Category Archives: Single Reviews

Single Review: Randy C Moore – “Cat’s in the Cradle”

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image courtesy of Margin Promo

Single Review of Randy C Moore: “Cat’s in the Cradle”

Here’s something you probably never knew you needed. It’s a country version of “Cat’s in the Cradle“! This recording, by notable Texas country music artist Randy C Moore, delivers the poignance of Harry Chapin’s megahit original but with a country music cadence and slight drawl that, if anything, serves to further emphasizes the song’s earnestness. Randy’s rendition is based in classic country but with fresh-feeling production that doesn’t limit its appeal to old-school country music fans.

photo courtesy of Margin Promo

When played side-by-side with Chapin’s original, the songs differ a little more than is initially apparent, which makes Randy’s effort even more impressive. In any case, Randy C Moore’s cover of “Cat’s in the Cradle” is something country music fans should hear; it’ll be a worthy addition to your collections and a welcome entry in your playlists.

Looking Ahead

With his booming, emotive voice and country music-style gravitas, Randy C Moore is clearly someone whose live performances are likely to be a must-see. If you’re in East Texas, you’ll be able to catch Randy near you in February. He has two February shows scheduled in Tyler, plus one performance each in Nacogdoches, Woodville, and Lufkin. His website, here, lists times and locations. If you’re in the area, be sure to check your calendars.

Single Review: Erin Gibney – “Wasted Potential”

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image courtesy of Skye Media

Single Review of Erin Gibney: “Wasted Potential”

Erin Gibney keeps turning out well-written, engaging, memorable singles. “Wasted Potential” is another such song. Based on the breakup of a long-term relationship, this one seems particularly personal. The song itself is mellow, soaring, and richly-produced, as if a warm, supportive musical womb supporting the singer and everyone else who can relate far-too-personally to the song’s lyrics.

I guarantee this song will connect with a wide range of listeners. Erin’s very identifiable vocals play a role, positioning the song as a supportive, understanding friend, perhaps the friend who brings the ice cream. Residing in that gap between pure pop and country-pop, “Wasted Potential” has broad appeal; it only needs to find people’s ears just once. “Wasted Potential” is simply an excellent song that confirms Gibney’s songwriting talent.

photo by Erin Gibney; photo courtesy of Skye Media

More Recently

A quick look at Erin’s Spotify suggests that she has released two (or three) songs since “Wasted Potential.” The most recent of Gibney’s songs to reach my inbox was “Wasted Potential,” so I haven’t yet listened to the newer tracks, but Erin’s a talented songwriter who doesn’t disappoint, so I look forward to giving her post-“Wasted Potential” releases – “Risk It”, “Dangerous”, “Dangerous (Stripped)” – a listen.

I’d still suggest beginning your journey with “Wasted Potential.” It’s an exceptional song, a song that should earn singer-songwriter Erin Gibney – or, at least, songwriter Erin Gibney – some (more) well-deserved attention. I’m hoping it’s the first one, of course. I dig Erin’s delivery and hope to be listening to her sing her own songs for a long, long time.

More Erin Gibney Reviews

This is the third time I’ve reviewed Erin’s music. Be sure to check out my prior reviews. In 2023, I reviewed “You Made Your Bed,” and last year I reviewed “Kryptonite” and “By June.”

Single Review: Born Riot – “Home”

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photo courtesy of Cameron Carpenter on behalf of Born Riot

Single Review of Born Riot: “Home”

Sarnia is home of the Sting. Just over the bridge from Port Huron. And the home base of talented heavy rock band Born Riot. The foursome is comprised of Andrew Colborne (vocals, guitar), Griffin (guitar, vocals), Ryan McCann (bass), and Tyler Smith (drums).

