CHASE MCDANIEL - Heart Still Works - Big Machine Records

With “Project,” “Your Daughter,” “Relapse,” and “Drop Your Tailgate” all laying very solid foundations, Chase McDaniel hit out the gate of 2024 with the release of his EP Blame It On Country Music, quickly securing his status tag as an artist to watch.

Hot off his Grand Ole Opry debut earlier this month, which saw him earn him a coveted standing ovation, he now delivers “Heart Still Works.”

“This one’s for anyone who’s had to numb out to survive. Feel the pain and let it remind you that you’re still alive,” said McDaniel about the song on his socials ahead of its release.

Washed in a melodic drive that continually builds through the verses, he emotionally grips the aftermath perspective of a life-altering heartbreak, battling his aching internal questions while facing his own proverbial mirror to examine the effectiveness of the protective wall he kept up to try and prevent the undefinable pain that he’s now feeling.

He quizzically asks, “Have you ever lost everything and couldn’t feel anything at all,” opening the song with an instant heartstring connection to the hurting listener as he lifts to the strike of the chorus, matching the punch of the instrumentation to the intensity of his trying to make his hurt make any sense:

“At least I know my heart still works

You broke it like it never would again

Now I don’t even know what’s worse

Falling apart like this or trying to pretend

That I ain’t missin’ you missin’ you

And it couldn’t be ripped in two

But tonight feelin’ this kind of hurt

At least I know my heart still works”

Holding tightly to the fact that his broken heart is at least telling him he’s still alive, he utilizes the second half of the song to lament on his past efforts to try and stop her leaving while introducing an intriguing melodic switch through the bridge that expertly captures the boiled over frustration that he’s welled up inside.

With “Heart Still Works,” McDaniel injects pure authenticity into the numbing pain that weighs heavy in the confusing unbalance between hurting so badly that you can’t stand it while feeling absolutely nothing at all at the very same time.

By combining the universal feeling of heartbreak with a range of dynamic influences that define the characteristics that make him so unique to today’s format, McDaniel swings open the door on his next chapter with a buzz of strong anticipation for what’s still to come as he states that this is, “the first of many new songs!”

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis/Artwork c/o Big Machine Records)