Farce the Music's Top 11 Songs of 2017

11. The Kernal - Tennessee Sun

A cool 70s country inspired Americana roller with a simple earworm of a refrain. "Letting go of everything that I don't need on my way down" brings to mind the vibe of Son Volt's "Windfall," but this song looks back at the past before embracing the blank slate of the future.

10. Kate Rhudy - I Don't Think You're An Angel (Anymore)

I love everything about this song. The gentle instrumentation, the heavenly harmonies, and the somehow sweet but venomous at the same time lyrics. This song's a beauty.

9. Daddy Issues - High St.

Yeah, I miss the rock of the 90s but that's not why I dig these ladies. They inhabit these throwback pop-grunge tunes with a wise-ass wink and a modern gravity. The whole album is killer, but this one's the best of the bunch, in my estimation.

8. Tyler Childers - Whitehouse Road

Though he's been at it for years, Childers made his introductions to the Americana community at large this year in a big way. His album Purgatory has graced many a "best of 2017" list, and it's not just because he's the 'hot new thing.' Childers' lyrics cut to the heart of the matter but they get there aimed from his unique perspective. "Whitehouse Road" is about too much partying the wrong way, but it still comes off like a singalong for the good times. 

7. John Mayer - In the Blood

I have not been a Mayer fan in the past. I've always realized he was a talented guitarist, and that his songs were well-crafted, but something just never clicked for me. "In the Blood" is a revelation. Well-crafted, beautifully written, and masterfully performed. With this great song, and his hilarious Twitter account, I've likely turned the corner on Mr. Mayer.

6. The War on Drugs - Strangest Thing

6 minutes and 41 seconds of low-key classic rock bliss. The guitar solo is a cathartic release. 

5. Craig Finn - God in Chicago

A short story set to music shouldn't work this well as a song, but "God in Chicago" is an understated gem. Only a one-time refrain/chorus is sung - the rest of the song is spoken word, mostly over a simple piano melody. It's a song about tying up loose ends and making sense of tragedy, which you might not expect to get from a story about a drug deal. 

4. Ruston Kelly - Black Magic

This song was stuck in my head more often than any other in 2017. The chorus is just so damn catchy. And this song is so dark. It's the antithesis of a love song. The imagery evokes a horror movie. Though it's likely a misheard line on my part (and that of all the lyrics websites), I'd still love for Ruston to explain what the line "Love is like a bag of drugs, it blows out both your knees" means. Oh, and I'm guessing the reference to Ryan Adams' "Love is Hell" is intentional.

3. Brandi Carlile - The Joke

A song for the underdog. I'm usually a lyrics guy, but I didn't even realize what the song was about the first 3 or 4 times I heard it - I was just in awe. That the song is an anthem for the times without getting remotely political makes it that much better. Carlile really turns loose here. Breathtaking. 

2. Turnpike Troubadours - Pay No Rent

A selfless wish for good tidings. A true love song - whether that love be for a one-time significant other or a friend who comes and goes. Evan Felker brings songs like these to life with colorful detail, everyman philosophy, and warm sincerity. Besides the solid lyricism, "Pay No Rent" is relentlessly catchy, memorable, and it just makes you feel good. 

1. Sunny Sweeney - Bottle By My Bed

A good artist can make you appreciate a song that doesn't necessarily relate to your life. A great artist can make you feel exactly what he or she is going through when they sing the words, no matter what they're about. Sunny Sweeney is a great artist, and this is a fantastic song. I dare you not to feel the longing of a woman who desperately wants to be a mother when you hear "Bottle by My Bed." It just aches. A career song.