“Home” is an aggressive, heavy rockin’ single with ample melody. It’ll catch your attention as subtly as a semi truck but as nimbly as a slalom skier – so picture an 18-wheeler deftly maneuvering the slopes, but as music. The song it recalls most for me is Pearl Jam’s “Evenflow.” So yeah, catchy but heavy.

image courtesy of Cameron Carpenter on behalf of Born Riot

Subtly, I also hear some Southern rock influence, but where would a bunch of guys from Sarnia would pick that up? I suppose, probably the same place I did, by listening to bands like .38 Special, though I sense perhaps a little more Brother Cane. Or maybe Georgia Satellites. But it’s a little rougher-edged than that, as if R.E.M.’s in the room, too. I fear I’m overemphasizing the Southern flavor, though, since it’s mostly a melodic heavy rock stew with maybe a dash of Tony Chachere’s. Additionally, though I mention a Pearl Jam song, it’s really not grunge, either. “Home” is a heavy rock song with a dominant riff and prominent musical sequences that remind me of a single Pearl Jam song that had massive crossover appeal to straight-ahead classic heavy rock fans.

tl;dr: If you’re a fan of heavy rock music that’s powerful but melodic, you will enjoy Born Riot’s “Home.” It’s as simple as that. Give it a listen!

Single Review: Scott McDonald – “Wave”

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photo courtesy of Scott McDonald

Single Review of Scott McDonald: “Wave” (Bongo Boy Records)

“Wave,” a Scott McDonald single that dropped in the spring of 2025, in advance of his summer 2025 full-length album release See It Through, absolutely rocks! It’s been in my playlist for quite a while not, but of course, if you haven’t heard it yet, it’s new to you.

image courtesy of Scott McDonald

If “Wave” is any indication, McDonald is a talented axeman with a penchant for writing catchy, hook-laden songs. Certainly, now that the single has risen to the top of my review queue, it has made me excited to circle back and check out the rest of the album. For now, though, I’ll focus on the single I’ve been enjoying for many months.

The song kicks off with raw, rockin’ guitarwork, which is joined by other instrumentation, then big-sound, cheerful vocals, leading to a song-long uptempo, cheerful-sounding adrenaline rush. Some musical flourishes, tone changes, and key changes intercede, but the tempo remains steady, energetic, and insistent. During the verses, choruses, bridges, and guitar solo, the song is relentlessly energetic.

photo by John Bruno; courtesy of Scott McDonald

It’s also an oddly cheerful song, given its subject matter. It’ll make you smile, even as you’re singing along with lyrics about the end of a relationship: “I still wonder where it all went wrong. Tell me how it stayed alive so very long. I still wonder why it seemed to change. We were watching as it slowly slipped away. All we can do is walk away and wave.” Smiling, apparently, with rockin’ skip in our steps. Indeed, if this song doesn’t get you smiling, you don’t have a pulse. If you like guitar-driven, pop-friendly, hooky rock tracks, this will quickly become one of your favorite songs.

More Recently

As noted, following the spring 2025 release of “Wave, the album that includes “Wave,” See It Through, was released in the summer of 2025. I’ve only listened to snippets of a couple of songs, but “Wave” seems indicative of the overall sound, though as is often the case with a singer-songwriter-axemaster, the ratio of guitar-shredding to hooky tunefulness may vary from song to song.

Looking forward, Scott’s Facebook page seems to be a good place to remain up-to-date with his music.

Single Review: Matthew Holtby – “This is Bliss”

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image courtesy of Cameron Carpenter on behalf of Matthew Holtby

Single Review of Matthew Holtby: “This is Bliss”

“This is Bliss” is a song that’s sneakily catchy. It’s a mellow, not-quite-balladic pop song with a smooth-as-molasses veneer, supporting Matthew Holtby‘s tonally-pleasant, precise-yet-emotionally-connected vocals.

