Alabama boys, Muscadine Bloodline, are great at paying tribute to musicians and songwriters, covering their tracks with their ‘Bama lilt and country guitars, like their most recent ode to the Late Charlie Robinson where they covered his hit ‘My Hometown’.

But Charlie Muncaster and Gary Stanton are themselves writing some of modern country music’s most clever songs full of razor sharp lyrics and profound storytelling, something they showcase on their 2025 album, Longleaf Lo-fi. And it’s time the country world took notice.

You might know them for their earworm, ‘Me On You’, full of punchy riffs and tumbling lyrics, or their beautiful ‘Porch Swing Angel’, or maybe even their hit, ‘Pieces’, with Nashville friend and country music icon, Lainey Wilson.

But there’s so much more to the endlessly talented duo. They build characters, worlds and stories, threading intricacies through their melodies and lyrics like no one else on the scene.

“We’re writing less than we ever have,” Gary told Holler in an interview last year, “and I think it’s because we’re writing more quality. We’re writing for this project we’re working on, instead of just being like, ‘Let’s just get up and write a song.’”

That record-first, intentional mindset has allowed them to stretch country songwriting into something more cinematic. Songs like ‘Peter from Picayune’ aren’t built around what works for radio, but around character and consequence.

“It’s not just like, ‘Hey, go to the next verse and say the same thing again,’” Gary explains. “It’s telling a story…trying to get all the nuances right.” The result feels closer to short fiction than formula, rooted in their ‘Bama dirt.

It’s no secret that country music has a few tired themes. “Heartbreak, love, beer… a good time, a bad time, life,” recalls Gary, but the challenge, for them, is phrasing. “How can I say this or phrase this in a way that maybe no one else is?” Gary says. They have honed their craft in writing songs that sound conversational and Southern without leaning on tired clichés.

Just as important is knowing when not to finish a song. “I’m okay with not leaving the room with the finished product,” Gary admits. “Sometimes I’m almost scared to approach it because you can mess it up.” That patience is part of why songs like ‘Goose Chase’ can take years to fully reveal themselves, arriving only when the right chorus or line finally clicks.

They think in keys, sequencing, and emotional flow - writing ‘Maybe I’ll Stay’ with Tenille Townes to sit in the same key as ‘My Meridian’, or placing ‘Clairvoyant’ so it “pleases your ear” before ‘59’.

“We’re looking at what’s gonna serve the whole record instead of just serving the song,” Gary says, “and that’s a hard needle to thread sometimes”.

In an age of convenience, Muscadine Bloodline are asking listeners to slow down - and rewarding them when they do.

Muscadine Bloodline are out on the road through to September for a combination of headline shows, support slots for Turnpike Troubadours or The Red Clay Strays and festival slots. Be sure to catch them if they roll through your town. Their latest studio album, Longleaf Lo-fi, is available now.