Trying to put digital pen to paper more, even if it's just in quick spurts, so I'm introducing/committing myself to this new Song Of The Week segment. It will go like this: I'll pick my song of the week and then I'll tell you about it. I anticipate it usually being considerably shorter than this but I fucking love Wild Pink.

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John Ross kicked off his band's new album cycle by releasing, for my money, the best song of the year so far. He followed it up with a second single that's genuinely just as good, maybe even better. Naturally, that song — "Box Store" off of the forthcoming Still Coming Down — is our inaugural song of the week.

Recency bias be damned, 2024's generationally excellent Dulling The Horns is my favorite album largely due to two particular elements — its sublime guitar tone and Ross' storytelling ability. Fast forward a couple years and those components are still the load-bearing pillars of his work. Recording this new record at Asheville's Drop of Sun studio with Alex Farrar and members of the Wednesday contingent is probably the literal best possible music-related news I personally could have received (either that or Phoebe Bridgers emerging from indefinite hiatus...everything's coming up Creek Rock right now). The song's central riff houses a small but potent dose of classic rock influence in its DNA; Ross did say he channeled Warren Zevon when composing.

And then there's the songwriting itself, which turns a seemingly prosaic anecdote about purchasing an A/C unit and TV from some anonymous strip mall chain into a reflective experience. Yes, air conditioning is a modern miracle and something I'd be miserable without, but the ennui inherent to living through the world's extended heat death / installing a clunky add-on unit that blocks the outdoor view and impedes use of your door for ~half the year is very real.

There's also a few lines that clearly resonate with the writing in older Wild Pink songs (love a good callback). "Pacific City" opened with a reference to a beloved film from the '90s: "watching Heat in the evenings / I hate it when the robbers die." Here, the nod to William Fichtner scratches such a specific itch for me...drop the Letterboxd account, John!

The most impactful section of "Box Store" is its hook: "getting going is easy to do / you get one foot out the door, then the other one too." It's a simple couplet, one that wouldn't feel at all out of place in an old country tune or a Christmas Claymation. But I immediately thought back to the propulsive chorus from Dulling The Horns' title track:

Moving on like the cold wind blows Like a train in the snow If you don’t learn to let go sometimes You’re gonna fall apart If you don’t learn to let go sometimes You’re gonna break your heart

There is so much momentum and resolve living in these words, and I find myself moved considering the singer (possibly) directing them inward. Whomever the intended recipient is, the sentiment is universal and absolutely rock solid. He really knows how to write 'em.

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Honorary mentions include the new Phoebe (duh) and this absolute gem of an alt-country turn from Hank Garrett (not a super recent release, just been on constant repeat since I discovered it earlier this week). This has also been one of the most ridiculous weeks of new music in 2026 to date, so adding to a running playlist as I work through the wonderfully massive backlog of new releases.