Canada’s Country

Though Nashville remains the cradle of country, Canada has a pretty long history with it, too, taking the styles and sounds of its Southern neighbors and applying its own rustic, regional spin. Honky-tonk, outlaw ballads, beat-driven pop crossovers—these songs represent a cross section of Canada’s best modern country. Cameron Whitcomb dips into Greek mythology with “Medusa,” a new single released in support of the B.C. singer-songwriter’s recently wrapped, sold-out North American tour. With deceptively jaunty production reminiscent of The Lumineers, the rootsy track shows off Whitcomb’s more poetic inclinations as he likens an ex-flame to the mythological ancient Greek woman whose eyes could turn humans to stone. “The song is about my love for the things that kill me,” Whitcomb tells Apple Music, and you can hear that emotional tension when he sings, “Mesmerizing eyes turned me into stone/And together I’m alone” with an aching delivery that swells to a wail. Listen to it now and add Canada’s Country to your library to stay up on the songs shaping the future of country music.