CURRENT SINGLE: “Like A Lady”
Lady A’s new album, What A Song Can Do, comes out this Friday, featuring the seven songs they released on What A Song Can Do (Chapter 1) back in June, plus seven new songs. The band sees a lot of similarities between their first album and this new one, including, Charles says, “I think honesty. The first album was very present of where we were, and honest, and this one’s probably the most honest.”
Charles admits there were times in their career where they may have been writing or choosing songs based on their hit potential, verses how they represented the band. “There’s definitely some songs in between that 15-year career where we were maybe chasing a little bit here and there, or just singing songs that weren’t really where we are right now,” he says.
But with the first album and What A Song Can Do, which is Lady A’s eighth album, Charles says, “I think that was a very present beginning and this is a very present point where we are right now.”
With their new album, Lady A decided to write honestly about their lives, and for Charles, “It’s just puttin’ the art at the forefront and enjoying the process and focusing on the process and not necessarily the outcome. And I think the minute you kinda let go of the outcome, that’s what the fans, they can tell when you’re authentic and you’re puttin’ out the art that is really true to you. And I think that’s especially what we’ve done on this project. I mean, this is some of the most vulnerable music we’ve ever put out.”
The way Lady A was able to write their new album also may have been a factor in how the songs turned out. According to Dave Haywood, “We wrote all this music during the pandemic,” Obviously, we finished Ocean, we were preparing for that tour and had to cancel it because of the pandemic. So, we just put our heads down and started writing for an indefinite amount of time. I mean, we didn’t know how long the pandemic was gonna last, and so we just wrote and wrote and wrote, kinda like we did for our very first album. So we had up to 60 songs we had written between the three of us.”
Of the 14 they ended up choosing to include on this new album, Hillary Scott says, “‘What A Song Can Do,’ to me, I think is kind of the nucleus of this record. I think it’s so personal and then it’s also very communal. And that’s what I love.”
As one of the co-writers of the title track, Charles says, “It’s funny, when we were writin’ it, my whole thoughts on that song were, it’s about just the power of a song in general, you know. I mean we talk about it all the time, like songs how they can say what you’re feeling better than you can. And I know that’s something you’ve always said, and I was like, that’s exactly what it is, and songs that time stamp different events in your life.”
While 2020 and the pandemic were tough on Lady A, just like they were for most people, Charles assures fans, “There’s a little bit of everything on this record, which I like. I’m glad we did make a conscious effort to write about what we went through and what we’re feeling, but also didn’t want a record that was just so heavy, you know, cause that’s not the kind of record we like to listen to. We like a little bit of everything.”
What A Song Can Do will be available everywhere this Friday, 10/22, featuring Lady A’s current single, “Like A Lady.”
Lady A – new album vs first :20
Charles Kelley – “I think honesty. The first album was very present of where we were, and honest, and this one’s probably the most honest. And there’s definitely some songs in between that 15-year career where we were maybe chasing a little bit here and there, or just singing songs that weren’t really where we are right now. I think that was a very present beginning and this is a very present point where we are right now.”
Lady A – WASCD album :29
Hillary Scott – “‘What A Song Can Do,’ to me, I think is kind of the nucleus of this record. I think it’s so personal and then it’s also very communal. (Yeah). And that’s what I love.”
Charles Kelley – “You know, it’s funny, when we were writin’ it, my whole thoughts on that song were, it’s about just the power of a song in general, you know. I mean we talk about it all the time, like songs how they can say what you’re feeling better than you can. And I know that’s something you’ve always said, and I was like, that’s exactly what it is, and songs that time stamp different events in your life.”
Lady A – what WASCD album represents :33
Hillary Scott – “I think it’s a continuation of what we really tried to step into on the last record, of just going back to the songs that are kind of pillars of who we are as a band, from the very beginning. And then that this album is a very present continuation of that, with us working on music that was our way of coping with the world stopping and everything we were going through as a band, and just wanting to be really honest and stay true to what we do with harmonies and the content of the songs.”
Lady A – writing for WASCD album :20
Dave Haywood – “You know, we wrote all this music during the pandemic. Obviously, we finished Ocean, we were preparing for that tour and had to cancel it because of the pandemic. So, we just put our heads down and started writing for an indefinite amount of time. I mean, we didn’t know how long the pandemic was gonna last, and so we just wrote and wrote and wrote, kinda like we did for our very first album. So we had up to 60 songs we had written between the three of us.”
Lady A – variety on WASCD :35
Hillary Scott – “I just know when you sent us ‘What A Song Can Do,’ that became a front runner.”
Charles Kelley – “Yeah, we definitely kinda had some pillars, I guess, of the record. ‘What A Song Can Do,’ ‘Swore I Was Leaving’ was one of ‘em for me, ‘Worship What I Hate,’ I believe, and then of course the outlier, that just kind of came out of nowhere fourth-quarter, ‘Like a Lady.’ So it’s fun. There’s a little bit of everything on this record, which I like. I’m glad we did make a conscious effort to write about what we went through and what we’re feeling, but also didn’t want a record that was just so heavy, you know, cause that’s not the kind of record we like to listen to. We like a little bit of everything.”
Lady A – WASCD continues authenticity :21
Charles Kelley – “It’s just puttin’ the art at the forefront and enjoying the process and focusing on the process and not necessarily the outcome. And I think the minute you kinda let go of the outcome, that’s what the fans, they can tell when you’re authentic and you’re puttin’ out the art that is really true to you. And I think that’s especially what we’ve done on this project. I mean, this is some of the most vulnerable music we’ve ever put out.”