Opinion

Album Review: The Mockingbird and THE CROW

Graphic designed and provided by Jadyn Forbes.

Abby Clark and Jadyn Forbes
November 23, 2022

After a long three-year wait, following the 2020 release of A ROCK, county artist HARDY plans to release his second album “The Mockingbird and THE CROW” in January of 2023, according to Apple Music. Over the past few weeks, he released a six-song sneak peek about what is to come for the rest of the album. This album is a combination of both country (The Mockingbird) and rock (THE CROW).

In an interview with CMT (Country Music Television), HARDY said, “… ‘The mockingbird & THE CROW’ is, in my opinion, the best thing I’ve made so far.” He added, “I had a lot of time to get in the weeds making this record with some of my favorite people in Nashville, and it truly captures every part of who I am as an artist. I’m honored that I get to share it with you next year; can’t wait to hear what you think about it.”

“Wait in the truck”

This song is part of the country portion of the album. Throughout the piece, he sings about how he has found a woman who has been beaten and bruised by another man. The song continues with him tracking down the man to blame and further getting justice for the victim who was assaulted. Hardy portrays a very real insight into domestic violence and on the flip side, a man’s protective instinct towards those who mercilessly inflict pain on innocent women. The song overall had an intense yet somber tone that drives the listener to think about the lyrics. Even though what he is singing about is a very heavy topic, the song brings out empathy and a realization of just how bad things can be. This song was very heartfelt and made me very emotional because it was hard to picture the damage that someone could inflict on another person.

“Here lies country music”

“Here lies country music” offers an alternate reality in which country music ceases to exist. Country music has lost the things that make it what it is, dirt roads and old trucks, beer, and broken hearts. He likens it to a death of a friend singing, “Rest easy my old friend.” HARDY ends the song by waking up and thanking God that it wasn’t real, “I pray that I leave this world before country music does.” This song signifies the importance that country music plays in the lives of listeners and the country community. The song evoked a feeling of sadness when thinking about what would happen If country music was gone and towards the end, it switches to a relieving feeling that it is never going to leave if there are still people out there believing in it and supporting it. Of the released songs this one was my favorite because it reminds me of the joy of country music and almost made me feel like I was reliving memories of blasting country music in the car and singing along. I think this song resonates with me because country music is in a lot of happy memories that I have, but also got me through a lot of hard times.

“The mockingbird & THE CROW”

“The mockingbird & THE CROW” offers a glimpse of HARDY growing up in a small town, spending his childhood as an average country kid, until he gets his first guitar. He sings that he is “just a mockingbird singing songs like others.” On the flip side of the song, he refuses to be another cookie-cutter country singer. This part is symbolized by THE CROW. He is striving to break that mold and be both the crow and the mockingbird. This song was meant to show that he can be more than just one thing, refusing to be defined by one category. I really enjoyed the country part of this song but when it switched to rock it was hard to adjust to it. I felt as if it didn’t mix as well as I had expected it to. 67

SOLD OUT

Sold out is the representation of HARDY who has made it to stardom from nothing; however, he still views himself how he was before fame. “A lot of things have changed but I’m still the same old redneck.” He goes on to say that his name is bigger than he thought it would be and is continuing to grow with his fan base. This was not my favorite song just because it was all rock and I lean more toward country music. I thought that the vibe of the song was very aggressive, and the lyrics seemed to be repetitive. I also found it hard to relate to because I didn’t really understand the song.

Overall, this was a good album. HARDY did a really good job of showing his versatility. Fans can look forward to seeing just how much HARDY can jump between genres and in some songs combine both country and rock. These two genres are usually very opposite, HARDY does a very nice job of combining the two to express himself as an artist.

The bolded songs below are available to listeners on streaming services such as YouTube, Apple Music, and Spotify.

The Mockingbird and THE CROW Track List