Thomas Rhett is the latest country singer to go big with plans for a double album. The project’s first half, Country Again: Side A, will be available April 30th and includes the lead single “What’s Your Country Song,” along with two newly released tracks, “Growing Up” and “Want It Again.”
Where several of Rhett’s hit singles over the last few years have leaned toward the progressive edge of pop production and songcraft, “Growing Up” almost sounds like an obscurity plucked from the back half of a forgotten Nineties album. “I used to hit the bar downtown/Chase girls with Coke and Crown,” he sings, with a midtempo arrangement that prominently features mandolin and pedal steel. Instead of going full-on nostalgic, the song — penned by Rhett with Matt Dragstrem, Josh Miller, and Josh Thompson — examines his life so far and sees the changes as a sign of progress.
Also out on Friday is “Want It Again,” an acoustic ode to the one who got away. “So girl I’ll put this heart of mine/Somewhere good and safe in case you want it again someday,” he sings.
Country Again: Side A was produced by Dann Huff, Jesse Frasure, and Matt Dragstrem, and includes 11 songs, all of which Rhett had a hand in writing. Among his collaborators are his father Rhett Akins, Ashley Gorley, and Zach Crowell. Singer-songwriter Hardy makes an appearance on the track “Put It on Ice.”
No date has been announced for Side B, but a release notes that it is planned for release later in 2021. At the 2021 ACM Awards on April 18th, Rhett will vie for the Entertainer of the Year honor, an award he shared with Carrie Underwood in 2020.
Country Again: Side A track list:
- “Want It Again” (Thomas Rhett, Matt Dragstrem, Josh Miller, Josh Thompson)
- “Growing Up” (Thomas Rhett, Matt Dragstrem, Josh Miller, Josh Thompson)
- “What’s Your Country Song” (Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Jesse Frasure, Ashley Gorley, Parker Welling)
- “Where We Grew Up” (Thomas Rhett, Luke Laird, Josh Miller)
- “Heaven Right Now” (Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Matt Dragstrem, Josh Thompson, Laura Veltz)
- “To the Guys That Date My Girls” (Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Will Bundy, Josh Thompson)
- “More Time Fishin’” (Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Will Bundy, Josh Thompson)
- “Country Again” (Thomas Rhett, Zach Crowell, Ashley Gorley)
- “Put It on Ice” (featuring Hardy) (Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Matt Dragstrem, Josh Thompson)
- “Blame It on a Backroad” (Thomas Rhett, Zach Crowell, Ashley Gorley)
- “Ya Heard” (Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Matt Dragstrem, Chase McGill)