Interview: JESS MOSKALUKE (Part 2)

 

 

Canadian country singer Jess Moskaluke was kind enough to take the time to chat with me in an interview that ended up being so interesting, I had to split it in two! Check out Part 1 here, and read on to find out more about Jess's thoughts on releasing an album during covid, what makes for a good song title, and her suggestions for the best in emerging country artists - enjoy!

Ciara's Country (CC): You mentioned that your album The Demos was released during this weird time of the covid pandemic - how was the creation, production, everything that normally comes with an album, different from anything you've released in the past?

Jess Moskaluke (JM): It was very different, but I kind of chose to embrace that. To be totally honest, we weren't going to do an album - the way the music industry has been going in the last few years, it seems as though releasing singles a few at a time has been the norm and the way that people best digest music, so I wanted to try that and see how it went. Then the pandemic hit, and I thought, my goodness, it's going to be very challenging to get into the studio frequently.

As such, we decided to release an album and called it The Demos, because they are essentially the demos that I had, the way that I had written them that day and jotted them down when we were in the studio really quickly. Then we added layers to them, prettied things up and polished them a little bit, so we decided to include the ‘before and after’ versions of the songs, so to speak. That album probably wouldn't have happened, at least not in that way, if it wasn't for the pandemic, and I love that it kind of gave fans a little bit of a peek behind the curtain into how I write songs.

CC: I'd say maybe one of the few positive things to have come out of the pandemic!

JM: That's how I'm choosing to look at it too.

CC: I totally agree with you that many artists are moving more towards just releasing single after single, and with The Demos, we've been blessed with four singles. If there was to be a fifth single, maybe a personal favorite of yours, what song would you choose to release next?

JM: Usually that's a really difficult thing, and it's funny, because when I asked other people this, nobody had the same answer. I think that’s a good problem to have, because it means they like a lot of the songs! Personally, I think that mine would be Nothing I Don’t Love About You. It just feels like it's such a personal song without being sappy or something like that. It's kind of a different sound for me that I really enjoyed exploring, so I think it would be something kind of fresh and cool.

CC: I do like that one! Nowadays when I'm scrolling through Spotify, I see the name ‘Jess Moskaluke’ and it’s an immediate ‘add to playlist’, but I think something that also really attracts me to songs is actually the song titles themselves. What in your opinion makes for a good song title?

JM: That's a really great question. For me, it's something that could potentially be unexpected. For something like Mapdot, I feel like that grabs people's attention because not everybody knows what it means. I think they're like ‘what the heck is this?’ and then it's the songs job to explain what that title means, or what that song is trying to say. To me, a good song title is something that just grabs the person's ear, and makes you think ‘what is that about?’ Or maybe it's something that you think you know, and then the song kind of twists it and makes it something else. Those are two things that I think make a good song title.

CC: Like when a title is not necessarily obvious at first glance, but when you listen to it, you're like ‘oh, yeah, I get it now’! I imagine music has been keeping you extremely busy with press and obviously releasing the whole album, but what do you like to get up to in your free time?

JM: I am so bad at answering this question! I don't have a lot of free time, and I'm one of those weird people that fills my free time with more work. The pandemic has given me not a lot of, but a little bit more, free time. In the summer, my husband and I love to go camping, or quadding in ATVs. We live really near a beautiful valley out here, and there's all kinds of beautiful trails. So I love spending time outside, or reading. I'm very boring! But I really do love my job, and I wouldn't be spending so much of my free time working if I didn't.

CC: That definitely doesn’t sound boring to me! In fact, I’m so glad you mentioned spending time outside because I think Canada is just one of the most beautiful places in the world so I would have been disappointed if you said you weren't enjoying the beautiful outdoors!

JM: Definitely!

CC: As well as Canada, we also mentioned your trip to Australia for C2C Australia – I find festivals like that such amazing places to find up and coming artists, but I also like to talk to artists about who they like too. Are there any underrated or emerging artists out there who you think deserve so much more recognition?

