Carly Pearce reflects on the final year of her 20s on new album 29 (out Feb. 19 via Big Machine Records). The 7-song record comes a year after the release of Pearce's self-titled album, her final project with her late producer and friend, busbee, who passed away in 2019 at the age of 43.
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29, produced by Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne, finds Pearce looking back on a decade of growth and, like many others, letting go of a particularly trying 2020. The "I Hope You're Happy Now" singer shares her truths with wisdom ("Should've Known Better") and wry humor ("Next Girl") and channels the '90s country women she was raised on.
The Kentuckian, who rose to fame with the haunting 2017 hit "Every Little Thing," says it was a song by another artist born and raised in The Bluegrass State, Patty Loveless, that made her fall in love with the honesty and aching beauty of country songs: "You Don't Even Know Who I Am," a Gretchen Peters-penned tune about divorce, featured on Loveless' 1994 album When the Fallen Angels Fly.
"'You Don't Even Know Who I Am' by Patty Loveless was one of the first songs that made me fall deeply in love with country music and the intricacies of writing a song that reflected real life," Pearce tells Wide Open Country. "I used to listen to it over and over, and I recently rediscovered its beauty this past year as I dove back into some of my favorite old records. It's a timeless heartbreak song."
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With "Should've Known Better," which Pearce penned with Jordan Reynolds and Emily Shackelton, the singer-songwriter delivers a heartbreak song for a new generation.
"I feel lighter reflecting on the last year and pouring my soul into this music and wanted to share it in hopes that others to will take from the songs what they need," Pearce said in a press release. "With streaming and social media, we were able record music for the sole purpose of letting my fans know where my heart is without any expectations. That's a kind of immediacy that makes making records really exciting."
29 is available for pre-order here.
'29' Track List:
1. "Next Girl," Carly Pearce, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne
2. "Should've Known Better," Carly Pearce, Jordan Reynolds, Emily Shackelton
3. "29," Carly Pearce, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne
4. "Liability," Carly Pearce, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne
5. "Messy," Carly Pearce, Sarah Buxton, Jimmy Robbins*
6. "Show Me Around," Carly Pearce, Emily Shackelton, Ben West
7. "Day One," Carly Pearce, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne, Matthew Ramsey
*produced by Jimmy Robbins
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