Carly Pearce - 'hummingbird'

[raylatch98]

I think it is just the pitch for her imo, it always sounds warbly and unstable at times. For me there are times where her voice is on point to a t, ("Closer To You", "It Won't Always Be Like This", "What He Didn't Do") and then there are other times where her voice sounds too shaky ("Hide the Wine", "Next Girl" in the chorus for me personally, "Heels Over Head"). 

I saw Country Universe's review for it and the guy Jonathan said it best with the album

"Cleverly written songs, polished production that emphasizes the latter half of pop-country, and enough studio wizardry to mask her shaky relationship with pitch"

Carly Pearce is just not a strong vocalist. She is very talented, and has an amazing taste in music and production, but her voice is always a little polarizing.

[.indulgecountry]

Jun 11, 2024 21:10:09 GMT -5 zdm1998 said:

Jun 11, 2024 20:15:21 GMT -5 austin said:

This is a really good way to describe it. I usually just say she sounds like a muppet when she wails, because she does to me, but your description is actually really dead-on.

Either you or somebody else on here said a few years ago that it sounds like she has peanut butter stuck in the back of her throat, and I still giggle at that to this day lmaoo.

That was me, lol. 🤭😆

She's gotten better over time, but she's still hit-and-miss vocally, and I feel like I've never been truly impressed by a single live TV performance I've ever seen of her's tbh.

[Kanenrá:ke]

I've seen Carly live multiple times and have loved her every time. I never quite understand the claims that she has a weak voice but to each their own.

As of now this would be my ranking for the album.

01. Oklahoma
02. Trust Issues
03. Things I Don't Chase
04. Fault Line
05. Hummingbird
06. We Don't Fight Anymore
07. Pretty Please
08. Heels Over Head
09. Country Music Made Me Do It
10. Still Blue
11. Woman To Woman
12. Truck On Fire
13. My Place
14. Rock Paper Scissors

[taylor is terrified]

I was at Target yesterday afternoon and while I was there, I was hoping to find a CD copy of hummingbird but was not fruitful. I know that Walmart had a copy when I was there last week buying Unbroke, so I’ll have to make another visit there soon. Anyways, I had to stream like I tend to do (more often than not these days, that’s my best chance of having lyrics to read along with), and have finally had the chance to give this album a few spins today.

What I find is that I agree with various points from both sides made in this thread so far. I think this is another fantastic album from Carly Pearce. It is lyrically a wonderful follow-up to 29 and is a natural one sonically as well. However, this falls well short of 29 when you put them side-by-side. That said, I think that’s a fact and is one of those unfair comparisons—like Golden Hour to star-crossed, for example—where the previous album is simply untouchable no matter what follows it. On its own—when you ignore what came before it—hummingbird is incredible. In fact, I’m in agreement with Darkest Hour and tim in that this is likely to go down as one of the greatest country releases of the year and certainly one of my top favorites. It’s consistent, and is lush with such beautiful country instrumentation that sounds just heavenly in this modern landscape of overproduced walls of loudness that permeate the airwaves. There are indeed a few songs that I would’ve probably made her take an axe to, as they don’t offer much to the story of these two albums imo despite being right at home sonically (and one of them, as .indulgecountry said, is just corny as hell). I think with the exclusion of those three songs*, this album might’ve had a slight bit of a better reception on here as those songs do admittedly weigh the album down some. I will say that the title track fits much better within the context of this album, and made for a perfect album closer.

As for her voice. I will defend Carly’s voice at all times—I think I have on Pulse before in fact, lol. I think she’s got just enough ability to where she’s more than able to wring out the emotion that any given song may need (“Show Me Around,” “It Won’t Always Be Like This,” and “Every Little Thing” being very strong examples) and for me, that’s all I need. I LOVE me a powerhouse voice for sure, but not every voice needs to be huge imo. With Carly’s voice, I’m able to feel the music she’s singing, and this album was no exception.

All in all, I think that with the right choices for the next singles, hummingbird could gain some legs. I love “fight,” but do agree now that it should have never been the lead single, let alone been on the charts for an entire calendar year. No matter the song or artist, that’s just ridiculous. Most of the damage has likely been done by this point; so her team needs to take the L on “fight” and move on from it. “truck on fire” and perhaps even “rock paper scissors” are the only acceptable options for single #2, as she does need a strong shot of tempo in her singles catalog. Afterwards, I will only be accepting “oklahoma” as single #3…what a home-run that song is. That song could be another big one for her; I feel like it could get her another CMA/ACM—it’s that good. If they are able to get to single #4 and want to throw Carly to the wolves, I think they oughta try “fault line” or “trust issues.”

