Idol Chatter & Voice Views

New post-Voice music out this week includes a long-awaited country album from The Swon Brothers, new singles from Brittany Kennell and Ashland Craft and a new cover from Jared Blake.

Here’s a look at all of those releases.

The links take you to the songs on Apple Music. Or you can check out the Spotify snippets below.

* The Swon Brothers, finalists on Season 4, released “Nashlahoma,” their second full-length album, their first as independent artists and their first in six years on Friday. How did fans react? Well enough that brothers Colton and Zach were back on social media thanking them for their support just hours later. Twelve hours after its release, the 12-song collection was number eight on the iTunes country albums chart and number 62 on the overall albums chart. “We pray every ear that hears this record gets a little more joy than they had before turning it on … We are just a couple of okies from Muskogee that know how blessed we are to do what we do as brothers.” They’ve put together an album filled with solid country songs and collaborations with Lee Brice and Vince Gill. I’ve embedded my personal favorite, “Somewhere San Diego,” below.

* Brittany Kennell from Season 10 is back with another fine country tune called “Drunk Lips,” wondering if the man she met at the bar is Mr. Right or if she’s merely about to kiss a pair of “drunk lips.” Says Brittany on Instagram: “I wrote this song about finding truth, even if it’s chased with a few drinks.” Oh, and there’s a music video too.

* Ashland Craft from Season 13 serves up the sassy “Two Wildflowers and a Box of Wine.” The accompanying music video — which Ashland says is her first ever — answers the question of what might happen if two wild childs get tipsy on a box of wine. The release is through Big Loud Records; Ashland announced that she had signed on with the company earlier this year.

* Jared Blake from Season 1 released his cover of “Man of Constant Sorrow” on Friday. Under “what Covid taught me,” Jared writes on Instagram: “Life is uncertain. Life is too short. God is the answer. You can’t love too much. And music should be fun. That pretty much sums up this song. It’s was so much fun creating something with friends, for no other reason than, we thought it would be dope.”