Carly Pearce - 'hummingbird'

[Darkest Hour]

1. Country Music Made Me Do It [Carly Pearce, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne]
2. Truck on Fire [Carly Pearce, Justin Ebach, Charles Kelley]
3. Still Blue [Carly Pearce, Natalie Hemby, Josh Osborne]
4. Heels Over Head [Carly Pearce, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne]
5. We Don’t Fight Anymore featuring Chris Stapleton [Carly Pearce, Pete Good, Shane McAnally]
6. Rock Paper Scissors [Carly Pearce, Nicolle Galyon, Jordan Reynolds]
7. Oklahoma [Carly Pearce, Nicolle Galyon, Shane McAnally, Jordan Reynolds]
8. My Place [Carly Pearce, Lauren Hungate, Jordan Reynolds]
9. Things I Don’t Chase [Robyn Dell’Unto, Kat Higgins, Ava Supplesa]
10. Woman to Woman [Carly Pearce, Tofer Brown, Lauren Hungate]
11. Fault Line [Carly Pearce, Nicolle Galyon, Shane McAnally, Jordan Reynolds]
12. Pretty Please [Carly Pearce, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne]
13. Trust Issues [Carly Pearce, Nicolle Galyon, Jordan Reynolds]
14. Hummingbird [Carly Pearce, Nicolle Galyon, Shane McAnally, Jordan Reynolds]

Focus track is Truck on Fire.

[kf1992]

Before y'all come for me, please hear me out first.

When this album was announced, I was so excited, because I've been loving a lot of her songs from her previous albums, but this time, there is not a single song I really like on the first two listens, which never happened before. The instrumentals and her voice in a lot of songs sound kind of "old fashioned", which I'm not a big fan of. Knowing she has songs like "Heart First", which will never be released and comparing this song to the album, is kind of heartbreaking.
I was hoping to get songs like If My Name Was Whiskey, You Know Where To Find Me, Halfway Home (probably one of her best songs ever), It Won't Always Be Like This, What He Didn't Do, Day One and some more fun, poppy, upbeat songs like Honeysuckle, Dashboard Jesus or You Kissed Me First, but the sound of this album is just not my cup of tea.

[kluen]

This is a decent album but just feels a little clustered

Glad there are still strong traditional country sounds to be found

heels over head,fault line,oklahoma are very good

[zdm1998]

It’s decent. By far my least favorite CP record. Felt like it was missing something. I did miss the Emily Shackleton co-writes, as she kind of helps Carly get those signiture songs (Every Little Thing, What he didn’t do).

I don’t really hear a lot of singles on the record. “Truck on fire” is a standout for me and would be the obvious second single, cause she needs some tempo. Then if they do go for a third, either “My Place” or “Trust Issues.” Wouldn’t mind a deluxe either, if they decide to go for a third single, and pick from one of those.

[Kanenrá:ke]

Just starting my second listen now, I'm still loving the production overall though I do know for those who liked the more poppy side of her music this less like that so I can see why it's not connecting with some. Personally this is right up my alley though.

[kf1992]

Gave it a 3rd and 4th listen and my standouts are Oklahoma and Trust Issues. But I agree that Truck On Fire should probably be the next single, even though there is not a clear standout track on this album. Also, I’m missing my (power) ballad. That’s where she shines to most imo.

[justbeingernest48]

I loved basically this entire album. I like every song, no skips, no notes. It might not hit quite the same heights as 29: Written In Stone, but that album was really hard to top. I've got no complaints. Not even sure I can pick favorites yet, although definitely I still love We Don't Talk Anymore.

[🌺CountryLineDancer]

It is a solid listen, and I really enjoy the production, but excluding Heels Over Head (which is one of my faves from 2023), no particular song stood out. I would take Country Music Made Me Do It or Truck On Fire as the next single.

[.indulgecountry]

I may be in Oklahoma
But I'm not OK

Wow. Gut punch. What a killer hook. "Oklahoma" is a standout. I also loved "Truck on Fire" and am happy to see it being the focus track because it gives me the most smash hit vibes of anything on the album, and that's something she desperately needs after the way they've sunk all these resources into letting "Fight" linger on the charts for an entire calendar year doing nothing of note.

Other top tier cuts for me:

"Fault Line" -- love the Patty Loveless influence here that feels like a natural sister to "Loretta" from the last record
"Things I Don't Chase" -- gorgeous instrumental arrangement 😍
"Rock Paper Scissors" -- very fun hook!

