do



Giving You Up – Kameron Marlowe

I was unfamiliar with Kameron Marlowe before this year, but consider me a new fan – I really like both this song and another of his called Burn Em All. Once you’re back from the bar after tossing a 20 in the tip jar, this is the song that you need to listen to to get that final closure. In relationships, it’s easy to fold your life around another person, so much so that they become your vice, a habit that’s hard to break even when it’s past your time. Giving You Up expresses this perfectly: I'm giving you up just like I did them Marlboro Lights, and I'm giving you up the same way I did the whiskey on ice.” This is without me even mentioning his stellar vocals, first demonstrated on season 15 of The Voice where he shone on songs like Luke Combs’ One Number Away. And he’s only 24! I’m so excited to see what’s next from Kameron.

 https://genius.com/Kameron-marlowe-giving-you-up-lyrics

Closer To You – Carly Pearce

I haven’t given Carly Pearce enough attention so far, but that’s about to change. 1) Country music needs more successful artists. 2) Carly Pearce is definitely deserving of a space in the upper echelons of country music. You know I love a good road trip song, and this fits the bill both in terms of content and vibe. Here we have a song about taking off in a fast car with the one you love, disappearing out of that boring town you spend too much time in, and going out into the great unknown: “There’s a diamond sky that’s waitin’ for us just outside of town with the moon hangin’ for me and you, baby. We can cut the headlights out when there ain’t no one else around, kill the space in between, slide across that leather seat. Heart to heart, face to face, you know all I wanna do, is get closer…to you.” Add to this the fact that it is exactly the sort of song that you want to hang your hand out of the window and run through the night air, and you’re onto a winner.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closer_to_You_(Carly_Pearce_song)

 

Come Over – Sam Hunt  

I am definitely Late To The Party on this one – Sam Hunt’s version of this song was released on his acoustic mixtape Between The Pines shortly after his hit album Montevallo, which was probably one of my most-played albums of the 2010’s. So you can imagine my surprise when I stumbled across this song, and wondered ‘how have I not heard this before?’ Except I have. Come Over is one of Kenny Chesney’s biggest hits, and it was only when researching this post that I released that Kenny Chesney and Sam Hunt’s songs are one and the same – Sam wrote it along with Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne back in 2012. How did I not put the two together? Because they sound completely different! Sam’s acoustic version is, IMHO, his best work yet. It’s calm and collected, emotional  and evocative, soft and soulful. Makes me wonder what other amazing songs I still have yet to find!

 https://www.amazon.com/Come-Over-Acoustic-Mixtape/dp/B016ZC54E8

 

You Make Me Wanna (Brown Eyed Girl) – Owen Barney  

Unlike the last one, this song is instantly so recognisable. And yet so…not? You Make Me Wanna starts with one of the most iconic guitar riffs of all time – Van Morrison’s Brown Eyed Girl, but ever so slightly different that you’re wondering what comes next. Imagine if Van Morrison took a beach vacation, added a vaguely Hawaiian riff, some different lyrics and Owen Barney’s unique vocals, and you’ve got You Make Me Wanna. A complete classic with a modern twist that just might be the feel-good song of the century: “You make me wanna dance, you make me wanna sing, you make me wanna ask for your hand, wanna give you a ring. I got some plans, I’ll do anything, always love you as much as I did when we were sixteen. Every day and all night, just me and my brown-eyed girl, I’ll love you the rest of my life, cause baby, you’re my brown-eyed girl.” This is the third Owen Barney track to make my playlists this year after Pour Me and Somebody Like You, and honestly, I’m a major fan.

 https://genius.com/Owen-barney-you-make-me-wanna-brown-eyed-girl-lyrics

 


Thank you, April, for being such a good month for music! Each month I listen to new music just gets me more excited for when live shows become a thing again, playing these songs at parties, and travelling to new places with them as my soundtrack. I hope you enjoyed hearing about my favourite songs from the month, and if you want to check out everything I’m listening to, my Spotify can be found here, Ciara's Country Spotify. I also love knowing what you’re listening to, so drop me a message on Twitter @CiarasCountry, and you can also join me ever Friday GMT 5-8pm on www.ukcountryradio.com for three hours of phenomenal country music! Thanks so much for reading!

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