JM: Hmm, that's a good question. There's an artist here in Canada named Sacha who's starting to make waves - her big song over here is called Standards, and I think she’s releasing new music soon. That's a big one for me. Unfortunately, I haven't been introduced to many UK artists yet, but that will happen as soon as I get over there, which will happen really soon!

I've been introduced to quite a few different Australian artists though - Melanie Dyer is a really great Australian artist that I met in Nashville a while ago, I love Sinead Burgess too. The girls have been killing it lately which is really nice to see.

CC: Speaking of the girls killing it, that's where you made your first appearance on my show! You were one of my featured female artists, it’s great to hear what female artists you love to. I have one final question for you in today's interview - what is one question you've never been asked in an interview, but would love to be?

JM: Whoa, oh my gosh, I wish I knew that! I might have to think on that and get back to you so you can ask it next time.

CC: I look forward to meeting you in person someday soon so I can ask it! Jess, it’s been such a pleasure speaking with you today, thank you so much!

JM: Me too! Thank you so much Ciara. Thanks for the chat!

I'm sincerely looking forward to catching up with Jess again, and hope you enjoyed my interview with her! You can check out Jess's new album The Demos wherever you get your music, or tune in to Ciara's Country 5-8pm every Friday on www.ukcountryradio.com to hear it on air. Stay tuned on Twitter @CiarasCountry for more interviews coming soon - thanks for reading! 

Interview: JESS MOSKALUKE (Part 1)

 

 

 

 

 

Jess Moskaluke is a name you need to get familiar with - this Canadian singer has everything it takes to become a superstar, and is already making waves with new album 'The Demos'. Jess was kind enough to join me for a Zoom interview where we spoke about why moving to Nashville wasn't an option for her, getting advice from none other than Shania Twain, and a chance meeting that led to her hit duet with Travis Collins - enjoy!

 

Ciara’s Country (CC): I am so excited to be joined today by Canadian artist Jess Moskaluke! Jess, thank you so much for joining me - your songs have been such a staple of my playlist this year, so it is an absolute honour to be speaking with you today.

 

Jess Moskaluke (JM): Oh my gosh, the pleasure is all mine! I’m so happy that you’ve been adding the songs to your playlists – thank you so much! 

 

CC: Where exactly in the world are you right now? 

 

JM: I’m in Rocanville, Saskatchewan in Canada, so a small town in North East Saskatchewan, just above the American border. 

 

CC: I’m so glad you said that, I can never figure out how to pronounce Saskatchewan! 

 

JM: Most people can’t, it took me like 31 years! 

 

CC: Good to know I’m not the only one! I know home is something that’s really important to you – your song Mapdot has been hailed as an ode to small town pride. Can you speak a bit more about why home is so important to you? 

 

JM: I think that everybody’s home is important to them in some way, but for me, it’s always been solidified by the fact that people have been pressuring me, encouraging me and challenging me to move away from this place, and I have a really hard time doing that. As I'm on the road so frequently, anytime I'm not on the road, I want to be by my family and my friends, so the thought of traveling even more on my off days to do that just didn't make sense. 

The pandemic has really proved you don’t need to – I mean, in this interview, we're speaking from across the world to each other right now, so it’s clear that you can work from home, do things remotely, and be in a place that you love and that ultimately makes you happy. I get so much more inspiration from living life in a true real way than immersing myself in Nashville, Toronto, Vancouver, or wherever the city might be, so I'm really happy here. 

 

CC: Can you give some more specific examples of how your home has inspired you?

 

JM: I should mention that my town is tiny - you probably know that by listening to Mapdot, and when I say tiny, I mean, I think there's about 800 people in Rocanville where my husband and I live, so actually tiny!

I definitely think that there is such a thing as being famous in a small town - everybody is famous in a small town, it doesn't matter who you are or what you do. I think that really prepared me for the music industry - it encouraged me to constantly put my best foot forward, to treat people with kindness and respect, no matter how they treat you. That's been really crucial to me and really prepared me for this business as well.

 

CC: Was there a lot of support from people in your town when you started out?