The song, says Holtby, is “a lovely little tale of the life my wife and I have created together, plain and simple. Every word is true.” It’s a sweet, pleasant, richly-produced soft pop tune, sonically and lyrically blissful, true to its title.

photo courtesy of Cameron Carpenter on behalf of Matthew Holtby

The big unanswered question is how a song can be cool with lyrics like this, about marital harmony: “I know I write a lot of sappy shit. But I don’t care, I love the way we live. This is bliss.” But the song’s a great listen, and I’m sure you’ll want to add it to some of your playlists.

Holtby self-produced the song at his home studio, with mixing assistance from Colin Kennedy, joined musically by cello and violin-work from David Shewchuk.

So, if you’re looking for a smooth, pleasant listen that’s cooler than it most obvious comparables, check out “This Is Bliss.”

More About Matthew Holtby

Honestly, just click on some of the links on this longest-I’ve-ever-seen linktree to learn more about Matthew’s music and related endeavors.

Single Review: Dustin Brown – “Ballerina”

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photo by Katie Langley; photo courtesy of RPR Media

by Eric Harabadian, Contributing Blogger

Single Review of Dustin Brown: “Ballerina”

Dustin Brown is a Texas-born singer-songwriter from the Fort Worth area. He’s a mix of country and Americana that is part of a neo-traditional movement in music. He’s been pegged with a poetic “blue collar” style and way of storytelling that’s one part Kris Kristofferson and one part Jason Isbell. He does so by blending bits of Southern rock, “red dirt,” folk, and blues to regale his tales of working-class life, personal growth, and small-town America.

image courtesy of RPR Media

Brown knows of where and what he speaks, having spent a number of years working various jobs such as commercial diver and oil field land man. Undoubtedly those experiences have provided a wealth of inspiration and spark for some of his best songs. He’s in touch with the people and, along with some of the best like-minded original songsmiths, wants his songs to naturally tap into shared emotions and connect with others.

The Texas troubadour has released three full-length albums, with a fourth in the works. The song “Ballerina” is unique in that, not only is it a stand-alone single, not available on any other album, but it is a collaboration between Brown and two other fellow singer-songwriters, Billy Hartman and Rachel Cole. Hartman and Cole are accomplished artists in their own right, with Hartman recording a number of singles and albums under his belt and Cole having toured with the late, great Todd Snider and signed with Snider’s Aimless Records.

photo by Katie Langley; photo courtesy of RPR Media

It’s a lot of collective creative firepower for a single that tells a delicately detailed, yet simple story. The Brown and Hartman-penned song focuses on a relationship and character study of a girl from three different perspectives. All three artists take a verse on the country-folk song supported by complementary mandolin, slide and acoustic  guitar. Brown’s seemingly naked and vulnerable voice leads the charge and paints a vividly intimate aural picture.

Single Review: Pylot – “Faded Light” (feat. Ezra Hyte)

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image courtesy of BJF Media

Single Review of Pylot: “Faded Light” (feat. Ezra Hyte) (FiXT)

With “Faded Light,” Pylot delivers a haunting synthwave-based, emotionally powerful, radio-friendly pop song whose pattern-based, light-touch, scattershot synth and rhythmic drumbeat combine in a musical backdrop ideally suited to Ezra Hyte‘s emotional vocals. On this recording, Hyte’s vox remind me of Dean Lewis, while Pylot’s music bed is sparse enough to let the vocals drive the melody.

cover art: Pylot – "Faded Light" (feat. Ezra Hyte)

image courtesy of BJF Media

The tempo of “Faded Light” is slow, but the rhythm bounces like a boxer dancing around the ring, sizing up the melody, as Hyte’s vocals reside in the echoey, soft-touch, heart-wrenching yet pleasantly tuneful end of the Lewis-esque sincere power-pop vocal range.

In the end, Pylot’s music and Hyte’s voice combine on “Faded Light” to deliver a sad song that’ll appeal to a broad range of music fans, from those whose heartbreak songs are usually of the classic rock variety to listeners with more modern tastes. Simply put, this is a very cool song music fans really ought to be aware of; if you haven’t heard it yet, do yourself a favor and give it a spin.