Best Songs of 2017 Spotlight: Turnpike Troubadours "Pay No Rent"

Reginald Spears on Turnpike Troubadours, Sam Hunt

TwitterWINs: October '17

Florida-Georgia Line's Music Speaks

Album Review: Turnpike Troubadours - A Long Way From Your Heart

A Long Way From Your Heart and Wonderfully, More of the Same

By Kevin Broughton

The striking similarities come quickly. There are too many common threads to miss in “The Bird Hunters,” the opening track of the Turnpike Troubadours’ 2015 self-titled album, and “The House Fire,” our introduction to A Long Way From Your Heart, out today on Thirty Tigers. A hard-driving country beat. A Browning shotgun. Searing heartbreak, met first with resignation and then just a smidgen of hope and resiliency. In fact, the dame who eventually crushes the protagonist shares a name (Good Lord, Lorrie) with a temptress a couple albums back:

I remember smelling smoke, I woke up I was choking.

Lorrie grabbed the baby and we made it safe outside.

She never missed a note, took a breath and cleared her throat,

And wrapped him in a Carhartt coat she found out in my ride.

Turns of phrase like that one are why Troubadours front man Evan Felker is one of the premier songwriters in country music, and by extension, why these guys are the undisputed kings of the Red Dirt scene. Could “The House Fire” be a metaphor for Felker’s recent past, what with several drunken performances the last few years? Maybe. But it’s a damn fine song and a great way to kick of the group’s fifth studio album.

And why, frankly, mess with success? A Long Way From Your Heart is the perfect, logical follow-up to the band’s 2015 release, the hands-down FTM Album of the Year winner. “Something to Hold On To” is straight-up rock ‘n’ roll with a dash of Okie sensibility. “The Winding Stair Mountain” gets in your face with frenetic dose of fiddle, steel and mandolin for a wild, three-and-a-half minute ride, so hang on.

But there’s balance, as with all Troubadours’ records, best exemplified by “Pay No Rent,” a tender friend song reminiscent of “Down Here” a couple years back. No matter the tempo or time signature, nearly all of Felker’s songs have a gentle, human touch. If he can keep his personal life between the ditches, look for the Turnpike Troubadours to sustain this level of greatness for a good while. Because this album sounds like it’s almost too easy for these guys.

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 A Long Way From Your Heart is available today everywhere you consume music.

Turnpike Troubadours & Jamie Lin Wilson Perform "Call a Spade a Spade"

WWE Country Reactions Gifs 25

When the bassist says 

"We should cover Luke Bryan tonight"

What do you call people who don't like Tyler Childers?

The proper device for listening to 

the new Dustin Lynch album with

Introducing your new steampunk alt-country band like

What will happen to Farce the Music if

Florida-Georgia Line ever disbands?

Are you excited about the new

Turnpike Troubadours album?

"You're a handsome guy and you can sing a little.

Who cares if you hate country and don't know any

Hank songs. We'll pay you millions. 

Wanna be a country star?"

How to request that Brantley Gilbert fans have a seat:

Turnpike Troubadours Performs "The Housefire"

Spinal Tap: Country Reaction Gifs

Probably the only way country radio gets better at this point

Luke Bryan's dad?

Wheeler Walker Jr.: Genius or idiot?

Americana's not the only way to blend rock and country...

When you hear Luke Bryan's new song

 If Clint Black put out a song called "Black" on an album 

called Black with a black cover on Black Friday...

How the folk band lost its ukelele player

The proper way to listen to new Turnpike Troubadours music

Turnpike Troubadours Perform "Easton and Main"

Ringing in the Year

Farce the Music's Top 10 Songs of 2016

Spotify playlist created by Jon Sorrell below the selections.

1. Lori McKenna - Old Men Young Women
We had a casual poll about 2016 music a month or so back. Lori McKenna led the way on the 

"Best Songwriter of 2016" voting, and it's no surprise. With observant, incisive songs like 

"OMYM" and the others on her brilliant The Bird and the Rifle, McKenna stays at the forefront 

of American songwriting. She has the ability to put the listener into a situation they may have 

never even dealt with and make them think "Yes, this is exactly how that feels!" Here she takes 

on a lover who's moved on to a newer model and skewers the whole cliché (see title) with pointed lines like "you want the lights off, he wants the lights on, so you can pretend" and "She's the past in a 

summer dress, he's a ride in a new Corvette"…damn, just damn. The Bird and the Rifle is a master-class and for me, "Old Men Young Women" is its centerpiece.