Negatives:

"Heels Over Head" -- still think this track is cornball af lyrically and lacks the cleverness of something like 'Next Girl'
"Woman to Woman" -- the production on this one feels so overblown and noisy, especially during the chorus
"Hummingbird" -- sleep, sleep 😴


All-in-all, I'm much more enthused about the album than I expected to be based on the pre-release cuts. It's definitely not a home run for me, but there's some solid stuff here, and she still has a few potential radio hits here. One thing that always helps is the way her songs are produced: her obsession with the dobro is always a highlight for me. There's often a beautiful arrangement that elevates an otherwise average song, with all the dobro canoodling, fiddle fluorishes, steel guitar embellishments, and what-not. I also find myself enjoying some of the pre-release cuts that I previously was unenthused with; they definitely work much better in the context of the full record for me.

I still can't believe that "Fight" was the lead-off and that they didn't cut it loose sooner. I just hope it didn't derail her momentum too bad. I can see her bouncing back from it with the right pick, but the wrong pick could just as easily also push her toward Maren Morris territory of making radio lose interest.

[raylatch98]

I do get why the label has held onto "We Don't Fight Anymore" since of the songs it is the only one with any sort of buzz to it as it has always sold and streamed pretty well and it had Chris Stapleton's name too it as an added bonus. Radio has just never fully embraced it.

As for the album itself, it's overall solid. Not anything amazing and besides "Truck on Fire" and "My Place" I don't hear a ton of absolute radio friendly songs. But I do think she will be fine regardless as she has the fanbase and despite "Fight" underperforming radio really likes her a lot, so I do think regardless of what is released next will have a good start and at worst will perform like a "Closer To You" or "My Bar" by Priscilla Block where it gets lost in the 20s. 

[Kanenrá:ke]

Ok 3rd listen today and “Oklahoma” needs to be 3rd single. I don’t love “Truck On Fire” but it has a an obvious choice for #2.

But OK is fabulous and really stands out as something that could make a memorable hit and video potential!

[austin]

“Truck on fire” would be awesome if a vocalist I thought could sing sang it - I’d love to hear Carrie or Miranda on it. Great writing.

“fault line” is excellent, even with Carly singing it. To be honest I am rooting for that next!

I like the concept of “Rock Paper Scissors” but not connecting with the song beyond the hook.

The single is boring as are most of the slow songs this time - but I will say “Oklahoma” is a standout. I would vote for that as a single if she hadn’t just had what feels like 8 ballad singles in a row.

As critical as I am about Carly I found her last album loaded with incredible songs but this one falls way below that bar she set. I won’t relisten to this one but whatever is chosen as the single I’ll dive into again.

[abbeyjones11]

This isn't as instant as 29 was, but still pretty solid. I'm really liking fault line, oklahoma, things I don't chase, trust issues, and hummingbird (I tend to be a sucker for title tracks, lol. Sorry not sorry. 😂🤣🤪) I know that I have probably post this a ton in the past, but, I deeply appreciate Carly's effort in actually making decent country music. Production wise, is is lovely. 💛

[.indulgecountry]

Jun 7, 2024 16:00:50 GMT -5 raylatch98 said:

I do get why the label has held onto "We Don't Fight Anymore" since of the songs it is the only one with any sort of buzz to it as it has always sold and streamed pretty well and it had Chris Stapleton's name too it as an added bonus. Radio has just never fully embraced it.

I mean, I understand why, but it wasn't a logical decision imo to waste an entire year on it. Nearly 100 radio stations added it right off the bat last June when it came out and it debuted at #25. A whole year later, it's at #13 and has been massively struggling to move at all for months. To say radio never embraced it is an understatement. I'm sure they'll give it up within the next couple weeks now that the album is out, and I expect it to plummet HARD.

Fwiw, it also currently only has half the streams of "Next Girl," which was the lead from her last record and that one also made top 20 in airplay, so "Fight" isn't exactly moving the needle a ton. Total dud of a radio release and they should've cut their losses awhile ago and pivoted to something that would spark more interest. I'm curious to see what kind of debut figures Hummingbird pulls off since almost everyone's been struggling on that front this year, and "Fight" isn't going to do her much in the way of favors.

[zdm1998]

Honestly, if I were to guess. This debuts 10-20 on country albums and 100-200 on the all genre chart.

Also think “Fight” isn’t given enough credit. It’s been struggling a lot for a few months now, but it’s got respectable streams on Spotify, and the music video has a decent amount of YouTube views as well (nearing 9 million.)