Single Reviews: Copper Flats – “Should’ve Been Doin’,” “Household Name,” and “Airplanes and Telephones”

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photo by Misty C Photos; photo courtesy of Skye Media

Single Reviews of Copper Flats: “Should’ve Been Doin’,” “Household Name,” and “Airplanes and Telephones”

Copper Flats is the trio of Brandon Kelly (lead vocals), Jeremy Castaldo (keys/acoustic guitar/electric guitar/background vocals), and Drew Smith (acoustic guitar/background vocals). And “Should’ve Been Doin’,” “Household Name,” and “Airplanes and Telephones” are the band’s first trio of song releases. Three singles, three different nuances on a bigtime, bowl-you-over, massive country music sound. Copper Flats explodes out of the blocks with these catchy, radio-ready arena-pleasers. Simply put, if you like modern guitar-driven country music, you’ll dig Copper Flats.

photo by Misty C Photos; photo courtesy of Skye Media

One of my personal complaints about this type of music is that the songs can be formulaic and unimaginative. Copper Flats does tug at many of the stereotypical heartstrings, as their songs delve heavily into the topics of home, family, and nostalgia, but they don’t get lazy with their lyrics or their instrumentation. That’s the difference between pretender and contender in the world of big, booming, rockin’ country music. It’s also a necessity to get a review with my byline here at the blog. (“Just like everyone else” doesn’t cut it with me.)

image courtesy of Skye Media

The big, swirling guitar that kicks off “Should’ve Been Doin'” reminds me of something Lonestar might do. (You may have noticed over the years that if I reference Lonestar, that’s a big compliment.) It’s a simple, homespun life message packaged in a catchy veneer, a pop-friendly ode to the simple life with a message that appeals broadly. And they namedrop George Strait in the lyrics – you can’t go wrong with that! Plus, it sports a hook that’ll have you remembering it for a while.

image courtesy of Skye Media

Until, of course, you hear “Household Name.” Putting a fun spin on the term, celebrating small-town family life, the energetic verses lead to a memorably hooky payoff in the title lyric. I’m also a bit partial to the late-song musical breakdown that’ll give you chills if you’re in just the right mood. In the promo material, Castaldo captures the song’s essence: “We don’t need fortune and fame, but thank God every day for the lives he’s blessed us with and the opportunities to lead our families and households well.” That’s about as cool a message as there is. You oughta give this song a listen.

image courtesy of Skye Media

The third Copper Flats single, though, topped these first two in catchiness, and believe me when I say that’s not easy. In fact, I’d rather listen to these three songs in order than just one on repeat. Yet “Airplanes and Telephones” is probably the best of the three. It’s a wistful heartbreak song penned by country hit-writers Andrew Dorff, Jonathan Singleton, and Zach Crowell, that sports a big country sound, surging with power, peaking into the title lyric, then releasing into another thoughtful lyric, all wrapped up in a tuneful package with some kickass electric axework dancing through it to help it rock.

Based on these three songs, I have no doubt Copper Flats would be a fun live show and is capable of reliably releasing singles and albums that’ll appeal to any country music fan, as well as plenty of us with broader musical tastes who simply enjoy catchy, energetic performances of well-written songs.

photo by Misty C Photos; photo courtesy of Skye Media

More Recently

The band has a couple more recently-released songs on Spotify – “Golden” and “Blue Collar Man” – though I haven’t heard them yet. (I’ve just been churning through my review playlist.) I’ll have to check them out when I get the chance.

Looking Ahead

This is a sound that’s almost certain to play well live, and they have several shows coming up. In November, you can catch the band in Conway, El Dorado, and Paris, Arkansas. The first week of December, they’ll be performing with Sister Hazel in Pontiac, Michigan on December 4th and in Wabash, Indiana on December 5th. And Copper Flats has a New Year’s Eve show in Benton, Arkansas. Be sure to check out the “Tour” page of the band’s website for times and locations of those shows, as well as additional performances, as they’re added.