2. Justin Wells - The Dogs
Passion. That's what drives this tune and it's the feeling that comes to mind in describing it. "The Dogs" is an unapologetic portrait of life on the edges, embracing the underdog life of a touring musician trying to drink away a broken heart. He's doing his best, but the hurt bleeds through even on stage: "It ain't easy acting like it ain't personal, and the band asked me not to curse no more." Wells can belt and he does a bit in the chorus, but he knows how to sing with fire even when using restraint. That give and take of emotion, but more so, the palpable tension when it's held in check, is what makes this song one of the best of 2016.

3. Car Seat Headrest - Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales
I don't pretend to know what the hell this song is about; I just know I love it. The lyrics are smart and snarky and anxious and abstract. The music is jangly indie-rock (with a slice of power pop) that's constantly shifting tempos. The hooks though. This freaking song has like 4 hooks. It's crazy, but somehow it works. When that crunching and cathartic "it doesn't have to be like this" refrain finally kicks in, it's nearly as bracing as any face-slapping Nirvana chorus. I've tried to review the album this song is from about ten times this year, but I just don't know what to say about it that would make any sense or sound like I vaguely know what I'm talking about. Just know that it and this song are badass.

4. DJ Shadow & Run the Jewels - Nobody Speak
I already loved this song before its absurdly entertaining video took my affections to a new level. Run the Jewels has a new album coming out early next year, but it was nice to have this reminder of their magnetism in 2016. Underground legend Shadow provides an aggressive, pounding arrangement with just as many memorable turns as the lyricists spit. If I'd done much working out this year, 

this would have been on repeat.

5. Brandy Clark - Love Can Go to Hell
It sounds so sweet but it packs a sting. This time around, Brandy isn't casting barbs at exes and jerks, but at love itself. She doesn't linger on goodbye or blame her former lover; it's the unseen forces of the heart she's wishing ill upon. The instrumentation is light and intoxicating, the melody is gently rolling. "Love Can Go to Hell" ought to be a hit, but maybe it's too good for that.

6. Turnpike Troubadours - Come as You Are
These guys are so damn talented, they didn't even release an album this year and still had one of the best songs. This single from Bruce Robison's The Next Waltz series sounds like something that might've been left off last year's self-titled masterpiece, only because it didn't really fit the feel of that set, not due to any questioning of its merit. This tale of a come-and-go relationship surely set off some smoldering slow dances across Texas dancehalls this year. TPT can do no wrong.

7. Cody Jinks - I'm Not the Devil
There's really not a best song on Jinks' 2016 album. It's an incredibly consistent and 

moving collection without a single droop in quality, much less a weak moment. This tune 

just kinda gets the de facto nod for being probably the most memorable of the bunch. 

Jinks is blessed with a wonderful voice and possibly even better songwriting talents. 

He'll be a star in this realm of music for years to come.

8. Paul Cauthen - I'll Be the One
A voice that recalls Elvis and Waylon Jennings all at once probably could sing the proverbial phone book and make me happy. The fact that this powerful vocalist can also write songs this good should make a lot of other artists jealous. "I'll Be the One" sounds both timeless and modern, sticking in your head with multiple vocal hooks, and moving your feet with a shuffling rhythm. I can't wait to see and hear where this guy goes. There's no ceiling.

9. Austin Lucas w/Lydia Loveless - Wrong Side of the Dream
"I look around at 35 and all I've got are songs." Whew. When this line hits shortly into the song, you know it's not gonna be all sunshine and roses. Lucas has one of the more distinct voices in Americana and adding Loveless turns that chill up your spine into full-fledged goosebumps. 

This is a lonely and longing look at how life on the road affects a relationship. 

Spoiler alert: it ain't good - but it makes for a great song.

