Right off the heels of his album announcement, Cody Jinks blesses us with another single.
With the artwork for the single reflecting the album artwork for Change The Game, the second single release from his forthcoming album follows suit of Cody Jinks’ consistent yet pungent messaging through his lyrics. “Sober Thing” takes a much more serious and melancholy tone than his first single, “Outlaws and Mustangs.”
“Sober Thing” highlights the feeling of being in a dark place, near spiraling and trying to pull yourself out of the cycle of self-medicating.
“And I don’t know which ones are worse
The nightmares or the hangovers
The sleepless nights or the passin’ out and finally gettin’ rest.”
Through the lyrics, you hear the struggle of wanting to give up the cycle but often finding yourself back near the bottle and starting again from square one, being the “same old mess as I have always been.”
“I started in the first place
The numbin’ just fueled me for the runnin’ away from the pain
And I’m closer to the messed up than the sober thing.”
The heavy-hitting message of the song highlights a very personal message to Jinks as it reflects his journey to sobriety.
“I wrote ‘Sober Thing’ right after we finished the ‘Mercy’ album. I was giving up a twenty-plus year affair with whiskey, and every word of that song is true. I don’t remember writing some of my biggest songs, but I damn sure remember writing that one.”
The gentle composition of the track highlights the heavy-hitting message, letting each word soak into the listeners’ ears. The primarily piano ballad also highlights gentle steel guitar licks and a soft percussion base that keeps the tempo while keeping an outlaw sound to the slower track.
We can expect to see honest and no-filtered songwriting throughout Change The Game as Jinks reflects on the lyrical messages found beyond “Sober Thing.”
“This is the most open and honest record I’ve ever recorded, I laid everything out.”
Jinks is one of the best in the business for his no-bullsh*t songwriting, and given these two released singles, I have a feeling that Change The Game might feature some of his best yet.
Turn “Sober Thing” all the way up. It hurts so good.
Change The Game tracklist:
1. Sober Thing
2. Outlaws and Mustangs
3. I Can’t Complain
4. Take This Bottle feat. Pearl Aday
5. Deceiver’s Blues
6. A Few More Ghosts
7. Change The Game
8. I Would
9. The Working Man
10. Wasted
11. Always Running
12. What You Love
Cody Jinks Tour Dates
If you want to see Cody Jinks in action, here are some stages he will be appearing on:
December 8—Las Vegas, NV—Dolby Live at Park MGM
December 9—Las Vegas, NV—Dolby Live at Park MGM
December 14—Fort Worth, TX—Billy Bob’s
February 9, 2024—Wallingford, CT—Toyota Oakdale Theatre*
February 10, 2024—Boston, MA—MGM Music Hall at Fenway*
March 7, 2024—Tacoma, WA—Tacoma Dome*
March 8, 2024—Eugene, OR—Matthew Knight Arena*
March 9, 2024—Boise, ID—ExtraMile Arena*
April 11, 2024—Cedar Rapids, IA—Alliant Energy Powerhouse+
April 12, 2024—Milwaukee, WI—American Family Field#
April 13, 2024—Kalamazoo, MI—Wings Event Center+
April 27, 2024—Nashville, TN—Ascend Amphitheater^
May 2, 2024—Orange Beach, AL—The Wharf Amphitheater^
May 3, 2024—Jacksonville, FL—Everbank Stadium#
May 4, 2024—Wilmington, NC—Oak Bank Pavilion^
May 10, 2024—San Antonio, TX—Alamodome#
May 17, 2024—Santa Clara, CA—Levi’s Stadium#
May 18, 2024—Santa Barbara, CA—Santa Barbara Bowl^
May 19, 2024—Bakersfield, CA—Mechanics Arena^
May 31, 2024—Phoenix, AZ—State Farm Stadium#
June 1, 2024—San Diego, CA—Rady Shell at Jacobs Park+
June 2, 2024—Los Angeles, CA—Greek Theater+
June 7, 2024—Salt Lake City, UT—Rice Eccles Stadium#
June 8, 2024—Grand Junction, CO—Los Colonias Amphitheater~
June 9, 2024—Colorado Springs, CO—Broadmoor World Arena~
June 19-22, 2024—Filer, ID—Gordy’s HWY30 Music Fest—Twin Falls County Fairgrounds
July 18, 2024—Buffalo, NY—CMAC Amphitheater+
July 19, 2024—East Rutherford, NJ—Metlife Stadium#
August 1, 2024—St. Louis, MO—St. Louis Music Park^
August 2, 2024—Cincinnati, OH—Paycor Stadium#
August 3, 2024—Kansas City, MO—Starlight Theatre^
August 9, 2024—Houston. TX—NRG Stadium#
*co-headline with Turnpike Troubadours
+with special guest Blackberry Smoke
#supporting Luke Combs
^with special guests The Steel Woods
~with special guest Ward Davis
