Thanks to Donna's ever helpful care for the fans in archiving sound, and to Claire's thoughtfulness in giving me the link, I have now heard the fuller clips. Although I agree with Smokyiiis that a proper assessment has to wait for the full tracks, the longer clips did give a stronger feel to the songs - and enabled me to revise my rankings (though those could well change again in a few days!)
1. I'd now place "The Bullet" as my top choice. (That is no surprise - I always guessed it would have a big potential - I just wanted to hear more of it). It has the depth I wanted, and appears to have the strongly immersed and expressive delivery that I felt was not fully achieved in the more universally targeted, but hence more "middle ground" Love Wins. As someone who's long been wanting a song like this from Carrie, I'm tempted to say thank you to Allen Shamblin for maybe giving her "the song that built her", in terms of her critical reputation.
2. "Low". On first brief hearing, I had some concerns about the match between her voice and the "Southern Soul" style of the song. Singers of this style set the bar high, but on hearing the fuller clip, I'm convinced that she handles it well. Another memorable song.
3. Spinning Bottles. A lot of depth and emotion here - and even the fuller clip doesn't really develop where i suspect it's capable of going. The "head voice" vocal shift, which I personally don't relate to, only seems to occur in the first chorus, as has been pointed out. On reflection, I suspect the higher notes have been used at that early point to suggest the reference to spinning bottles being a children's game - though that is obviously a metaphor for much deeper meaning as the song progresses. I agree with montdu about the more restrained production, and the focus on the vocal. This song, when completely heard could be a real standout.
4. "Drinking Alone" loses a little, for me, on fuller exposure. I think this may be a comparative rarity for me - a Carrie song in which I actually prefer the choruses to the narration. The chorus refrain is pretty much exactly the style I most wanted for her - but I'm less keen on some of the verse passages, which come close to a 'talking Blues' style in places. Although that would be compatible with a traditionally styled song, it doesn't seem to me to particularly suit her vocal as well, and I would want to hear more of the 'cry' that she brings to the main refrain.
5. "Ghosts on the Stereo". I'm surprised that some people have described this as a traditional song - I don't hear it that way (notwithstanding the reference to Hank, Haggard and Jones, which seems almost incidental to the main thrust of the song). I hear it as more a statement of the singer's mood than a tribute to legends. The music is progressive, and makes considerable use of a short, repetitive chord structure, that may be intended to suggest the haunting theme. Again, this is one where we probably need the full song to see how the theme is developed.
6. "Southbound". The unusual background influence in the music (which one of the listening party found difficult to pin down) contains elements of Cajun and Zydeco. When I was speculating earlier on what it might be, that certainly didn't come to mind. I wouldn't have expected that on a Mainstream album - and it shows Carrie's eclectic range of the styles she samples.
7. "Kingdom" Another case where the fuller clip sounded more interesting than the short preview. A sincere vocal, and some good musical touches
8. "Backsliding" I still feel this is more of a stylistic reassurance, less innovative, and more reminiscent of earlier work - but that is no bad thing.
9 "That Song That We Used To Make Love To". Not really a style that appeals to me, but I'm sure it will to some.
In conclusion, I would say that, for those who obviously love the style, the album retains elements of a "Pop Country" approach, giving enough scope for accessible singles. But for fans (like myself) that have long wanted a move away from an emphasis on "Pop Country" this preview gives me several examples that do that. In that respect, Carrie has gone further than I expected - in all the areas of progressive music, more nuanced mood vocals, deeper themes, and a more wide ranging modern Roots feel, and I would rate this as likely to be her most Alternative leaning album yet