's third major-label album, 29, is here - and you'd better be ready because it's coming in hot.
A year after her 2020 self-titled album, and three and a half years since her debut album ( Every Little Thing), the Kentucky native offers seven songs across 22 minutes and gets her feelings all out on the table.
If you didn't know, Pearce went through a divorce in 2020, which gives context to the nature of things (though she has been clear to point out that all of the songs and stories are not about her ex). And if you did know, here are the songs you've been waiting to hear based on every (little) thing you've heard from the album so far. BUT, she's not necessarily dwelling on it when she talks about the music.
In a social media post leading up to the release of the album, Pearce said in a caption that 29 is "when you're supposed to find yourself" and in an interview, she posted to her own YouTube channel , she says, "To me, 29 is a pivotal year for everybody. I think that you are old enough, but you're still excited about life and you still have wonder, and I think that you feel and admit things if you get hurt. And what's so beautiful about that place in life I think is that you get stronger and you get better and you get more yourself through it all."
The way she speaks makes it clear that she thought a lot about life in her 29th year, and now she's sharing all of that in her music.
All of that brings us to the title track. Hit play to listen to it now.
Carly Pearce - 29
And if Carly Pearce doesn't break your heart a little bit talking about the hurt her heart went through on 29 ... I don't know what to tell you.
This the real, raw, vulnerable part of country music that she does well to go along with the sassy that she also crushes! It's two sides of the same coin: The sad and the sass. And we're here for it now the same way we were when we first introduced to her in 2017.
Leading up to the album release, we heard and read Carly's words talking about the 90s feel this album has. So if you grew up on Trisha Yearwood, Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Lee Ann Womack, Patty Loveless and The Chicks, you're going to find those little influences shining through on Carly's songs. It's a change from where she was at with her first two albums, but she calls it a return to her roots and the music she loved when she first got to Nashville.
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Almost half her life ago, Carly Pearce started performing at Dollywood. We asked her in 2017 what 16-year-old Carly would think about the success she's tasting now, and she laughed telling us that she was pretty confident back then and sure it was going to happen. And now, at 30, she has made it. She's released three albums. She's gone through the good and the bad and the in-between in life. She's got two #1 singles ( Every Little Thing, I Hope You're Happy Now), two Platinum plaques, and a CMA Award.
Related: Carly Pearce Green Room Interview, Toronto (2017)29 has a lot of feelings. It has stories and warnings and strong writing and honesty and more. And in a genre where we expect artists to bare their souls for us on a regular basis, Carly Pearce does.
Carly Pearce - Day One
The thing about life is, there's always something else coming next. Good or bad, it's coming. And the thing about country music is, the stories from either of those situations end up making for great songs. This chapter from Carly Pearce is a spotlight on the hard times. But maybe, just maybe (and hopefully), the next one will be more sassy and happy than sassy and sad.
With seven songs, 29 isn't a long album. It's the shortest of her three releases so far. It gets the job done though. And it doesn't leave us wishing for more as much as it has us ready to listen again.
If you're a fan, and you like what you've heard from 29 already, mark February 24, 2021, on your calendar. At 6:01 PM CT, Carly Pearce will perform a stripped-down concert performance with a live Q&A included. The show will be available for 29 hours only, so don't miss it - subscribe to her now to be prepared.
Now, check out the full tracklist for Carly Pearce's 29 and hit play on the album to listen. Enjoy!
Carly Pearce, 29 Tracklist