 

JM: Yeah, absolutely. I grew up in a different town to the one I currently live in, but it's in the same area and people in both my hometown and the town that I live in now have been nothing but incredibly supportive. You know, always cheering me on from the sidelines.

 

CC: How lovely! As well as Mapdot, another of your songs which I completely fell in love with was Halfway Home - I think it really blends pop and country so well, which is right up my street. If it's not too ambiguous a question, how did you find that kind of sound?

 

JM: I feel like finding that sound has been my aim for my whole career. Shania Twain has always been my number one girl - she's my favorite artist of all time, and I always loved that she didn't just stick to one genre, she did what made her happy. She challenged those genre borders and was constantly reinventing her own sound.

I always wanted to do country, and I’ve always had some pop influences, but I didn't realize just how much pop influenced my sound. I think that's always just been what I've naturally wanted and tried to do, and also been sonically attracted to myself, so I think that's just naturally what comes out of me!

 

CC: I, for one, love it! You mentioned Shania there – would she be a dream duet for you? 

 

JM: Sure. I mean, why not? Actually a couple of years back, I had the opportunity to collaborate with Shania at the Canadian Country Music Association Awards. Myself and two of my really good friends who are also female country artists here in Canada had an opportunity when Shania was hosting the awards to pay homage to her, and she joined us on stage. 

 

CC: Incredible! 

 

JM: I know, I’m dying now and I was there! She came the day before and we did a bunch of rehearsals, and she was really complimentary. The thing that I remember the most was she was encouraging each of us to play to our strengths. We were singing her songs in front of her with her coaching us – you’d think that someone like that would just want us to stick to what she did because she did it so flawlessly, but she really encouraged each of us to own our individual talents and make her song our own. 

 

CC: Oh my gosh, I love that. Getting the inside scoop into what it's like to meet Shania Twain, who doesn't want to do that?

 

JM: I know, they say you should never meet your idols, but if your idol is Shania, you should definitely do it.

 

CC: Okay, adding that to my bucket list! Of course, I can't mention your music without talking about your latest single Leave Each Other Alone with Travis Collins. Before covid, I lived in Australia and attended C2C Australia, so I was so thrilled to read that your partnership with Travis actually started there. 

 

JM: That's so crazy. Oh my gosh, I love that full circle moment! Travis and I met in Australia during festival season there - it was my first trip to Australia ever, and we got connected via email prior to my trip there. I wasn't able to bring my own band to Australia so I needed to find a readymade band in Australia that could do the pop country sound that we were talking about earlier and would be happy to learn my songs.

A friend of mine from Nashville, who originally grew up in Australia, said ‘My friend Travis has a really killer band that would just crush your songs and probably would love to play with you’. That was Travis Collins’s band, so I was playing with his band the whole time that we were in Australia, and then later we got to mishmash our voices together on a song too! He and I just got on really quickly. 

 

CC: Honestly, that sounds like fate - everything worked out so perfectly and you ended up with this brilliant song, which we're playing all over the radio now.

 

JM: You know, it's funny that you mentioned fate, because I had written that song maybe a year, if not longer, prior to meeting Travis. I was writing the song with some songwriters, and we knew that it could be a duet, but we wanted to be really cognisant of the fact that it might not be a duet. We wanted to write it lyrically so that it could be sang from the perspective of one person or two without having to change lyrics or anything around too much.

Usually, when I write a song, if I'm writing a duet, I typically have a specific person in mind, and I'll write it in their key, I'll write it towards a topic that I think they would sing about, and I didn't get to do any of that this time. I just kind of thought, well, maybe this will be a duet, maybe it'll never see the light of day.

I met Travis and thought, gosh, I love this voice, and I would love to work with him in some capacity. Then when we were recording my album The Demos, I thought that song needed to be a part of it, and what if Travis would do this song? Obviously he did and so many stars aligned over the last year that I can't imagine that happening any other way.

