The Mockingbird & The Crow- Deep Dive Review
We jump straight into the deep end on this full length solo album review of the buzzy new release from HARDY. What is it? What does it all mean?
I generally shy away from doing single album reviews. I don’t find them to be particularly compelling. Album reviews represent a moment in time. Their traffic cycle is reflective of that reality. I like to write from a wider angle perspective. The only exceptions I've made are when I feel discussing the album brings forth ideas and reflections on larger trends or concepts. I feel Hardy’s album squarely fits into this category. I find this album to be unique and different and worthy of discussion because of the importance of Hardy as a figure in Nashville, as he is a premier songwriter as well as a populist figure among young fans. I also find it intriguing because of the open exploration of multiple genres. I appreciate the fact that it's willing to distinctly label a thing as non-genre material instead of passing it off as country.
Buckle up. This one is a long one. The review took a while to assemble because there really was a tremendous amount to unpack. I hope you find it as thought provoking as I did.
The Mockingbird and The Crow is a unique blend of two genres. The first eight songs are the country half of the double album. The second eight songs are rock songs. There’s one song that serves as a transition between the two sides. The sides aren’t intended to simply be showcasing the different tastes of Hardy. They are intended to reflect the depths of Hardy’s personality and how he feels himself split into two distinct halves. The country half is meant to reflect his more sedate and settled half. This is the side that feels at home in the congenial world of mainstream country. The rock half is meant to represent his bold, brash, and dissatisfied half. This side to his character would rather the world burn down then acquiesce to living a less than authentic lifestyle. It’s an audacious plan and concept to try and tackle on an album. Spoiler alert: your final thoughts on the album will ultimately depend on how well you think he sticks the landing.
Essentially, there are two ways of looking at an album. You can look at it as one thing with multiple fractions inside it or you can look at it as multiple whole things that happen to coalesce into something bigger. It’s the difference between a movie that has multiple plot points versus a TV show with individual episodes and an overarching plot narrative that takes place throughout the season. We will do both in this piece. Spoiler alert, this too will be a crucial differentiator for how you view the album.
There are many songs that I enjoyed on the record. Let's break some of the best down:
On the country side:
Screen- my favorite on the album. Unique twist on the theme. Refreshing messaging. At its best, country music provides guidance and warning to those recklessly embracing the future to not wholly discard the values of the past. Also, the wordplay in the song isn't just for fun, it adds a further dynamic and punch to the story.
Wait in the Truck- Bold. Dark. Foreboding. Excellent usage of both musical cues in the production and using typecasting and persona to sell the song's story. Without the reckless redneck image cultivated throughout the past few years of songs and marketing, it wouldn't land nearly as well.
Happy- the best use case of anthropomorphism on the album. A solemn look at the role and relationship of that most elusive emotion: happiness.
On the rock side:
title track- the thesis statement of the album. Grand and sweeping. Operatic in how it unfolds and brutalist in its exclamatory moments.
Jack- Harsh. Passionate. The fulfillment of the “country songwriting meets hard rock musicianship and energy” that every bro country artist failed to deliver because they didn't go as far as was needed.
.30-06- Exultant. Full guns blazing unadulterated energy. The groove is the thickest and most raunchy. It is a welcome fun spot on the project.
Radio Song- well it’s certainly an entertaining listen. Hinges completely on the twist. Very catchy melody. Juvenile but satisfying nonetheless.
These aren't necessarily the greatest songs, but they all have sufficient identity and unique presence to make a a very attractive listen. For some it's the groove, for others the writing, but something stood out to me on those tracks.
As is to be expected on such a mixed bag of a project, there were also some duds. I have very little interest in recapping them individually. However, to briefly summarize them, their biggest sin is being overly generic without much to say. Some of the songs solely rely on a cutesy line in the hook without any other differentiating factor in the song. Beer, Red, The Redneck Song and others fall into this category.
