From heartfelt country to rafter-raising pop, our latest roundup has it all.
Izzy Heltai – “Running Out”
Izzy Heltai was feeling stagnant. In between the spaces of a burgeoning alt-folk career, the singer-songwriter found himself floundering. And it seemed everything had completely stopped. When writing “Running Out,” Heltai began to feel things were up and working again, that his luck had finally turned in his favor. The world seemed brighter, so he put pen to paper to remind himself to stay present in the moment. Despite it all, there was good happening around him and he simply took a minute to bask in it. “I thought I was running out of luck / But my luck’s been pretty great,” he beams. Through the storm, he was able to rediscover himself and uncover renewed passion for his work.
Listen to “Running Out” below.
Mya Byrne – “Lend You a Hand”
Mya Byrne finds great liberation in “Lend You a Hand,” a song written a decade ago. Even though its origins stemmed from love, it turns its gaze to her understanding of self. “Let me ease your strain,” she sings. Looking back, she was still working through her identity in those early days, and she stands in the light now, fully and unapologetically. “It’s safe to let go / I won’t let you go,” she offers wisdom to herself. In effect, it’s a potent message to any LGBTQ+ youth out there struggling to know and comprehend who they really are. “Let me lend you a hand / If you’re afraid, I’ll help you stand,” she coos in the song’s final moments.
Listen to “Lend You a Hand” below.
Theo Tams – “Cowboy Take Me Away”
Taking on The Chicks’ “Cowboy Take Me Away” is no easy task. Where the original is already lilting and airy, Theo Tams morphs it into a lullaby. His voice drips upon a single piano. It’s both haunting and soothing, as though he’s singing directly to each and every listener. “I wanna sleep on the hard ground in the comfort of your arms,” he sings, “on a pillow of bluebonnets in a blanket made of stars.” Tams flies, no he glides, across the cosmos with a lark-like ease. His voice caresses the melody; where many might go through the motions, he pours his heart into the performance. It’s downright tear-inducing.
Listen to “Cowboy Take Me Away” below.
Luke Combs – “5 Leaf Clover”
Luke Combs doesn’t understand how he got so lucky in life. “I know I’m a lucky man / But I ain’t sure why I am,” he ponders with “5 Leaf Clover.” When a buddy discovered a five-leaf clover in a clover patch, Combs got to thinking about luck and how serendipitous things happen in our lives. So, he put pen to paper in a songwriting session with Jessi Alexander and Chase McGill, and the song flowed from their fingertips. “I’ve hit my knees / Thankful as can be / But the one thing that I can’t get over / Is how’d a guy like me / Who’d a been fine with three / Wind up with a five-leaf clover,” he continues. The melody sticks instantly in the eardrums, a perfect remedy for cabin fever as we wait for spring to actually, fully arrive.
Listen to “5 Leaf Clover” below.