 

Jess and I had so much to talk about that I had to split our interview into two parts! Stay tuned to my Twitter @CiarasCountry to be the first to know when Part 2 is posted, where we talk more about her new album, how she spends her free time, and what artists she thinks you ought to listen to. Thanks so much for reading!

Best of Music: June 2021

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

Halfway through the year already! Not only does June mark the midpoint of the year, but it’s also my birthday month, so you know I had to pull out all of the stops to find some extra special songs for this month’s list. Lots of sunny days in the garden have meant even more time to curate the perfect summer playlist – you can find that full 60+ track playlist here: Ciara's Country June 21 Playlist Read on for the best of the best!

Heaven’s Jukebox – Jaden Hamilton

Jaden Hamilton returns! Some of you may remember Jaden’s song Long Night Letting Go from my February round-up, and I swear I’m not trying to turn this blog into a Jaden Hamilton fan page, but if he keeps releasing music like this, I might just have to. I thought LNLG was a fantastic track, but Heaven’s Jukebox somehow blows even that out of the water. I knew I was going to love it from the very first notes – a scratchy vinyl, a simple instrumental, and then Jaden’s recognisable vocals. He toes the line between traditional and modern country in this track about what he wants in the afterlife: “If Heaven’s got a jukebox, I hope it’s filled up with country songs, I hope it’s got a dance floor, so we can two-step to ‘em all night long.” This is instantly likeable, instantly danceable, and hugely enjoyable. A must for Midland and Jon Pardi fans.

 https://countryswag.com/jaden-hamilton-new-song-heavens-jukebox/

 

Wild Honey – Anna Vaus

This song very nearly made my May round-up, but having only been released at the end of last month, I hadn’t listened to it enough to know whether it quite deserved a place on one of my coveted lists. Having had it on repeat for the entire month of June, I can now assure you that it does. Anna Vaus should be the next big thing, and Wild Honey is the perfect testament of that. Here’s my elevator pitch as to why you should listen to it: 1) It sounds like exactly the sort of thing Kacey Musgraves would record, 2) Anna’s entire sound is a mix of Kacey, Taylor Swift, and Catherine McGrath, 3) These lyrics – “Whatever drives you wild honey, whichever way the wind blows your mind, whatever sets your soul on fire.” Are you sold yet? It’s soft, slow, and soulful; and Anna needs to become as much a regular on your playlists as she is on mine. Other notable tracks: Girl In A Bar (based on a dream about Harry Styles – need I say more) and Born On A Windy Day.

https://open.spotify.com/album/26BCtlHD1X80TZqJ5O2Mrc

 

Mirror – Sigrid

June was obviously a month for fantastic female artists, and I’m not even halfway through. Queen of underrepresented Scandinavian artists, Sigrid, has produced some phenomenal tracks throughout the years – Don’t Kill My Vibe, Plot Twist, Strangers, High Five, and then disappeared for a few years before released Mirror. It was worth the wait. Mirror is an insanely fun and catchy disco-pop anthem that has all the elements of a feel-good summer bop – perfect beat drops, catchy lyrics, and a positive message to top it off: “It had to break, I had to go, cause it took me walking away to really know, I love who I see looking at me in the mirror… Nothing compares to that feeling right there in the mirror.” If you’re looking for the perfect song to rock out to in your shower, I’ve found it. If you’re looking for a new artist to stan, I’ve found that too.

https://genius.com/Sigrid-mirror-lyrics

 

See You Around – Tebey

Clearly mid-June was all about feel-good vibes, because not long after I discovered Sigrid’s Mirror, Tebey’s See You Around stepped into my life. Picture this: covid is finally (finally!) gone for good, you’re at a beach bar enjoying an ice cold Mai Tai, and that song that gets you feeling good comes on over the speakers. This is that song. I’m sure my neighbours appreciated me turning my speakers up every time this song came on, but I just couldn’t help it. Is it country? Is it pop? Who cares – it’s good. Tebey sings about a girl that he knows he ought to get over, but what’s the point when he knows he’ll see her around and they’ll no doubt reconnect: “Might be on a beach somewhere, sipping on… Reposado, might be in a downtown bar with your hair falling down. Road trip down to Mexico, or filling up at a Texaco, yeah, I’m telling you girl right now, somewhere, somehow, I’m gonna see you around.” I’m feeling good just writing about it.