Hardy’s writing styles are characterized by shallow themes with the redeeming factor of a unique spin. For example, A Rock is one of my favorite songs off his debut. It does not grapple with a complex idea or reflect deep emotion. The big idea of the song is that life works cyclically. People are born, people get older, and then people die is nothing particularly profound, but instead of simply stating this idea on top of a bland contemporary country mix, he uses a specific piece of imagery that makes the song stick with you. Hardy traces life from the cradle to the grave using the changing relationships to rocks that we have throughout our lives to illustrate the changing dynamics of the stages of life. He may not have a lot to say, but he often has creative ways of saying it. There are a number of songs on this project that far exceed the standard for Nashville writing.
However, the creative dependency on writing has limitations. Hardy isn't new to the Nashville scene anymore. He’s already written two Hixtape albums, a couple EP’s, his debut album, and provided a tremendous amount of material to a variety of singers. There's only so many gimmicks you can think of to fluff up a writing session. Especially given the nature of his narrow lens of topics, this album starts showcasing the limits of his creativity. His prowess as a songwriter also forces a certain necessity for the writing style of the album to be elaborate. For example, he has this thing where he personifies an object to tell the story. Take the beer in Beer, Jack Daniels in Jack, happiness in Happy. It is a songwriting gimmick, albeit one that could potentially lead to some very interesting stories. It gets overused in the album because a Hardy album requires uniquely written songs as its differentiator.
Slight tangent here. There are a lot of redneck pride songs on this album. This is well trod ground for Hardy. Between the two Hixtape albums, I heard enough posturing lifestyle anthems for a while. If I were a redneck, I would probably feel more for them. I'm not, so I look at them from a removed distance and the derivative and pandering nature of them really falls short. I want to focus on some of the more brash iterations of this subgenre and focus on them. One works and one doesn’t. .30-06 is a complete jam. It's an updated NRA approved take on I'm Gonna Miss Her. Far and away the best gun song on the record. Also, it’s not really about the gun once you think about it. More about the fury of a man fighting with his ex. That’s far more interesting than a basic ad for a Guns and Ammo subscription.
My take on identity targeted material is one that I’ve written about a few times. I think that for someone who is not a cultural insider, most likely a large chunk of the appeal to these songs is the universal nature inside them. Grady Smith has a T-shirt in his shop riffing on this. The shirt has the slogan Unapologetically Suburban As Hell emblazoned across it. That's indicative of the fact that the real theme of Unapologetically Country As Hell is simply being proud of who you are and where you’re from. That might sound like cheesy schlock, but it’s relatable regardless of who you are. It both rings as authentic because Hardy is reflecting on his own lifestyle, but also the feelings emitted from the song can cut straight to a suburbanites heart. Compare that to The Redneck Song which is just cornbread loaded with cliche dipped into gravy until it turns soggy. Unless you're a clear insider, there is no real message conveyed. Or at least not one that most of the country music listening audience can relate to.
Showing a similar weakness is the song Drink One For Me. It is intended as a sequel to the smash hit Give Heaven Some Hell. Sequels are a unique idea that aren’t done much. For many, the novelty of a sequel song, plus the charming sentiment within is enough to bowl them over. Others may look at it as an unnecessary and worse sequel, kind of like every Star Wars movie since the prequels started. Outside of the thinly written plot, there is no particular callback to Give Heaven Some Hell and that is where the sequel idea fails to take hold in the imagination as anything more than just another song about a similar topic. Something in the melody or instrumental arrangements could have really connected the two firmly. Take a song like Alan Jackson’s Chattahoochee with its distinctive drum and guitar line, and look at how the same riff was similarly implemented in Summertime Blues. They fit together both melodically and thematically. I'd argue Summertime Blues is a spiritual sequel and therefore they are firmly linked by similar instrumentals. Artists often have both love songs and breakup songs on the same record and we don't view them as related unless there is a specific callback. What could have been a cool idea was undone by not taking the idea far enough- ie shallowness.
