Ballads & Bangers: Nothing More Beautiful & Only Shot

"What makes a song a banger? The most important is the hook, that sticks in your head, after you hear the song just once. In addition it will also have a solid beat, that you can't help but move to. And recognizability is also key."

 (DJ Rinehart / deepinthemix.com, July 23 2023)

They sort of represent the opposite bookends of a musical bookshelf: the catchy banger and the smooth ballad. They are the flamboyant, which thrills and the mellow, which triggers feelings. Not always do they catch the broad public's attention. Maybe because the timing just isn't right, maybe because they are deep cuts that not everyone gets to hear or simply because the artist is not well enough known (yet). And although musical tastes always are personal and subjectiv, this spot here shall give those songs a little stage to shine.

Ballad: a song or poem that tells a story, or a slow love song. (dictionary.cambridge.org)

In 2010 married couple Shawna and Keifer Thompson by the name of Thompson Square released their first single, the uptempo 'Let's Fight'. Already the second single 'Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not' reached Number 1 on the Country Charts and was given a Grammy-nomination for Best Country Duo.

Their second album ("Just Feels Good") gave them their second number-1 hit ('If I Didn't Have You'), as well as a second Vocal Duo of the Year award from the Academy of Country Music (ACM) in  2013.
When the commercial successes started to wane however, they started to withdraw from music and focussed on starting a family of their own. A third album ("Masterpiece") in 2016 didn't go anywhere either.

 

Starting in 2019, Thompson Square re-started releasing new songs once in a while, without them getting anywhere near their inital success so far. Among those songs was the wonderful two-part harmony ballad of 'Nothing More Beautiful' with it's timeless declaration of love:

There's nothing more beautiful than thinking about tiny feet on a hardwood floor,
them growing up and us getting old,

knowing I could not ask for more.

(Nothing More Beautiful / Vicky McGehee, Keifer Thompson, Stephen Wilson Jr.)

 

Banger: a popular song or piece of music with a loud, heavy beat (= rhythm) that people like to dance to. (dictionary.cambridge.org)

"'Only Shot' is a country-rock anthem", said Corey Parnell of the new group The Brethren in June of 2022 on www.plamedia.com. "A riff driven song about trying to cure a heartbreak. It is our nod to our rock roots with a country Twist."

Barely a year later, in April of 2023, the group of 2 pairs of brothers with lots of music experience on their résumés, who had come to Nashville from Oregon, had to announce, that due to obvious copyright issues, they had to change their band name. So today the foursome call themselves Century Drive, after a street name in their conjoint home town.

And according to their homepage they stand for "rock and roll energy with country roots. Stories of romance and rebellion and a look, a vibe, and a sound ready to take on the world."