Favorite Americana, Country Songs from 2021's First Half

by Julian Spivey
Honestly, 2021 has been a weak year thus far for both Americana and country music. There hasn’t been a whole lot released that has genuinely excited me and there have even been releases from a favorite act or two this year that have at least been slightly disappointed – I’m looking at you Eric Church. But there’s always going to be several good songs in any year, even one that’s certainly been weaker than any year I can remember in the last decade or so.
​
Every year I do an extensive end of the year list of the best of Americana and country music for the entire year, and I don’t like to spoil that a whole lot, so I’m not going to rank these 10 songs that have stood out to me this year. 

---

​Allison Russell – The Runner
When it comes to music, I’m a lyrics guy first. The sound comes second for me. But it’s the sound of Allison Russell’s “The Runner” that I think caught my attention first – it just sounds so unique and interesting to me – like it’s all at once fresh and nostalgic. The theme of the song is certainly nostalgia with Russell recalling how music saved her from an abusive adoptive father and how she had to run across country from Montreal to Vancouver, Canada to escape him. 

---

Eric Church – Break It Kind of Guy
I mentioned above that Eric Church’s double-album (or triple album if you’re a member of his fan club) Heart & Soul was disappointing to me, especially since Church has been one of my favorite artists since he debuted. It’s his least interesting album thus far, but still has some gems like “Break it Kind of Guy,” which I’ve liked from my first listen. “Break it Kind of Guy” is a perfect mixture of Church’s badass “Chief” side and a soulful side we saw on his previous album Dangerous Man. I think there’s a bit of “Break it Kind of Guy” in all of us and it’s a lot of fun to sing along with, especially on a day you’re feeling a bit defiant. 

---

Miranda Lambert – Ghost
I think the best album of 2021 thus far has been The Marfa Tapes collaboration between singer-songwriter friends Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram and Jon Randall. There’s a lot of good Lambert tracks on the collaboration, but the one that has stuck with me the most is “Ghost,” a break-up tune that TasteofCountry’s Angela Stefano brilliantly wrote “is a musical exorcism of sorts.” After a couple of high-profile relationships with fellow musicians it seems Lambert is finally at ease in life with her husband Brendan McLoughlan. 

---

​James McMurtry – Canola Fields
I was kind of late to James McMurtry in 2015 when he released Complicated Game when I absolutely fell in love with his songs “Copper Canteen” and “You Got to Me,” which have undoubtedly become two of my most listened to songs of the last five years. McMurtry hasn’t released an album since then, which has left me really wanting more from the songwriter who has creativity in his lineage (his dad was award-winning novelist Larry McMurtry). His upcoming album The Horses and the Hounds doesn’t come out until August 20, but the first single “Canola Fields” instantly became one of my favorite songs of the year thus far the very first time I heard the song about remembering a past love with its cinematic lyrics that truly paint a beautiful landscape. 

---

Jon Randall – Amazing Grace - West Texas
West Texas and its undoubtedly picturesque landscapes have brought a few of my favorite songs of the year, the first being “Amazing Grace – West Texas,” a Jon Randall contribution to the excellent The Marfa Tapes. It’s beautiful in its simplicity of small-town life that leaves you longing to watch a sunset on a porch swing with your loved one right beside you. Miranda Lambert’s backing vocals flow perfectly with Randall’s lead. 

---

Josh Grider & Drew Kennedy – West Texas Cloud Appreciation Society
If Randall’s “Amazing Grace – West Texas” has you admiring the West Texas sunset than Josh Grider and Drew Kennedy’s collaboration “West Texas Cloud Appreciation Society” will have you admiring the clouds that come before it. It’ll also have you admiring a terrific whistle solo. I really love lyrics like, “if you’re a fan of God or Bob Ross/join the West Texas Cloud Appreciation Society.” You’ll be singing along with this one fast. 

---

Lucero – Coffin Nails
Alright, it’s time to get a little dark. I’ve been a bit mild on Lucero in the past, even though they have a dedicated following around my neck of the woods (front man Ben Nichols is from Little Rock), but I loved the gothic-drama of “Coffin Nails,” off their latest release When You Found Me from the first listen – it’s just too disturbing not to enjoy with its tale of a banshee that haunts a war-torn family. The subject matter fits Nichols’ sandpaper vocals terrifically and, well, we just need more banshee songs. 

---

The Steel Woods – Ole Pal
It’s hard to listen to The Steel Woods latest album All of Your Stones without thinking of their late bassist and co-writer Jason “Rowdy” Cope, who died in January. Some of the more somber tracks make you wonder if they may have come about following Cope’s death, despite the fact the album was released just a few months later. “Ole Pal,” written by front man Wes Bayliss is one of those songs. “Ole Pal” tells the story of a high school friend who’s passed on – and was reportedly inspired by the death of Winnie Cooper’s brother in Vietnam in the ‘80s TV series “The Wonder Years.” It’s a heartbreaking ballad that’ll certainly stay with you long after you hear it. 

---

Sturgill Simpson – Jesus Boogie
Technically, “Jesus Boogie” from Sturgill Simpson’s bluegrass record Cuttin’ Grass – Vol. 2 was released at the very end of 2020, but I had already formalized this website’s best of 2020 list, so I saved it for the new year. “You never asked me if I wanted to be the son of God” is one of my favorite lyrics of the year. Can you imagine that burden? It’s so devastating, especially the way Simpson’s sings it. The track is filled out with beautiful bluegrass picking making for one of the most pleasantly sounding and thought-provoking tunes of the year. 

---

Yola – Diamond Studded Shoes
Can I get away with calling an Americana song a “banger”? Yola’s “Diamond Studded Shoes” is soulful to the core, but also a bit dark when you pay attention to the lyrics. She hides the seriousness of the song in an upbeat groove, something that could get people loving the song before the even find out it has a message. It’s a song about never giving up the fight for things that are important because there hasn’t been a whole lot of change in the world just yet.