https://genius.com/Tebey-see-you-around-lyrics

 

All My Dances – Ryan Nelson

I told you I pulled out all the stops for my birthday month, and Ryan Nelson sure helped with that. This is a song that is undoubtedly going to go down amongst my top country songs of the year along with Steve Moakler’s How Have We Never and Kenton Bryant’s Sometimes She Stays. I think All My Dances tops off that trilogy perfectly – whereas the other two songs ponder about how two perfect people have never made it past ‘just friends’ to that initial rush when a relationship starts to bloom, All My Dances is the happy ending of getting the girl and keeping her. Ryan sings: “Baby, I wanna jump…all your fences, and I wanna take…all my chances, cause I wanna dance…all my dances with you.” It’s sweet without being saccharine, vulnerable without being too cutesy – if you want to break away from the cliché of playing Dan + Shay for your first dance, why not try Ryan Nelson instead?

https://open.spotify.com/album/3ZznH2PVCN28FyiUpuetp4?highlight=spotify:track:7hZdz3S7Wmsgk0VkoWRaky

 

Last Train Home – John Mayer

Years somehow always seem to get better when John Mayer decides to put out new weekend. Love On The Weekend was the best thing about 2016 (how was that so long ago?!), New Light (and accompanying music video) saved 2018, so it was about time we got a new JM banger. In fact, John doesn’t just help us escape from 2021, he takes us to a whole other decade. Last Train Home is so incredibly 80s, and features everything we love about John Mayer – breathy vocals, stunning guitar (a snazzy pink one in the MV), thought-provoking lyrics: “If you don’t wanna love me, let me go, I’m running for the last train (home)…No matter how you work it, things go wrong, I put my heart where it don’t belong, so if you coming with me, let me know, maybe you’re the last train (home)” But wait! It gets better! Maren Morris provides harmonies at the end of the song. Amazing.

https://open.spotify.com/album/0N81gHRK0RnJY0vMAOKVyi

 

actually happy – Blu Eyes

Last Train Home, this song, and the last one to make this month’s list all came about within the span of about ten minutes. Whoever was looking down on me from above was obviously doing me a solid, because these tracks are just great. And yes, if as mentioned previously that this blog is slowly becoming a Jaden Hamilton fan page, I suppose it ought to also be labelled a Blu Eyes fan page because this is her second appearance on my songs of the year in as many months. I can’t help it if they keep releasing fantastic songs! Again, Blu Eyes stays in her niche of sad/happy songs, with this one veering a bit more towards the happy side in a song that embraces that feeling of finally getting out of that fun that a bad situation left you in and allowing yourself to be ‘actually happy’ again. This song may have been inspired by closure after a romantic relationship broke down, but personally, I know I’ll be using this song for that long-awaited day post-covid when I can at last sing along to the lyrics and mean it.  

https://genius.com/Blu-eyes-actually-happy-lyrics

 

Jane – Brynn Cartelli

This song wins all the awards purely for content in my books. I won’t ruin it, I’ll let Brynn’s lyrics explain: “If my mother named me Jane, wonder if I’d be the same.” Finally! Someone put into words a question that I’ve wondered about all these years – does the name we are given affect who we become? Personally, I think yes – there are a hundred reasons why I think the name Ciara shaped parts of my personality, and Brynn obviously agrees. Even on paper, the names Brynn and Jane evoke completely different characters in my mind and in this deeply emotional and moving ballad, Brynn explains all of the ways ‘Jane’ would have been different: “If my mother named me Jane, I would never show up late, never need to catch a plane, never need to run away.” The most heartbreaking part? “Maybe you won’t love me cause I’ve gone insane, but maybe you would love Jane.”

https://genius.com/Brynn-cartelli-jane-lyrics

 

I promised you some amazing tracks for the month of June, and I hope I delivered! Let me know if there’s any you liked, and indeed what you’ve been listening to this month, on Twitter @CiarasCountry, and if you want to check out all of my monthly playlists and more, my Spotify can be found here, Ciara's Country Spotify. You can also join me ever Friday GMT 5-8pm on www.ukcountryradio.com for three hours of phenomenal country music – I hope you’ll join me! Thanks so much for reading!