You can also see all of the Copper Flats’ social and other key links at its linktree.

Single Review: Alison Brown & Steve Martin – “5 Days Out, 2 Days Back” feat. Tim O’Brien

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photo by Joseph Spence; photo courtesy of Compass Records

Single Review of Alison Brown & Steve Martin: “5 Days Out, 2 Days Back” feat. Tim O’Brien (Compass Records)

I’ve been getting a few bluegrass songs sent my way lately, and “5 Days Out, 2 Days Back” is a bluegrass number that simply jumps right off the vinyl, metaphorically speaking. A cool tune you’ve really gotta hear! Alison Brown and Steve Martin teamed up with several top players, notably including featured vocalist/mandolinist Tim O’Brien.

image courtesy of Compass Records

The song’s topic is something touring musicians – particularly those with families – will relate to with ease. But it’s really not that hard for anyone to relate, negotiating time away versus time with family, cleverly phrased making it a fun listen. Of course, lyrics alone don’t make a song, and it’s really the tune, its delivery, and cheerfully plucked, energetic style that are the catchiest, most enduring part of “5 Days Out, 2 Days Back.”

Martin’s lyrics, Brown’s melody, and O’Brien’s vocals are an ideal blend for a song that’ll appeal beyond its genre’s core fans. Indeed, while familiar, the song’s structure doesn’t always turn in the most typical direction, helping the music remain fresh across multiple listens, while the rich, warm, and sincere vocals provide a trustworthy narration with a cheerful, pleasant tone.

In any case, bluegrass fan or not, if you enjoy well-written songs – perhaps singer-songwriter types of songs, though this would be more of a singer-songwriter trio – give “5 Days Out, 2 Days Back” a listen.

Single Reviews: TELL – “Sweet Proximity” and “Boiling the Ocean”

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photo by Dan Saltzman; photo courtesy of Knyvet

Single Reviews of TELL: “Sweet Proximity” and “Boiling the Ocean”

TELL delivers some heavy, distorted, edgy tunefulness with its two latest singles, “Sweet Proximity” and “Boiling the Ocean.” With these releases, David Wildman (guitar, lead vocals), Jay Raffi (bass, vocals), Patrick Crann: (drums), and Jim Foster (guitar, vocals) serve up a pair of sneakily hooky, noisy rock songs for the consistently unnerved and persistently agitated music fan.

illustration by Morrison Digital Art; designed by J. Kaliontzis; image courtesy of Knyvet

“‘Sweet Proximity,’” notes Foster, “manifests the band’s intense feelings about the current global situation; it’s the drastic sound of things falling apart. It might be an unhinged, disjointed fit somewhat resembling a muscle spasm or near-fatal conniption, but you can definitely dance to it.” Indeed, from the very first distorted guitar riff, the song is engaging, with its intense delivery mixed with a finesse that dances around the song’s rhythm and melody. It’s hypnotically catchy with a punk edginess, all the while being undeniably rock ‘n roll.

illustration by Morrison Digital Art; designed by J. Kaliontzis; image courtesy of Knyvet

“Boiling the Ocean,” meanwhile, covers a dramatically different topic; namely, the band’s willingness to do whatever it takes to get its music noticed. It’s a musically jangly rock ‘n roll tune that at times angrily laments the role the internet plays in music promotion and discovery while at other times seeming to resignedly accept it – lyrically, “whatever it takes is cool.” The opening drum beat sets the stage, while the guitars and vocals seem barely constrained in the verses, congealing into a singalongable chorus.

Together, “Sweet Proximity” and “Boiling the Ocean” offer two very different vibes that are tied together by TELL’s identifiable almost-unhinged, raucous rock delivery style. Two very engaging songs that fans of a broad swath of rock ‘n roll should check out.