5 Must-Hear New Country Songs: Zach Top, William Beckmann, Carter Faith & More

Traditional country sounds dominate this week’s crop of new tunes, as Zach Top drops a stone-cold country sound with his latest, “Beer for Breakfast,” while Carter Faith, Wyatt Flores, William Beckmann and Noeline Hofmann also issue new tunes.

Check out all of these and more in Billboard‘s roundup of the best country songs of the week below.

Zach Top, “Beer for Breakfast”

Newcomer Top has become one of traditional-leaning country’s freshest guiding lights since releasing his first single “Sounds Like The Radio” and following with his album Cold Beer & Country Music. Here, he adds to his reputation as a foremost proponent of a new generation of traditional artists, with this lighthearted new release, written by Top, Kevin Denney and Carson Chamberlain. Simple acoustic guitar and Top’s stellar twang launch this ode to beer as an all-purpose emotion-lifter, as the song builds into an expertly-rendered honky-tonk vibe, complete with piano and hints of lap steel. “It goes good with fighting and loving/ Beats anything you can cook in an oven,” Top sings, infusing this ode to alcohol with some sly humor — and in the process, only extends his resume as a reliable source for unvarnished country music.

Carter Faith, “Alright”

Singer-songwriter Faith has proven she can lend her ethereal vocal to any number of styles, from bluegrass-laced numbers to sultry ’70s country gems. Here, she turns up the flame on this slow-burn ballad, as a smoldering pop sheen and moody piano heighten Faith’s captivating voice. “You’re my dopamine/ The only chemical I need to fly,” she sings, clearly enthralled by a potent, charming romance, as she compares her new love to the effects of any number of chemical dependencies. Faith wrote “Alright” with Ashley Monroe and Tofer Brown.

Wyatt Flores, “Don’t Wanna Say Goodnight”

Flores has notched a reputation as one of the genre’s most conspicuous new voices, a sturdy songwriter and vocalist in equal measure. His latest pulses with the raw energy of a full-band sound, thrashing percussion and churning guitars, as he sings of how the moments with his lover never last quite long enough and in the aftermath of their parting, he falls headlong into misery and unbridled longing to reunite. “Don’t Wanna Say Goodnight” is from Flores’ upcoming album Welcome to the Plains, out Oct. 18 on Island Records.

William Beckmann, “Not That Strong”

This Texas native’s burnished baritone is as smooth and potent as any top-shelf bourbon, and is one every country music fan needs to hear. He’s also devoted himself to enduring country songcraft, as noted by his latest release, which finds him pining for a lost love and stating directly that “when it comes to you and movin’ on/ Baby I’m just not that strong.” When you possess a voice this commanding, this kind of direct, heartfelt missive sounds like a mainline from singer to listener. Written by Beckmann, Lindsay Rimes and Brice Long, “Not That Strong” serves as the first release from Beckmann under his recently-signed label deal with Warner Music Nashville.

Noeline Hofmann, “August”

Earlier this year, Canadian singer-songwriter Hofmann teamed up with Zach Bryan for a duet version of her song “Purple Gas,” which was included on Bryan’s most recent project. Her new song, “August,” previews Hofmann’s own debut EP Purple Gas, out Oct. 4 on La Honda Records. “August” blends stripped-back instrumentation and Hofmann’s world-weary, dusky vocal as she sings of the hardships the month of August brings on a farm, from farming accidents to the foreboding sense of winter on its way. “August,” like many of her songs, draw from her own experience as a working cowgirl in Canada and her songs proliferate with clear-eyed observations of loss and life, as well as imagery of the region, infusing her work with a uniqueness that is making Hofmann an artist standing out in a crowded crop of newcomers.