HARDY recently announced that he will release a full rock album later this year. The announcement came with a new single called “ROCKSTAR.” While there is no official release date, an entire HARDY rock album is turning many heads in excitement and skepticism. The Mississippi singer-songwriter has demonstrated a remarkable ability to craft country songs while songwriting for himself and others. In his latest full-length project, the mockingbird & THE CROW, he showed off his versatility by venturing towards rock music in the latter half of the collection; since then, he’s dropped two promotional singles ahead of his next project: “QUIT!!” and “ROCKSTAR.” After a rather negative consensus on “QUIT!!,” “ROCKSTAR” received a much more positive response from listeners overall. Now that all eyes are on HARDY to see what he has in store for this experiment, here are five things we hope to see from the cross-genre hitmaker.
A New Narrative
HARDY has always been unapologetically himself in the best way possible, and he’s never cared what anyone thinks about him. It doesn’t matter if it is a random fan or the entire music industry; he will do things his way 100% of the time, and that attitude is always reflected in his music, especially his rock songs. This is an excellent aspect of his personality, which his fans have always connected with. However, doing things his way and saying screw everyone else isn’t as interesting as it used to be. It’s a rallying cry that has worked for him as a newcomer on the scene, but a new narrative feels somewhat necessary at this point. The essence of his rock music is its unconventional nature, and he continues to lean heavily on the idea that he doesn’t do things “by the book.” It is starting to reach a point where over-emphasizing this mission statement ruins its impact. “TRUCK BED” is one of the best rock songs that HARDY has put out so far; part of the reason it excelled is because it separated itself from his underdog attitude. Seeing some original ideas would keep the record refreshing and prove HARDY as a legitimate rock artist.
Stay True to His Songwriting
As basic as it sounds, if HARDY continues to do what he does from a songwriting standpoint while covering some new ground thematically, this album is in good hands. He is one of the best songwriters in music today, and there’s plenty of evidence to back that up. A prime example of his clever songwriting in a rock song is “JACK,” told from the perspective of Jack Daniels. In the song, our subject, “JACK,” starts as a casual friend, though as the song progresses, he becomes aggressive and self-destructive, serving as a metaphor for someone slipping into alcoholism. This was one of his best-written songs of 2022, and it eventually topped the charts on rock radio. If HARDY continues to excel as a songwriter while coming up with fresh premises, this album could be very interesting indeed. He’s already proved he can write quality rock music, and as long as he prioritizes the witty wordplay we love him for, this project has a lot of potential.
A Slight Country Flair
Rock music has always had bands with a little bit of a country flair; they aren’t necessarily country by name, but over time, they’ve endeared themselves to country audiences with twangy licks and occasional references to their down-home upbringing. Lynyrd Skynard is one of the many bands that have mastered this. With HARDY’s country background, this could be an area where he truly shines. Rock-influenced country songs are ubiquitous in his discography, but country-influenced rock songs are a different approach that we haven’t heard much from the Mississippi native. The entire LP wouldn’t have to be country-centric, but one or two songs exploring that part of his skill set would be an excellent addition. It’s not precisely HARDY’s niche on the rock spectrum, but he’s never shied away from an experiment. On a record whose most significant need is variety, dipping his toes into other types of rock music would be a welcome addition.
A Nickelback Collaboration
With the high anticipations of this album, a collaboration would be a neat complement to help it reach expectations. HARDY was joined by Jeremy McKinnon of A Day To Remember in “RADIO SONG,” which turned out to be one of the most exciting duets of 2023. The song was a direct shot at country radio, but HARDY and McKinnon work together in the chorus to add a sassy twist to the hook. A new rock collab could be an exciting way to create discourse around his latest LP. Nickelback seems to be an obvious choice as a duet partner; HARDY recently joined the band on stage for renditions of his song “SOLD OUT” and Nickleback’s song, “Rockstar,” and pays tribute to the classic butt-rockers in his latest single, singing “I ain’t sayin’ that I’m Nickelback, kickin’ it in Cali with today’s who’s-who.” Some hints about them working together have been dropped, which would be an immediate must-listen for rock fans. With so many questions about what’s coming, a collaboration with Nickelback would be welcome and on-brand.
Overall Variety
The duality of HARDY’s personality in the mockingbird & THE CROW gave it lots of variety; this wasn’t a record that blurred with the same lyrical themes and sounds. If HARDY has a diverse tracklist on his new album, he’ll not only plant his flag as an artist who can go all the way in any musical direction. More than just a random collection of singles, it needs to make sense as one cohesive project, as his last record did. On his country albums, HARDY has been good about telling a story through the entire record, carefully selecting each track, whether telling his life story on A ROCK or casually sharing his love for the country lifestyle on HIXTAPE. Now that he has transitioned fully to rock music (at least for now), we need to see that same cohesive flair; a mix of fast and slow, deep and shallow tracks can make this LP memorable. Given his past success in this format, it’s all within his reach; HARDY has a unique skill set and a balanced mix of moods is key to getting the absolute most out of this record.