My standouts: “truck on fire,” “we don’t fight anymore,” “rock paper scissors,” “oklahoma,” “my place,” “things I don’t chase,” “fault line,” “pretty please,” “trust issues” (In agreement with tim on that run of tracks from “fight” to “things I don’t chase,” what a great stretch)

---

*The three songs I’d omit are “country music made me do it,” “heels over head,” and “woman to woman” to then make an 11-track album. In case anyone is interested in trying that out, the tracklist would remain otherwise in order, looking like this:

1. truck on fire
2. still blue
3. we don’t fight anymore
4. rock paper scissors
5. oklahoma
6. my place
7. things I don’t chase
8. fault line
9. pretty please
10. trust issues
11. hummingbird

[bigfan101]

Anyone see sales numbers?

[taylor is terrified]

Jun 17, 2024 10:03:06 GMT -5 bigfan101 said:

Anyone see sales numbers?

I went looking, but looks like only the Top 10 have been released thus far, with the full chart coming tomorrow. This is likely no surprise to anyone, but as for the all-genre 200, Carly is nowhere to be found in the Top 10.

[3chords]

I just saw Christian say on Twitter 9k and 31 on country albums 🫤

[.indulgecountry]

Jun 17, 2024 10:03:06 GMT -5 bigfan101 said:

Anyone see sales numbers?

Jun 17, 2024 12:09:08 GMT -5 taylor is terrified said:

Jun 17, 2024 10:03:06 GMT -5 bigfan101 said:

Anyone see sales numbers?

I went looking, but looks like only the Top 10 have been released thus far, with the full chart coming tomorrow. This is likely no surprise to anyone, but as for the all-genre 200, Carly is nowhere to be found in the Top 10.

She debuted at #158 on the Billboard 200.

For reference,
32 - Every Little Thing
73 - Carly Pearce
83 - 29: Written in Stone

Based on that + comparing it to other album releases from the year, I'd guess she landed somewhere around #30 on the country chart. It's almost impossible to do well on these charts anymore without a huge presence on streaming, but I definitely think she could've done quite a bit better than this if "Fight" weren't doing next to nothing for her rn.


ETA:

Jun 17, 2024 15:53:18 GMT -5 3chords said:

I just saw Christian say on Twitter 9k and 31 on country albums 🫤

Guess that answers that.

[zdm1998]

Goodness I know that country album sales are sh*t, but 31 on country and 150s all genre seems terrible for the momentum she had going in from 29.

[raylatch98]

Eh I feel like even with a song that was connecting a little bit more I don't think this was going to do much better sales wise on the chart as Carly Pearce has never been a big seller album wise.

[schnetzka]

Okay so off-topic but still relevant, who is the main country girl these days? With Carly's album debuting at #31 on the country charts, is there a female artist of her generation who is debuting higher and staying consistent?

[zdm1998]

Jun 17, 2024 17:13:06 GMT -5 schnetzka said:

Okay so off-topic but still relevant, who is the main country girl these days? With Carly's album debuting at #31 on the country charts, is there a female artist of her generation who is debuting higher and staying consistent?

I think Megan and Lainey are the new ones that stand a good chance at breaking through since they have good streaming.

I think Miranda and Carrie will still be reliable to go 5-10 on country and maybe top 20 all genre (which is still successful given how the charts are now.)

Kelsea has been pretty reliable at a good debut, but always been held back a little, maybe the success of RUTWM will help her albums get more attention.

Very surprised that Rebel by Anne Wilson far out peaked Carly, as I think Carly is more predominant in the country world.

[Darkest Hour]

Jun 17, 2024 17:49:24 GMT -5 zdm1998 said:

Very surprised that Rebel by Anne Wilson far out peaked Carly, as I think Carly is more predominant in the country world.

Anne Wilson is much more popular in Christian music scene though, and it doesn't really matter what genre you make if you as an artist is popular enough. That's why Cowboy Carter has the highest debut of country albums this year so far.

Kacey Musgraves is also leagues ahead of typical sales of female country artists.

