the mockingbird & THE CROW

Not one to shy away from an ambitious project, HARDY is the latest country artist to take on the double album, a format that—thanks to similarly outsized efforts by fellow artists like Eric Church and Tyler Childers—is becoming something of a rite of passage in the genre. On his hotly anticipated sophomore album, HARDY uses the structure to explore the duality of his own songwriting and artistry, with mockingbird tracks honing in on his country influences and THE CROW leaning into Southern rock. That loose concept was, in part, an accident, as HARDY tells Apple Music he found himself switching between genres while writing for the album. “I love writing country songs,” HARDY tells Apple Music. “And I moved [to Nashville] to write country songs for other people. That part of me just will never go away. But I wanted to experiment and dig into the rock thing. I always do and always had wanted to write country songs, so they just were both happening at the same time.” the mockingbird & THE CROW opens with the midtempo anthem “beer”, which is perhaps the first “beer song” to be told from the perspective of the sudsy brew itself—while such a concept could be gimmicky, it allows for vivid imagery and a fresh take on an overused country trope. “here lies country music” is a formidable entry into the long-running canon of songs lamenting the end of the genre, with a hopeful twist ending. “SOLD OUT” addresses staying grounded while finding success, with palm-muted power chords and a driving beat adding an alt-rock-flavoured urgency to the autobiographical track. And closer “THE REDNECK SONG” stays true to its title, with mentions of muddy “truck nuts” and cooking with Bisquick. Guests on the mockingbird portion of the LP include Morgan Wallen on “red” and Lainey Wilson on the hit single “wait in the truck”, the latter subverting the murder ballad form by portraying a man taking violent aim at an abuser rather than an unrequited flame. Jeremy McKinnon, lead vocalist of the ro