10. Rodney Parker and 50 Peso Reward -

The Road Between None and Some
This is probably the coolest song of 2016. It's just "different," I don't know how to describe it best. It starts with a slinky bass line and minimal drums before building only slightly into a mid-tempo groove that never lets up. It's an earworm of the highest caliber - one you don't mind getting trapped in your head for days. Simplicity serves RPFPR well here. This feels like sipping a good beer in a New Orleans dive bar in spring with the door open and a nice breeze blowing in.

There's Something About Mary Country Reaction Gifs

When your stepson says he's a huge Big Smo fan

When you try to make your friend stop listening to Lindi Ortega

Riding with your Brantley Gilbert fan cousin like...

Did you know Dave Cobb is Brent Cobb's cousin?

 When your girlfriend walks in after 

you just listened to Turnpike Troubadours

When you meet Hunter Hayes

Art vs. Commerce, Per Reginald Spears

 

Based on a Reginald Spears tweet.

New Video: Turnpike Troubadours - Come As You Are

From Bruce Robison's The Next Waltz series.

Turnpike Troubadours Perform "Time of Day" on Texas Music Scene

Album Review: Flatland Cavalry - Humble Folks

Review by Trailer

This one hits the spot.

I haven't felt much like writing reviews for a while now. It's not that there hasn't been some good music put out this year - just nothing I felt I could put any passion into writing about. Also, since we've brought on the full-barrel punk energy of Robert Dean and the damn near peerless wordsmithery of Kevin Broughton, there hasn't been much need for my everyman type reviewing, but this new album from Flatland Cavalry has pulled me out of mothballs.

Flatland Cavalry's Humble Folks is also the first album of 2016 to stir up all the feelings I like to have when listening to music. From the wistfulness of "A Good Memory" to the driving introspection of "Devil Off My Back," the sentimental wanderlust of "Traveler's Song" to the sad-sack lamenting of "Goodbye Kiss," Humble Folks is a tour-de-force of emotions and textures.

"Easy on the ears, heavy on the heart" reads the description on Flatland Cavalry's website, and that couldn't be more accurate. Their sound is an easygoing mix of red dirt country, pop melodies, laid back swing, and heartworn folk. And there's so much fiddle. Lord, but I love me some fiddle and I love Laura Jane's fiddling. It's all a perfectly accessible approach but one that doesn't scrimp on the craftsmanship and songwriting.

"Tall City Blues" grabs you with its portrayal of loneliness and unfulfilled dreams amid the high-rises and concrete canyons of the city. You can just imagine the twenty-something small town boy taking the accounting job in Houston, then slowly realizing the "difference in making a living and loving what you do."

"Stompin' Grounds" rescues that dispirited fellow back to his home town where the Shiner is cheaper and colder and the people are warmer. There's a lot of that sort of longing in Flatland Cavalry's music - yearning for real interaction and authentic folks. It's a welcome and relatable desire in a world that seems to grow more mean and detached with every passing day.




Humble Folks is a great album; certainly one of my favorites of the early year, and well worth your listen. It's a familiar sound, but one that with repeated listens will reveal deeper layers and twists of melody you haven't heard before. These songs are sure to make you think, smile, hurt, and tap your foot. Sometimes all at once. That's what good music does.

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Flatland Cavalry is a no-doubter for fans of Turnpike Troubadours, Wade Bowen, The Damn Quails, and the like.

You can find Humble Folks on Lonestar Music , iTunes, etc.. (Out today)

WWExperience Country Reaction Gifs 5: TPT, Luke Bryan, Isbell

How you can tell two bros are enjoying

the Thomas Rhett concert

When Gary Levox sees that the catering trays are empty

When your mom gets Jason Isbell confused 

with Jason Aldean for your Christmas present*

When you see a passed out Luke Bryan fan

When some Texas swing comes on 

but you only know how to disco

When your friend gets Turnpike Troubadours tickets 

and doesn't invite you

Waiting on a FGL fan to think of a number between 1 and 10

*please don't slap your mom