[taylor is terrified]

Damn. I know this is the state of affairs now in the country music version of the streaming age, but it’s always rather disheartening to see such abysmal debuts for these new releases. What I find interesting, however, is this debut’s comparison to Carly’s previous debuts on the charts:

Every Little Thing - #4 country; #32 all-genre (9,700)
self-titled - #6 country; #73 all-genre (4,900 pure)
29: Written in Stone - #9 country; #83 all-genre (11,000)
hummingbird - #31 country; #158 all-genre (9,000)

It’s clear in the numbers that Carly has just not ever been an albums seller, but I find it perplexing how Every Little Thing—an album released as the streaming era was already in full swing—sold roughly the exact same amount as hummingbird and yet is her highest debut. What could possibly be behind such a dramatic downturn all of a sudden? Is it “Fight” having been such a slog on the country radio charts and a total buzzkill to her incredible 29 momentum? Is it country music’s sudden resurgence in popularity; the amount of new artists that have become streaming giants? Was June 7 a Friday packed with new releases throughout the entire music industry?

[Darkest Hour]

The 4.9k number for self-titled is pure sales. The SPS is higher than that by quite a lot. The 9k number for this album is SPS.

Also her debut was not released when streaming era is on full swing, at least for country music.

The streaming equivalent of the old albums from like Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen and Zach Bryan, plus the Greatest Hits albums from George Strait, ZBB and Thomas Rhett probably blocked this album from debuting higher on country album chart.

[.indulgecountry]

The figures kinda go to show that she's remained stagnant with her numbers (not really improving much at all, but definitely not having a true 'downturn'), but the main issue here is that within the past year, the streaming influence on the charts has essentially broken the country charts in a way that prevents the majority of them from charting well due to all the streaming giants (Zach Bryan, Morgan Wallen, etc.) combined with catalog records (Greatest Hits albums) clogging up the higher positions, as Darkest Hour mentioned. There's only been like 5 albums that debuted in the top 10 of the country albums chart, and we're halfway thru 2024, and the majority of them happened due to outside audiences being fans of those artists (i.e. Beyonce as a pop star, Anne Wilson as a big CCM artist). Kenny Chesney's the only typical country artist to do it, and even he used to be a mortal lock for #1 debuts on the charts. I'm not sure what can be done, but it feels like we're at the point where Billboard needs to tweak the formula in at least some manner, because all these new albums debuting in the 20-50 range of the country charts because of stuff like Toby Keith's greatest hits records is a mess.

[Darkest Hour]

Also we don't fight anymore didn't even re-enter Hot 100 this week after album release (it's lower than Hang Tight Honey on Hot Country Songs chart which is #100 on Hot 100 this week). Just another example of this album having little hype at all.

[zdm1998]

If I’m not mistaken hasnt BB tweaked the charts to make streaming weighted more. I feel like somewhere in the 2020s they’ve weighed it more and that’s why we see so many old country albums/greatest hits albums clogging the chart. The same with the hot 100, and it being more difficult for country songs to peak high unless they stream well.

[Darkest Hour]

Jun 17, 2024 20:32:18 GMT -5 zdm1998 said:

If I’m not mistaken hasnt BB tweaked the charts to make streaming weighted more. I feel like somewhere in the 2020s they’ve weighed it more and that’s why we see so many old country albums/greatest hits albums clogging the chart. The same with the hot 100, and it being more difficult for country songs to peak high unless they stream well.

It's less about streaming weighted more but rather than radio and sales weighted less, because these metrics are not as strong as the past (last decade). Also we are talking albums, not singles. The conversion between streaming and sales in albums chart has been the same afaik.

Also the old songs occupying chart space is because streaming in country music is in full bloom now. If you looked at Spotify charts, songs from early Luke Combs albums hit daily new streams peak every weekend this Summer.

[Kanenrá:ke]

I wonder if they didn't count streams from greatest hits and instead assigned the streams to the songs original album would affect things?

Of course I don't think it's doable or even that it should be done but it would cut at least the Greatest Hits to fall off mostly.

[Darkest Hour]

Jun 17, 2024 22:51:11 GMT -5 Kanenrá:ke said:

I wonder if they didn't count streams from greatest hits and instead assigned the streams to the songs original album would affect things?

Of course I don't think it's doable or even that it should be done but it would cut at least the Greatest Hits to fall off mostly.

