Wade Bowen has done it again.
Back in May, the Texas country powerhouse sat down for the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast, and announced a brand new album he has in the works, titled Somewhere Between the Secret and the Truth.
He weighed in on the inspiration behind the new album, and his re-inspired love for writing music:
“I went through a big writer’s drought; kind of just being shell shocked from everything, not knowing how to handle it, and then finally came out of that and just had this flood of just wanting to write. This reset button really rejuvenated my passion for my entire career, all the way across the board.
I was trying to find where I fit musically again. I’ve been doing this so long that I feel like I got off track from where I felt I fit – I was all over the place with my songwriting and my career. Ironically enough, COVID really gave me a chance to just turn my brain off a little bit and stop thinking.
When I came out on the other side, I really found not only a renewed sense of my music and wanting to get out and play again, but I found a renewed sense of self. I found who I wanted to be as a writer, as a singer, as an artist.”
Since the announcement of the new project, Bowen dropped a couple of lead singles leading up to the release, like “Everything Has Your Memory,” and “A Guitar, A Singer and A Song,” featuring none other than country music icon Vince Gill.
Now, the day has finally come, and he’s brought us a collection of 12 killer songs for what might be his best album to date.
We’ve got some honky tonk heaters, some hometown feel gooders, and some old school Texas country heahrtbreakers in there as well. This also marks Bowen’s first trip into the sole producer role, where he says, they kept it simple:
“I wanted to make sure we didn’t overthink these songs. There’s not a bunch of minor chords or eerie, intensity-driven stuff – even though I’ve always had a lot of pride in those moments in the past.
This record is written simply and that’s on purpose, to have enough space to be big and for the band to go somewhere with it.
I think it sums up our collective feelings in the last few years, and also sums up country music in one great line. We’re all roaming this earth somewhere between the secret and the truth, and this is a great way to show the characters I love to write about.
What we choose to reveal to others – or not reveal – really says a lot about who we are.”
Overall, Wade Bowen is just back and better than ever.
“It feels like I’m renewing my vows… I love waking up knowing what my purpose is, what my direction is, and also feeling like there’s so much more left to do… I feel revived.”
Here’s a few of my favorites:
“The Secret To This Town”
“Honky Tonk Roll”
“She’s Driving Me Crazy”
“Somewhere Between the Secret and the Truth”
