Country disruptor Graham Barham caused quite the stir when he released his song ‘Oil Money’ earlier this year. The ‘Club Country’ star divided Country music fans with his unique take on the genre, despite being a well-established songwriter for some of the genre’s biggest artists. ‘Oil Money’ was the title track from the EP of the same name, which saw Barham rip up the rule book and make music that was uniquely his. Following his appearance at C2C back in March, Barham has been regularly teasing and putting out new music, and now he’s unleashing his next EP ‘Whiskey Rain’.
The 8-track EP features 4 songs that have been released over the past few months – ‘Camo’, ‘WTH Just Happened?’, ‘Easy On Me’ and ‘Bad Night (Karma)’. ‘Camo’ was the first out of the gate, doubling down on the sound that Barham established on ‘Oil Money’. The beats are hard, there’s a Country riff that runs throughout and Barham’s distinctive voice builds up to an explosive ear worm chorus. ‘WTH Just Happened?’ followed, and that song caught everyone off-guard. It begins as a traditional acoustic Country ballad before completely transforming into a club banger before returning back to its original sound. The song is jarring, but for me that’s a good thing. Who else is making music this innovative in Country music right now?
‘Easy On Me’ is closer to what’s becoming Barham’s signature sound, working hip-hop rhythms into a Country melody. This song is still very much ‘Club Country’ and fans of Barham will crank it up loud. ‘Bad Night (Karma)’, the most recent of the releases, could easily have sat on the ‘Oil Money’ EP. The chorus is familiar to the songs from that EP and while I like the song, it is just that bit too similar to what Barham has already released.
But what about the other 4 songs on the EP? Title track ‘Whiskey Rain’ features Tyler Hubbard and it’s the next focus track from the set. Barham and Hubbard complement one another as they sing over an edgy backing track that packs plenty of punch. In some ways it’s a return to the Florida Georgia Line sound for Hubbard, who has been forging his path as a solo artist the past few years. ‘Write It In Red’ is mid-tempo jam that breezes by, but it’s not the most impactful song here, and ‘Break Out The Bottle’ has a hard-hitting chorus that would sound epic in a club. Closing track ‘Everyone Dies in Hollywood’ is one of the EP’s standout moments. It leans into the hip-hop influences Barham draws from but if you strip that way, the song could easily be a Sam Hunt track. It’s a little different for Barham and the chorus is sonically pretty interesting.
For me, Graham Barham is one of the most interesting artists in music at the moment. He’s forging his own path and hurtling down his own lane, at a time when lots of artists are content to sound similar in search of a hit. There are a few moments on ‘Whiskey Rain’ that sound a little too similar to the ‘Oil Money’ EP but if the two EPs were to be put out as one album, the project would sound cohesive. Barham may not be everyone’s cup of tea but he has all the ingredients to be the next big breakout star.
Track list: 1. Whiskey Rain (feat. Tyler Hubbard) 2. Write It in Red 3. Break Out the Bottle 4. Bad Night (Karma) 5. WTH Just Happened? 6. Camo 7. Easy On Me 8. Everyone Dies in Hollywood Record label: Sony Music Nashville Release date: 5th September 2025