Now you may say that I'm being overly critical of the simplistic nature of the records ideas. “Joe,” you might say, “you love traditional country and its classic tropes. You had Randall King as a top three album of 2022. You can't then turn around and criticize Hardy for having shallow themes!” Admittedly there is some validity to that. I would say in response that when an album has simplistic ideas, but a complex or layered way of portraying those ideas, whether via a carefully delivered vocal, elaborate or unique instrumentation, or unique identifiers to the songs, then the simplicity can actually be a plus. However, when the entire album is hanging on the ideas, not having much to say is a bigger problem. Hardy is not the greatest singer. His screaming is cool, but relatively amateurish for rock. Joey Moi’s production ranges from generic radio country to generic radio rock. The themes and ideas need to deliver far more than on a regular project.
This brings us to the next part of the conversation. Going through the individual songs and finding some of them lacking is not an issue per se. If the album works as a whole and even the more generic and boring songs contribute, then judging it as a whole is a more fair method of evaluation. Like was stated before, some albums are intended to be more than the sum of the tracklist. This album has a very bold and experimental premise. The simple attempt at using the album as an artistic tool is to be admired in this algorithm driven world of singles and playlists. That's gotta be worth a point or two.
I highly value cohesiveness. This is a non-cohesive project by design. That isn't an issue so long as the dual nature is embraced and executed successfully. Does it succeed in drawing sufficient distinction between the two sides? There certainly are differences between the two halves. I feel most listeners will feel more comfortable with one side of the album over the other. To my ears, it’s a two sides of the same coin situation. The rock side definitely leans more into its rock persona and fits well there. I’m not a well-versed rock fan, but it certainly sounds similar to the post grunge radio rock of the 2000s. Joey Moi being the producer of both 2000s rock and Hardy certainly makes that sound authentic and accurate. I have difficulty with the country side. It doesn't sound particularly country; it's kind of iterative mainstream country adjacent rock. I would've preferred a starker divide between the two sides. The themes tend to blur across both sections. This is a positive as it reinforces that it is the same character being talked about. This is also a negative as it softens the defined lines between the dual identities Hardy wishes to explore.
Thematically there are some important things that need to be discussed. Firstly, do the opposing halves reflect differing aspects of personality as the title track claims? The short answer is no. The long answer is sort of, but not really. The hyper real redneck cultural persona is evident all throughout the album. The differences are mostly in tone. The same themes are treated with slightly more delicacy in the first half then in the second half. Take alcohol. Much the same as the irl drinks, Beer is effectively the same song as Jack, just slightly softer and less aggressive. (Is having what's effectively the same song twice a boring choice that saps the feel from the song, or is the fact that there is a minor tweak that fits with the album vision enough that we'll let it pass?)
The next thing that requires addressing is the underlying contradiction between the mockingbird and crow personas. There are four songs that directly touch on this theoretical contradiction of self. Here Lies Country Music- which is an odd lament to the loss of authenticity in country music. Second we have The Mockingbird and The Crow- where he lays out his vision for his dual identity. The mockingbird is the inauthentic side who just does it for the clicks and money. The crow is the other side, brash and bold and aggressive. The third of the songs is Sold Out which probably proclaimed that he’s being his true self, and living with pride, and doesn’t regret any of the actions made. Lastly, we have Radio Song, where he directly calls out the industry for producing drab flimflam music, boasts about how he cracked their code, and dramatically rips away his mask revealing the inner rage and his authentic feelings on being forced into a box. BTW, a fantastic bit of sequencing to have Kill Sh!t Till I Die immediately afterwards. It taps into the pure anger, desire to roam independently, and willingness to burn things down that Radio Song touches on and echoes strongly in the dramatic follow up.
