5 New Country songs you need to hear: Miranda Lambert, The Castellows, Johnny Cash and more

In this week's new releases, Miranda Lambert shows strength against her naysayers, while a new posthumous album from country music icon Johnny Cash highlights his previously unreleased music since 1993. See all of this and more of our latest favorites below.

Miranda Lambert, “Dammit Randy”

ACM Awards Triple Crown winner Miranda Lambert's songs are known for whiskey-fueled, fiery takedowns of broken relationships, whether on early hits like “Kerosene” or her recent “Wranglers” — but this time, there's no need to break out, it -all-down hymns. Here, on her latest release after signing a deal with Republic Records, she's confident in her worth and strength (of both song and character) — she just marches on, knowing that whoever underestimated her will regret it. This perspective is evident in lines like “You gave up until the last minute/ Now that I'm gone, I've got your attention.”

The Castellows, “Miss America”

This sibling trio delivers a harmonica-fueled coming-of-age tale of nostalgia and longing for simpler, “barefoot in the dirt” childhood moments, before this small-town girl grew up, left home, and “got a big-city brand on her shoulder.” . This trio excels at this kind of sepia, neo-traditional country songs, which act as a perfect vessel for their idyllic harmonies. The trio's Powell, Lily and Eleanor wrote the song with Nicolle Galyon and Will Bundy.

Johnny Cash, “Hello Out There”

Cash's new 11-song posthumous album Songwriter comes from untouched Cash demos recorded at LSI Studios in Nashville in 1993, between the 1991 set The Mystery of Life and what would revitalize his career American Recordings project series produced by Rick Rubin. This sky-tinged gospel song marks the project's opening track, centered on Cash's haunting calls for redemption and poignant observations about humanity, and cements Cash's reputation as not only a commanding singer, but also a versatile one. “Hello Out There” is further enhanced by a guitar grid from Marty Stuart, along with additional steel guitar, percussion and vocals from Ana Cristina Cash and Harry Stinson.

Mackenzie Carpenter, “Only Girl”

Carpenter delivers her first true love song here, capturing the heady feeling of young love in this bright, guitar-driven acoustic ballad. She wrote this song with her brother Micah, as well as Mia Mantia and SJ McDonald. With its slow-rolling feel and Carpenter's honeyed vocals, “Only Girl” feels destined to become a wedding dance staple.

Midland, “Lucky Sometimes”

Trio Midland will release their new eight-song project Just Blue on September 20th and offer an early look at the set with their new single “Lucky Sometimes”. An array of Laurel Canyon-esque guitars, harmonicas and harmonies, the group captures the euphoric feeling of being on a streak of good fortune and enjoying the ride for however long it lasts.