Honestly has garnered more streams than the Ashley duet, and that was a #1 hit and seen as successful, so even though this has a lower airplay peak, I think it was a good single choice, given I don’t hear many other options on the record. Also think if this was going to be a single it only made since to be the lead, as I feel like the great adds and early conversions due to the hype really helped this get as far as it did, even if it hit a wall after Christmas. Had a decent hot 100 peak as well at #64, which is great for a song that is sputtering out in the teens.

That said, “Fight” got her to the album release, time to drop and usher in “Truck on Fire.”

[Darkest Hour]

Eh, the Oklahoma/OK lyrical pun reminds me of the better one from Reba: There's no U in Oklahoma/And that's okay(OK) with me.

But I still like the album a lot. Feels like the best mainstream country album this year so far actually. Despite the overall familiar puns in writing, they mostly land (even track two uses the pun way better than Shania Twain) and as some has said above, the instrumentals enrich the songs a lot. It proves that country can make proficient music as much as lyrical ability. As a side note, I'll never understand the obsession of judging album quality by having a lot of "radio friendly" songs because almost no albums will see its entirety on radio and you are not a radio? A few songs will suffice in most cases. If the artists want to be artistic then let them express themselves.

Obviously though the rollout of this album leaves a lot to be desired. Really this album is released way too late, with the lead single almost being one year old at this point. It's a ballad, so if it doesn't connect very early, it's difficult to have a slow burn type of run. In particular, a lot of its early streams came from Amazon Music because at that time Chris Stapleton sang the theme song on Monday night football and this song benefitted by association there. Also, Country Music Made Me Do It and My Place didn't have to be instant grats.

[tim]

Jun 8, 2024 1:53:38 GMT -5 Darkest Hour said:

Feels like the best mainstream country album this year so far actually.

Agreed. This is likely to be one of my favorites of the year. Loving this one overall.

I’m still digesting the album as I think it’s four songs too long, but wow that stretch from “We Don’t Fight Anymore”, “Oklahoma”, “My Place” and then “Things I Don’t Chase” is just fire.

[zaclord 🌈]

Oh so she left all the best songs as non-pre-release songs!? Color me pleasantly surprised I like this as much as I do considering I almost didn't even bother to listen to it based on not being particularly enamored by any of the pre-releases.

"Truck On Fire" is the obvious single, as many have mentioned, and it is a great uptempo track (which Carly NEEDS to release at this point) but I really really love "Oklahoma" and "Trust Issues". Ugh, I wish we could get 4 singles from this album but we'll be lucky to get 3. Makes me even more pissed they chose "We Don't Even Fight Anymore" as a lead.

Also really digging "Rock Paper Scissors" "Things I Don't Chase" and "Pretty Please". "Fault Line" is clicking more with me within the context of the album as well - it being an earlier released pre-release song would have likely made it click earlier with me, but I was burned out by so many duds ahead of it.

"Heels Over Head" was something I enjoyed at first because of the funny hook, but it quickly verged upon gimmick territory and I didn't enjoy it after long. "Country Music Made Me Do It" just feels really boring somehow and I can't really explain why but it just does nothing for me. "Hummingbird" is just so boring that I don't get anything from it. "My Place" would be so much better if it weren't the exact same hook as "Your Place" but isn't bad.


The album roll-out should have gone:
First single - "Truck On Fire"
Pre-release single - "Fault Line"
Pre-release single - "Pretty Please" or "Things I Don't Chase" or even "We Don't Fight Anymore" if they wanted to use Stapleton for hype
Second Single - "Trust Issues"
Third Single - "Oklahoma"

Too many pre-release singles and too many of the worst songs released as these pre-release singles.

Overall better than I anticipated but still a huge step down from 29. I'd put it as around the same as her 1st and 2nd albums in terms of quality though. Right now I'd probably put it in 3rd overall, slightly ahead of her debut.

[tim]

Glowing review by Saving Country Music here. I also saw that Jenee Fleenor supplied the fiddle on the album, and her contribution is quite prevalent throughout much of the album. I am only recently familiar with her, as she is the newest member of the Ace in the Hole Band, having replaced the late Gene Elders, and is currently on tour with George.

[.indulgecountry]

Jun 9, 2024 15:17:07 GMT -5 tim said:

Glowing review by Saving Country Music here. I also saw that Jenee Fleenor supplied the fiddle on the album, and her contribution is quite prevalent throughout much of the album. I am only recently familiar with her, as she is the newest member of the Ace in the Hole Band, having replaced the late Gene Elders, and is currently on tour with George.