Billboard has a rule that the streams would count for original studio albums if these albums outsold the Greatest Hits in that week (for example the "musical chair" for The Weeknd's Greatest Hits album and the studio albums). I do advocate for not counting song streams if they are previously included in other albums for Greatest Hits altogether, but we know why the labels release these kinds of albums especially in the streaming era, where it's really the job of streaming playlists.

[George Strait Junkie]

There wasn’t gonna be any chance this album was gonna even come close to matching the masterpiece of that 29 album but it’s a very solid follow up

Hands down the best track is Fault Line I keep it on heavy rotation
I really don’t dislike any track on here either like I said a real solid follow up album

[d3vin44]

Jun 14, 2024 22:53:12 GMT -5 Kanenrá:ke said:

I've seen Carly live multiple times and have loved her every time. I never quite understand the claims that she has a weak voice but to each their own.

As of now this would be my ranking for the album.

01. Oklahoma
02. Trust Issues
03. Things I Don't Chase
04. Fault Line
05. Hummingbird
06. We Don't Fight Anymore
07. Pretty Please
08. Heels Over Head
09. Country Music Made Me Do It
10. Still Blue
11. Woman To Woman
12. Truck On Fire
13. My Place
14. Rock Paper Scissors

Carly is fantastic live! I’ve seen her twice and I feel that she is one of the best live acts in the country genre. I too have never understood the weak voice claims. Her voice is very unique and I feel she’s honestly a great vocalist!

[g8erboi]

I’ve taken my time to sit with this record and allow it to truly sink in before sharing my thoughts. While many on here seem to think it falls short of the emotional highs of 29: Written in Stone, I’m inclined to disagree wholeheartedly lol. I believe Hummingbird stands shoulder to shoulder with its predecessor, if not surpassing it in some respects.

29 undeniably delivered a series of perfect tracks- “What He Didn’t Do,” “Should’ve Known Better,” “Never Wanted to Be That Girl,” and “All the Whiskey in the World,” among others, are basically unmatched. Yet, here she is again bringing a new set of gems that echo the same level of craftsmanship. Tracks like “Oklahoma,” “My Place,” “Things I Don’t Chase,” “Trust Issues,” “Hummingbird,” “Truck on Fire,” and “Heels Over Head” are all evidence that Carly is such a one-of-a-kind artist.

The mixed reviews surrounding this album kinda surprise me tbh, as I find everything—from the music to the aesthetic and cover art—executed damn near flawlessly. The entire vibe of the album just feels ethereal, and almost otherworldly. The artistic cohesion of the record amplifies the listening experience for sure.

The one track that I keep returning to is “Trust Issues.” The opening instrumental is absolutely gorgeous, with the dobro and fiddle intertwining in a way that creates an almost cinematic soundscape. The verse melody just fills me with chills and honestly I shed a couple tears on first listen which is rare for me.

“Things I Don’t Chase” seems to be flying under the radar, but I think it encapsulates everything Carly does best. The haunting chorus melody perfectly conveys the song’s narrative, and it’s one of those tracks that linger long after the last note fades.

“Oklahoma” is obvi another standout that NEEDS to be a single following “Truck on Fire.” It’s classic Carly—familiar yet refreshingly unique, and it’s the kind of song that defines her signature sound while still pushing boundaries.

As for “My Place,” while Ashley Cooke may have tackled the theme more effectively, the track still holds its own and deserves its place on the album (see what I did there lol). It’s a solid song, even if it doesn’t quite reach the heights of many of the others.

The title track has received a surprising amount of criticism, which I find beyond baffling. The instrumental alone sets it apart from most current songs in the genre. It’s a deeply immersive listening experience, with that fiddle outro being nothing short of mesmerizing. Miss Fleenor SERVED absolute cvnt on this!

“Heels Over Head” feel like old news at this point, but it’s a fun, lighthearted side of Carly that doesn’t get nearly enough exposure. Such an enjoyable listen and I may have sang along to it in the shower a couple times.

On a similar note, “Truck on Fire” is a slam dunk single choice. It’s a side of Carly that the GP needs to see more of, and I have no doubt it will do very well for her.

The progression and aesthetic of the record as a whole is executed masterfully. This is the music Carly shines with, and she’s truly carving out her signature sound. Brb while I give it another 5000 listens.