Over the past year, Carly Pearce has dug deep into the pain of her past few years, including her divorce from Michael Ray, losing her producer Busbee all set against the background of the pandemic. This Friday, Carly Pearce will release her third full-length studio album – 29: Written in Stone – that is our front-runner for Album of the Year, a masterfully written and delivered record that showcases an artist of timeless appeal. Here, we review the record and outline our thoughts.
Something has well and truly clicked for Carly Pearce over the past year. Somehow, having lost her producer Busbee and going through a highly publicised divorce from husband Michael Ray, Pearce has channelled that pain, loss and heartbreak into one of the most artfully, thoughtfully considered love letters to country music that we have possibly ever heard. To say this is an album of the year doesn’t feel like it does the record justice, this is a record to live with for a lifetime, one of enduring, staying power past the twenty-first century – 29: Written in Stone – is a masterpiece positing Carly Pearce as a future icon and legend in the genre.
The record opens with the fun and sassy ‘Diamondback’ in which Pearce sticks it to her ex with a humoured, sassy and immensely fun revenge track. ‘Keep the house, keep the truck / Go downtown get too drunk / Kiss a one-night stand with a butterfly on her back.’ Written with Kelsea Ballerini, Tofer Brown and Shane McAnally, it’s the most ‘fun’ track that we have heard from Pearce since ‘Next Girl’ delivered with ease and couched in gorgeously nostalgic country production. Pearce continues to see the light side of heartbreak on later track ‘Next Girl’ – the first track released from the record, a delightful, romping letter to the ‘Next Girl.’
On the flip side, ‘What He Didn’t Do’ is one of the most graceful and dignified songs from a wronged woman that we have ever heard. ‘Imma take the high road / Even though we both know, I could run him out of this town / That’s just dirty laundry, I don’t need to air the truth.’ This track became a fast fan favourite when Pearce sang the track at the Listening Room in Nashville and MacAnally’s production is a masterclass, polishing the perfection of Pearce’s vocal and lyrics and allowing them to speak for themselves, rather than transforming it. ‘Easy Going’ continues to imbue a fervent bluegrass feel to the record. ‘Roses hide thorns and devils hide horns, guess I finally saw yours.’ The track continues the country trope of a wronged woman, fusing the sound of 90s country and keeping it current, an easy and fresh classic. The outdo for ‘Easy Going’ is a mark of genius itself, huge credit to Shane MacAnally for some of his best work of recent years. Similarly, ‘Your Drinkin’, My Problem’ is another track that feels infused with the power of the great 90s female country artists where Pearce sings about a drinking problem becoming her ‘problem.’ ‘Your whiskey, my headache / Your good time, my heartbreak / I’m stone cold sober, waking up hungover.’ The lyrics are relatable and raw, yet couched in an immensely catchy and free-flowing production.
It is this production that has somehow enabled Pearce to hit new heights in the ’29’ era, setting its foundations in her bluegrass roots. The bluegrass feel reaches it’s peak on ‘Dear Miss Loretta,’ with Pearce teaming up with Patty Loveless herself, on a love letter to country music itself. ‘Dear Miss Loretta, I ain’t ever met ya / But I’m lonely tonight and I just bet ya / Might have some wisdom to pull off that shelf. / Your songs were all fun / til I lived them myself.’ Both artists signature vocals meld together in a deliciously slow-burning track, anchored in meaty country production – fiddle, dobro, piano and electric guitar – drawing out the very soul of her pain. It’s these kinds of power that show how Pearce has transformed in the past few years – it’s a far cry from chasing after country radio play, yet it is this very fact that gives the track its power and appeal. It’s clear that Pearce has thought long and hard about the shrewd choice for the collaborations on the record – the only other with Ashley McBryde on ‘Never Wanted to Be That Girl.’ A stunningly regretful track imbued with an immensity of raw emotion, showcasing two artists in full command of their own artistry and vision as they sing about mistakenly filling the role of the ‘other girl.’ ‘I never wanted to be that girl / I never wanted to hate myself / I thought this kind of lonely, only happens to somebody else / Being the other one, when there’s another one / God this feels like hell.’ The dobro backdrop ekes out the visceral emotion of both vocals.
By the end of the record, Pearce has reached a level of closure and hope. On ‘All The Whiskey,’ the production is stripped back to reveal the naked power of Pearce’s vocal. ‘All the whiskey in the world / Won’t burn out my memory / I’ll be right back on your mind, when the morning sun comes up.’ There is a sense on this more muted track that Pearce has reached her own closure, moving to a place of acceptance for the pain of all she has endured. This sentiment is carried through onto ‘I Want To Mean It This Time,’ where she reaches a sense of hope, working at getting to a place of peace. ‘When I say forever, I’m going to write it in stone / 100 years wouldn’t be enough, it will never get old / And when I give my heart away and lay it all on the line / When I tell the world I’m yours and baby you’re mine / I want to mean it this time.’ It’s a beautifully, quietly hopeful track that means so much more given the weight of the record that has preceded it.
Pearce has transformed heartbreak and pain into a truly miraculous record, with the help of some of the best songwriters in the business. Every note on the album is a masterstroke, down to the sequencing itself, weaving newcomers like ‘All The Whiskey’ and ‘Your Drinkin’, My Problem’ next to already released tracks like ’29’ and ‘Next Girl.’ Something has been unleashed in Pearce in this ’29’ era and the world needs to watch out, she is unstoppable, with every track released a jewel brighter than the last.
