Ashley McBryde- Wild
Label: Warner
Producer: John Osborne
Throughout the 2020s thus far, country-rock siren Ashley McBryde has quietly but confidently, consistently but adventurously, built a catalog of work that has revealed herself as one of the decade’s most vital modern artists. Her star hasn’t risen via the benefit of any major industry support; she’s had considerable hits here and there, but far less frequently than her talent and music warrants. With a voice, pen, and stylistic inclination all of equal command, McBryde has instead established herself as one of those creatively reliable country music pillars; the kind that long-term proves to produce a staggering body of work and influence that extends far beyond what any brush with superstardom could necessarily provide. Fifth studio album, Wild continues to illustrate and build upon this promise. From a production standpoint, it reunites McBryde with John Osborne, one-half of country duo Brothers Osborne, and one of the sonic compasses of her fabulous 2022 concept project Lindeville.
However, a return to the homespun charms of that side-project Wild is not. It many ways, it’s a continued emphasis on the pure Southern Rock sound of 2023’s predecessor, The Devil I Know, while still also employing the more stripped country-rock hybrid that defined her other earlier records with producer, Jay Joyce. It is rewarding to hear Osborne get his chance to apply his production skills to a proper McBryde LP. Yes, Joyce has been the sonic wizard behind some of my favorite country records of the past two decades, and much of that can be attributed to the acclaimed gritty, “messiness” of his production choices. Osborne on the other hand is much more dialed into the best attributes of contemporary country production. Every lick and riff is clean and precise; polished but not overly slick or contrived. His willingness and cunning way of juxtaposing amped up rock guitars against sweet mandolin and sweeping fiddle a treasure trove of groundbreaking country-rock masterpieces, and in turn he gives McBryde some of the most solid instrumental support she’s had to date.
That’s particularly clear on the roaring quartet of rock-centric rave-ups that open the record: long-time live favorite “Rattlesnake Preacher”, “Arkansas Mud”, “Water in the River”, and the rollicking and punky Waylon-recalling, “Creosote”. Much like the BrOs’ own productions, it’s great to hear such crisp and purposeful instrumental work, whether it’s acoustic or electric. These tracks remind us of the personality and character that a high-octane rock guitar solo can have, a memo that’s been countlessly missed on Music City records over the course of this century by the noise-for-noise sake releases of acts like Jason Aldean, Brantley Gilbert, and a laundry-list of others. McBryde has always excelled as a vocalist and entertainer in these settings, but it’s further evidenced by both Osborne’s production, and the vitality of these anthemic yet personally cutting songs.
And it’s the ever personal nature of Wild that also gives McBryde a showcase for what is inarguably some of her career best singing and songwriting to date. She’s been upfront that the narrative influence for this album has been her journey through sobriety, and her eventual defeat of an alcohol addiction in the summer of 2022. With the opening third of the record musically portraying the rowdy fever-pitch of a glorious but crippling party lifestyle on the road, fifth track “Bottle Tells Me So” soulfully begins the painfully sobering come-down. This is where the record shifts into McBryde’s very best element, as previously evidenced by prior records like “Light On in the Kitchen” and “Girl Goin’ Nowhere”: her role as a confessional and profound country music storyteller. Tracks like “Bottle” and “Behind Bars” confront her drinking woes in unflinching fashion, while the equally strong “Lines in the Carpet” and “Hand Me Downs” respectively reckon with its impact on her relationships, and the family demons that contributed to the affliction in the first place.
Meanwhile, there’s also a sense of vibrant hope and romantic rebirth in “What If We Don’t”, as well as a conflicted but sweet appreciation in the title track for the wild streak that she’ll never shake completely. Finally, the resonantly rustic album closer “Ten to Midnight” is the frank and realistic acknowledgement that fighting one’s demons is a life-long, multi-stage battle. This stretch of songs here, which finds her either collaborating with or curating from the talents of top-shelf songwriters like Lori McKenna, Jon Randall, Jessi Alexander, Jessi Jo Dillon, Travis Meadows, and finally, the great Matraca Berg, is as lucrative a bounty of songs you’ll find on a modern record in any realm, and on any latter-day female country offering this side of Miranda Lambert’s signature albums.
It may seem a bit dramatic to label an artist of Ashley McBryde’s visibility and major-label status as an underrated or hidden treasure, but Wild only further elevates this status, assuming that the mainstream will continue to shamefully let her current releases slip under the radar. Music City could have a true female gold-rush on its hands in the mainstream again if they wanted. And no, rotating through a single female darling “slot”, without making room for multiple women at the pinnacle of the genre doesn’t count. And while Nashville predictably shuffles well-deserving names like Carly Pearce, Lainey Wilson, Megan Moroney, and Ella Langley in and out of that role every ten minutes, Ashley McBryde is continuing to craft the best body of work of them all. And it’s a wild and generously rewarding ride for anyone keen enough to know this fact.
Track Listing:
- “Rattlesnake Preacher” (Randall Clay)
- “Arkansas Mud” (Ashley McBryde, Jessi Jo Dillon, Chris Tompkins)
- “Water in the River” (Clay, Blue Foley, Roger Hodges)
- “Creosote” (McBryde, Lisa Carver)
- “Bottle Tells Me So” (McBryde, Terri Jo Box, Shelly Fairchild)
- “What If We Don’t” (McBryde, Box, Clay)
- “Lines in the Carpet” (Lori McKenna, Lauren Hungate, Caroline Watkins)
- “Behind Bars” (Jessi Alexander, Jon Randall, Jeff Hyde)
- “Hand Me Downs” (McBryde, Dillon, Lauren Veltz)
- “Wild” (Matraca Berg, Makayla Lynn, Jeremy Spillman)
- “Ten to Midnight” (McBryde, Travis Meadows)
The 706 
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