American Young, ‘Hometown Girl’ [Exclusive Premiere]

Bringing excellent two-part harmonies and impressive songwriting chops, American Young are debuting “Hometown Girl,” one of the songs from the duo’s upcoming self-titled debut album, exclusively to readers of The Boot.

“Hometown Girl” is a song that will be familiar to those listeners who hail from small towns; in some ways, it echoes Kacey Musgraves’ “Merry Go Round.”

“It’s so hard to leave my hometown world / I tried to be a hometown girl / But in a car in the high school parking lot, I know I’m not,” sings AY's Kristy Osmunson in the chorus. “In the crowd on graduation day / You can see the ones that wish they got away / One on the hip, one on the way.”

According to American Young, "Hometown Girl" is about “standing on the edge of nowhere, contemplating personal growth" and "the risk that comes from paving your own path" -- “also known as the inner dialogue before moving to Nashville, or out of your comfort zone," they explain.

Comprised of Osmunson and Jon Stone, American Young are a pair of opposites: Stone describes himself as a “conservative, Harley Davidson-riding” bull rider from the West Coast, and Osmunson is a free-spirited, electric car-driving yoga enthusiast. Fortunately, in this case, opposites attract, and “Hometown Girl” is a solid, well-written country tune with rich, multi-layered instrumentation.

American Young’s self-titled debut album was co-produced by Stone and Lee Brice. The project features 12 songs, 11 of which were co-written by the duo and one of which ("Thirteen") features guest vocals from Brice, and is set for release on Aug. 5.

Listen to American Young, "Hometown Girl":