Bell Bottom Country is my kinda country.
Lainey Wilson’s fourth studio album is officially out everywhere today, and as she puts it, it certainly is “country with a flare.”
She released three singles in the lead up to today, including “Watermelon Moonshine,” “Heart Like A Truck,” and “Live Off,” which are all fanstatsic and show off the variety of her range in terms of vocal ability and writing chops.
The Louisiana native has truly had one hell of a year, which she understandably called a rewarding “roller coaster” of a past 12 months or so:
“This past year has been such a roller coaster – it’s truly been one of the most rewarding and challenging of my career. We’ve worked so hard on this album, and I’m so proud of it.
I can’t wait to headline my first tour next year and play all my new music across the country.”
Lainey was named the ACM New Artist of The Year (along with Parker McCollum) in March, scored a new roll on Paramount’s hit series of Yellowstone Season 5, and more recently was honored as CMT’s Breakout Artist of the Year.
And with Lainey’s obvious talent and easy-to-love, outgoing personality, I’d be more than willing to say this is all just the very beginning of her.
She’s worked so incredibly hard and done whatever it takes to realize all of her success so far too, which just makes me love and respect her that much more.
So without further ado, let’s get into all the good stuff on Bell Bottom Country, because you’re gonna want to add this one to your playlist ASAP.
“Those Boots”
“Those Boots” is the easy standout to me.
A sweet tribute to her dad and how his dirty boots became a distinctive memory in her life growing up, I think there’s something in here many of us can relate to:
“Those boots, they walk right with the Lord
Those boots would only drive a Ford
Those boots made a damn good living
Spun my mama all around the kitchen
Those boots will never go out of style
One day they’ll walk me down the aisle
I pray everyday, one day I will
Find a man to fill
Those boots”
I mean, I honestly couldn’t tell you the last time a song made me physically shed a few tears, but I had a few rolling this morning listenting to this song the first time.
And knowing how much Lainey and her family have been through this year, after her father was hospitalized with serious complications from Diabetic Ketoacidosis and is now doing much better, it just hits a little bit harder.
It’s pretty obvious that she’s definitely a daddy’s girl when you listen to this song, and I love hearing how much love and respect she has for him and the lessons he taught her growing up in these beautiful lyrics:
“Weak-End”
This one is a much slower, more subdued tune where we find Lainey admitting that she’s trying to deal with a heartbreak by going out on the weekend, in an attempt to cure the sadness she felt all week.
I think it’s a bit of a different topic and subject matter than we’re used to hearing from her too, and also includes a fun play on words with solid writing and great production.
“Hold My Halo”
This one finds Lainey in her wheelhouse.
A fun, upbeat country jam about letting loose and having fun after a long day of hard work, she sets her halo aside for a little while and lets go of her inhibitions along with it.
“What’s Up (What’s Going On)”
She also included a country-fied version of 4 Non Blondes’ hit “What’s Up (What’s Going On),” which is simply fantastic.
But don’t just take my word for it, go dive into Miss Lainey’s entire fantastic catalog of songs, because she’s the next big thing in country music… for damn good reason.
She’s a million percent country, writes from the heart, and brings her own flare to it all, making her a totally unique artist that is blazing her own trail and doing it the right way.
Just this morning, she also announced her headlining Country With A Flare tour that’s set to kick off in January, so make sure you check out a show when she rolls through your town in 2023:
January 4, 2023 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory*
*Meg McRee
+Leah Blevins