These four songs add up to a mishmash of a puzzle. On one hand, you have a claim in Sold Out that he has never reneged on his authenticity and “everything I sing reflects my life and values”. The other thirteen tracks all revolve around similar themes of redneck pride and activities with one love song tossed in for diversity. Seems the Sold Out premise fits. In the title track, he claims that part of his nature is that he’s a mockingbird. He likes being part of a crowd and fitting into the niche that his upbringing and professional paths brought him upon. That again fits well with the never selling out idea. It’s just different parts to himself, but both are equally authentic. The issues arise when you examine the album through the contrasting lens of the other two songs. In Here Lies Country Music, he puts forth an odd tribute to the value of country music by mourning it in a hypothetical scenario that it died. Of course his definition of country music is very cultural and it’s telling that a number one songwriter in Nashville who’s whole brand is pushing country into a new lane of hybridized butt rock, hip hop, and country rock is complaining about the state of affairs in Nashville as being insufficiently country. It seems to show a lack of understanding of his own place in the system and genre. And then when you come to Radio Song where he explicitly says that he does not connect and relate to the country music and his real authentic self is his “crow” side, it becomes really tough to understand. If he’s renouncing his country stuff as being for the clicks and cash, A) it means he did sell out, and B) that selling out and preaching inauthenticity seemingly includes most of his rock material, because it is minimally different aside from how distorted the guitars are and a little bit of screaming. Also, can we mention that he says they won’t play your music on radio if there is no steel? What is this, 1996?
Is it emblematic of his actual feelings on the matter or not? Consider how his rise in the industry has been textbook system with Hardy growing as an influence peddler spreading his apple seeds of redneck pride and hook driven storytelling all throughout the city and its airwaves. Then once you realize that as much as he curses out labels and all the machinations in Nashville, his label signed off on this album, produced it, recorded it, marketed it etc. no differently than any other of his projects. This album is equally in the system as anything else. All this adds up to a picture of a persona which is pushed to the fans who are craving the outsider rebel wrapper on their content. They feel uncomfortable with their relationship with institutions, but also don’t really care to disassociate with it outside of some macho chest pounding; think Thomas Rhett hypothetically spouting on about how Nashville isn’t country anymore. It might sound good, but it doesn’t hold up to daylight.
This would all go over easier if Hardy wasn’t attempting to present this as his authentic self. For most of country history, there was no assumption that everything written or sung about was true. They were just telling stories. If this album was merely an exploration of a hypothetical personality, then these discrepancies wouldn’t bother me. However, it clearly isn’t intended to be that. If you hang your hat on an ideal, don’t be upset when others hold you to it.
In conclusion, the album contains numerous quality songs. It probably is too long and would have benefited from being chopped down and eliminating filler. For the right audience, the generic tracks may still contain appeal. In spite of quibbles with individual songs, they are not the biggest issue with this project. The issue is the execution of this ambitious double project. Giving a truth telling middle finger to the system is an appealing idea, but it must be backed up. Maybe he’s not wholly certain where he stands on these issues, but the overall product doesn’t coalesce into a definitive statement of Hardy’s personhood and place in the music world. It ends up as being confusing rather than clarifying. It is an audacious attempt. It is not a swing and a miss, it is a weakly hit single on a home run swing. Kudos to Hardy for trying. Most other artists wouldn’t do that. I look forward to seeing what further experimentation and clarification and artistic persona he can show us in the upcoming years.
(Editor Joe here, I feel like I came off as very harsh on this project. I want to reiterate that there are some fantastic songs on here that will definitely get added to playlists of mine. It's really an enjoyable listen. The problem was I started to overthink things and things started to shred under the more intense examination. To be fair, most projects wouldn't hold up as well to such intense scrutiny. It's probably why they don't invite it by proclaiming how groundbreaking and experimental they are. I guess I held Hardy to a higher standard because of that. My overall ranking reflects my general enjoyment with a bit of music criticism tossed in for balance.)
TLDR, I’m mixed on it
Decent 6
Fin
Thanks for reading,
Joe