Best of Music: May 2021

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

Where does the time go? It’s the end of May already, which means the year is flying by, but also means another great month of music. I’ve discovered some great new artists and songs this month to get you in that early summer groove, so read on for some of my favourites, and check out my full monthly playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/25AUfnrbnCTm4hVtWJTSeR?si=c53e6b3e01ae49ca – enjoy! 

 

Between You & Me – Roman Alexander

I have a new ‘one to watch’ for you! I’m pretty discerning with my playlists, so if someone makes it on there twice, it’s safe to assume that they probably have a pretty big future ahead of them. Between You & Me was one of the first songs to make my May 21 playlist, and once you listen, you’ll know why. Roman has a perfect country voice – somewhere between Kane Brown and Chris Young, and this slow and cute song highlights it perfectly. Lyrics like “Can I tell you a secret? Between you and me, all I can think about is leaving here early to get you alone,” are enough to make me swoon, and both Roman’s solo version or his duet of this song with Ashley Cooke are both winners. Wondering what the other Roman song that made my playlist is? Trying Not To with other newcomer Alana Springsteen!

https://genius.com/Roman-alexander-between-you-and-me-lyrics

 Supposed To – Blu Eyes

Someone please tell me what genre of music this is, because it’s evaded me for years, but I definitely dig it and want to hear more of it! To me, Blu Eyes is Billie Eilish but happier – same kind of soft, thoughtful vocals, but with the sort of melody that perhaps doesn’t make you want to cry. The same can’t necessarily be said about the lyrics, but one thing I’ll give them is that they certainly are relatable: “It’s been four months since I heard from you, somebody told me that you moved again, and I know that you blocked me but I still try and check up on you every once in a while just to make sure you’re doin’ okay. Yeah, I know I’m supposed to hate you and wish we’d never met… but still, I know I never will.” It’s angelic, and well worth a listen. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/supposed-to-single/1557183668

 

On The Day I Die – The Shires ft Jimmy Allen

I haven’t necessarily been the biggest fan of The Shires’ songs before, having found them try a bit too hard to ‘Americanize’ their songs when actually, I think it works best when they embrace their Britishness. However, I have zero qualms with On The Day I Die, which is why it holds a coveted spot on this month’s list. Having Jimmie Allen feature on the track was an inspired idea, and it is he who starts the song before Ben & Crissie come in with flawless harmonies. I know I talk a lot about wedding songs in my favourites and on my radio show, but honestly, I think this would make a great funeral song (sorry if that’s a bit morbid!) Take a look: “If I did one thing right, it was you and I, oh, I loved you. I’ll always love you, so play it loud all night…I’ve had a good, good life, so darling, dance, don’t cry on the day I die.” 

https://musicandtournews.com/single-review-the-shires-on-the-day-i-die-featuring-jimmie-allen/

 Sugar – Ernest

I know I’m not supposed to have favourite favourites, but if I did, I think this might be it. I mean, you could write a movie about this meet cute: “At a little canteen south of the border, bartender messed up an order – she got my Jose, I got her wine, I said ‘I’ll buy em both this time if you dance with me in this blue moonlight,’ and that turned into the rest of the night.” Verse two tells us that things weren’t made to last: “By the end of the night my phone had died, she either wrote it down wrong or straight up lied, either way that was our first and only time and I wonder where she went back home to, is she with someone or all alone too?” The only clue he has – her name, Sugar. It’s just an all-round brilliant song – fun lyrics, phenomenal vocals, catchy and with a great GTA style music video too. Going down as one of my songs of the year I think! 

