Big Machine Label Group
Release Date: June 16th / August 11th / October 6th 2023
Reviewed by: Joshua Andre
Carly Pearce– We Don’t Fight Anymore (feat. Chris Stapleton) / Country Music Made Me Do It / Heels Over Head (Single) (Amazon mp3/iTunes) (Amazon mp3/iTunes) (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
Track Listing:
- We Don’t Fight Anymore (feat. Chris Stapleton)
- Country Music Made Me Do It
- Heels Over Head
The few years, especially the years of 2020 and 2021, has been difficult for many of us, for obvious reasons inclusive of COVID-19. However, for me, while lockdown was indeed a challenge and something that I needed to adjust to; what I did find was my musical tastes expanding beyond the confines of CCM and worship. Not that Christian music is bad, but if you limit God to only speaking through the obvious overt melodies about and to Jesus… then I guess you’ll miss out on all of the ways God chooses to speak to us via different avenues. I wrote a blog about God speaking to us through unexpected ways a while ago; yet over the past few years, I found myself drawn to different genres of music apart from CCM, and in particular the country music genre. Admittedly though, it’s only been since 2021 (3 years ago!) that I’ve been immersed the most in the genre of country music- as a site we’ve blogged about many, many, country artists, and many more still to go!; and Carly Pearce’s latest full length studio album 29: Written In Stone reinforces my idea of country music being one of the most honest and vulnerable genres ever… and quite possibly one of the most underrated genres as well!
In 2020, I reviewed Carly’s self-titled sophomore album, and at the time, I didn’t know a thing about Carly, her upbringing, how she got into music, her backstory, her musical influences and everything else that Wikipedia tells us. And as of right now I’m still not across everything Carly related. Yet with me being introduced to Carly’s music in the strangest way (via a Youtube recommendation!); I was reintroduced to Carly again this year through Matthew West’s song “Truth Be Told”. Jon reviewed that song; and then I restarted reacquainting myself with Carly’s music. 29 was the EP that I decided to listen to… and boy is it a tearjerker and an emotional album that probably none of us are prepared for! In 2021, Carly continued on with her songwriting to extend her 29 EP into a full length album 29: Written In Stone, reviewed here. Fast forward until now, and Carly is back with 3 brand new singles, and presumable a pre-order for a new album coming this year. Though in the past we’ve reviewed predominately Christian albums; just take a read of our reviews now! We’ve branched out of late somewhat (cause I’m now of the belief that God can and will use anything to glorify His name and for our good!); and now let’s dive in to hear what Carly has to say about life, love, loss and everything else in between, in these new songs “We Don’t Fight Anymore”, “Country Music Made Me Do It” and “Heels Over Head”.
With 29: Written In Stone being Carly emphasising about what she believed was wrong with her brief relationship with her ex-husband; these three new songs are the start of her journey out of that pit of despair and self-pity and into healing, revitalisation, and rejuvenation. “We Don’t Fight Anymore” is a powerful duet with Chris Stapleton, where Carly recounts that at one point, both she and her husband were apathetic towards each other, and thus they were too tired and too indifferent and lukewarm with each other to even fight and argue. It’s at this point where I think you may as well call the marriage over, despite your initial want and need to save it; and that’s exactly what Carly did- end something that was irreparably broken. “County Music Made Me Do It” is Carly’s jovial and celebratory response to the previous song, where Carly now sees that country music ‘made’ her act irrational and ‘made’ her act out in ways she wouldn’t normally, but it is also country music that helped her through heartbreak, loss and all of the other things that parents and family and friends normally would have. “Heels Over Head”, a sassy, fun and no-nonsense melody about the ‘next girl’ after Carly being more obsessed with her shoes (hence the ‘heels’) rather than the guy, is the final ‘new’ song, and a reminder that sometimes women can see through the daft and idiotic plans of men and can see some men for who they really are.
I’ve always thought I had to know about the artist inside and out before I enjoy an album of theirs. But Carly Pearce and her country/pop/bluegrass/acoustic sensibilities have proved me wrong. One of the most unique voices and musicalities I’ve heard in country music thus far (it’s Martina McBride meets Lady A meets Gabby Barrett meets The Chicks in my own honest opinion!); Carly Pearce reminds us that sometimes in the quiet, sometimes in the waiting and sometimes in the silence of lockdown, a gem can be found. 29: Written In Stone is an emotional album that speaks about the fragility of relationships yet also about the healing Jesus brings and the healing time brings from a situation. Some of us may not be in relationships at the moment, but 29: Written In Stone is needed so that we can be content in our own skin while God prepares our hearts for the person He has in store for us. The same goes for these past three stand-alone singles. And now, I really don’t think I need to say anything more. So well done Carly, for a thoroughly enjoyable set of new songs, and songs that certainly make us think!
Score: 4.5/5
RIYL: Martina McBride, The Chicks, Faith Hill, Lady A, Gabby Barrett, Colbie Caillat, Jana Kramer, Little Big Town