Monday mornings are always rough, but winter Monday’s are especially painful. It’s days like these I’m thankful for the good folks at Merge who always seem to have something new in my inbox to get my week going. This new single from H.C. McEntire is hitting all the right notes for me, so maybe today won’t be so bad.

Almost left behind until Kathleen Hanna recommended McEntire finish it, “Quartz In The Valley” is a countrified gem inspired, I think, by music from The Carter Family and many others of that ilk. There’s one section of the song featuring a male accompaniment that reminds me a lot of Dolly and Kenny’s duets.

This is the second single off of Lionheart, due out January 26th. She’ll be touring the album in late January/early February, with most dates supporting Justin Townes Earle.

If you like what you hear, pre-order the album on Merge here.