https://open.spotify.com/album/57LCF6Dw99b2ZOEoO3enqu?highlight=spotify:track:1iDI6SJGUPtJ20SYKYi04x

 

Lost – Jordan Brooker

Beats me how I’m the only one to know about these songs, but I’m hoping that some of my readers will give these songs a listen and boost them from obscurity to the stardom they deserve to be! Jordan Brooker’s Lost is currently sitting at under 10,000 views on YouTube, and for how good the song is, that’s a crime. We start with an intriguing guitar melody before Jordan’s husky vocals come in. He hits the chorus: “Oh, I can’t see any place I’d rather be than oh, you an d me dancing in the wild and free, chasing telephone wires down a pitch black road, watching you bloom like a midnight rose, oh, out where stars get crossed, let’s stay lost,” with more insane guitar in the background. This is an absolute must for any lovers of the ‘edgier’ side of country – Jason Aldean, Brantley Gilbert, Devin Dawson.  

https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Jordan-Brooker/dp/B086YB35S2

 

Stranger – Riley Roth

From edgy to light, this is definitely a song for those of us that grew up on Disney channel and early 2000s rom-coms. At only twenty-two years old, Riley has put together an upbeat melody with some clever ‘3,2,1’ lyrics: “Three drinks at 2AM, one ‘hey, nice to meet you’, saying ‘what you got goin’ on later?’ How were you ever a stranger? Three words we said too fast, you were just someone one month back, now lovin’ you’s second nature, how were you ever a stranger?” to make a song that will have you dancing around all night long. How could this song get any better, you ask? It’s based on her real life relationship with her boyfriend. How cute! I can already tell that songs like this are going to make for such a good live show. 

https://genius.com/Riley-roth-stranger-lyrics

 

Good 4 U – Olivia Rodrigo

I feel like this song doesn’t even need an explanation, but I’ll add one in just in case you’re unfamiliar with Olivia’s music. I admit, I’ve not been 100% on the Olivia hype train like I know some people have, but her music has certainly not gone unnoticed by me. All I Want from her starring role in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series was up there with one of my most played songs of last year, Driver’s License is a song that I’ve listened to enough times to know all of the words to, and yet neither of them have quite made the cut of my prestigious ‘Best Of’ lists. So what is it about Good 4 U that makes it so good? Remember those early 2000s rom coms I spoke about? This is exactly the sort of song that the lead character’s punk band would play at the school dance. Whatever they’ve put in this song just makes it so fresh and fun. Just listen up to the line ‘like a damn sociopath’ – trust me, you won’t regret it! 

https://www.stereogum.com/2147528/olivia-rodrigo-good-4-u/music/

 Getting Over Him – Lauren Alaina ft Jon Pardi

Lauren Alaina is so hideously slept on – she has some incredible songs out there (Somebody Else’s Problem and Run being notable examples), and Getting Over Him is utterly underrated, and I think it’s incredible! She teams up with country cowboy Jon Pardi for this bluesy, guitar heavy song – it’s dark, it’s groovy, and it works marvellously as a duet. Lauren and Jon’s vocals are some of the best in the industry, and they really are a dream together as they sing about a no-strings attached arrangement to get over an ex: “Forever wasn’t in our eyes, you knew it, and I knew it, and it was a damn good time. My last call, first call, no falling, just my getting over him guy.” 

 https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/lauren-alaina-getting-over-him/

 Honestly, I wish I could’ve made two ‘Best Of May’ posts, because I have so many more songs I would have loved to add! I’m sure I’ll still be listening to them throughout the rest of the year, so check back to my blog to see if they might make some future lists! I hope today’s post will encourage you to check out some new artists and songs, and I’d love to find out what songs you’ve loved this month! Let me know on Twitter @CiarasCountry, and if you want to check out everything I’m listening to, my Spotify can be found here, Ciara's Country Spotify. You can also join me ever Friday GMT 5-8pm on www.ukcountryradio.com for three hours of phenomenal country music – I hope you’ll join me! Thanks so much for reading!