She is wonderful!

[bigfan101]

I'll echo what many have said - this is good, no 29, but to me, how do you top that?

Also, agree - she saved the best tracks for release day (besides My Place, still love that one). Oklahoma is a smash, but Truck on Fire needs to go first - she's gotta release something with tempo to radio.

Interested to see how this one sells, she hasn't had a normal rollout in a while - her second album was COVID affected and then 29 was the two-parter.

[SHOOTER]

Agreed that the highs on here are mid compared to 29 but on their own, she's still got a solid set of tunes that I enjoyed; this isn't a Humble Quest type of fall-off, thank goodness. If Truck on Fire isn't the next single, her team wants her to fail.

[marcyjames]

Looks like Truck On Fire is what she is performing on Fallon tonight

[kluen]

I think this album can be considered a win.Carly explored new stuff and still maintained the traditional country sound and she did not forget the thing that brought her critical acclaim.

She said something about country music saved her when she needed it the most.Just wish she could dig deeper than what COUNTRY MUSIC MADE ME DO IT could offer.
And FIGHT is just a cliche.The first 2 tracks she has pre-released may be the least favorite of mine on this album.

Personally I don't think she could achieve more on the commercial level.
But if she keeps releasing real country music she could go down in country music history as Patty Loveless kind.

[LBTrocks]

The production on the album, as a whole, is awful. Carly doesn't have the vocal chops to sing some of the edgier, angsty songs on the record. Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood she is not. She always sounds like she needs to clear her throat or blow her nose to me when she sings.

Song wise, "woman to woman" was my fav cuz the melody is badass. "fault line" and "hummingbird" are also really great "truck on fire" is pretty good too, although not as good as the 3 I just mentioned. "Oklahoma" is fine, and I think it would be a good single, but it wasn't a standout for me personally. I could let it play on the radio, but wouldn't seek it out. Can't really remember many of the other songs, lol.

I've never been a fan of her, but decided to give this a spin cuz I loved "fault line" and "hummingbird." Bottom line, the album suffers from poor production and all of these songs could benefit from a more capable vocalist singing them. What saves the record is plenty of fiddle and fairly strong melodies.

[schnetzka]

Okay so I wanted to take a few days to gather my thoughts so here we are. Now, I don't know if it is just me or not (I guess not because LBTrocks touched on the topic) but her voice sounds so... monotone? I don't know if that is the right word but her voice doesn't really go anywhere on most of the songs and that makes the tracks slightly less enjoyable to me.

"oklahoma" is my favorite track on the album (I am a sucker for lines like "I might be in Oklahoma, but I'm not OK"). I do enjoy the album but I find it to be missing something. Maybe with more listens it'll grow on me but right now I would give it a 6.5 out of 10.

[zdm1998]

Jun 11, 2024 10:34:38 GMT -5 schnetzka said:

Okay so I wanted to take a few days to gather my thoughts so here we are. Now, I don't know if it is just me or not (I guess not because LBTrocks touched on the topic) but her voice sounds so... monotone? I don't know if that is the right word but her voice doesn't really go anywhere on most of the songs and that makes the tracks slightly less enjoyable to me.

"oklahoma" is my favorite track on the album (I am a sucker for lines like "I might be in Oklahoma, but I'm not OK"). I do enjoy the album but I find it to be missing something. Maybe with more listens it'll grow on me but right now I would give it a 6.5 out of 10.

For me personally it's missing the 3-4 bonified smashes 29 had. If she replaced CMMMDI, HOH, and maybe two other of the weaker links on the album, with 4 bonified smashes like the last album had (well more actually), I think it would be more enjoyable for me. 

Just feels half cooked imo.

[austin]

Jun 11, 2024 9:09:47 GMT -5 LBTrocks said:

She always sounds like she needs to clear her throat or blow her nose to me when she sings.

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.

[kluen]

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

Jun 11, 2024 9:09:47 GMT -5 LBTrocks said:

She always sounds like she needs to clear her throat or blow her nose to me when she sings.

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.

I think what Carly needs to improve is how she uses her vocal.

When she and Ashley performed ''Never Wanted to be That Girl',the comparison was too obvious.
Ashley sounded very smooth and effortlessly great,and Carly was too intended and tried too hard.

[zdm1998]

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

Jun 11, 2024 9:09:47 GMT -5 LBTrocks said:

She always sounds like she needs to clear her throat or blow her nose to me when she sings.

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.