Album Review – Ashley McBryde’s “The Devil I Know”
How blessed we are to have a woman at the top of mainstream country who is so discriminating when it comes to songwriting. When Ashley McBryde looks up the food chain, she doesn’t see arena stars like Luke Bryan or Jason Aldean, she sees songwriters like Lori McKenna and Hank Cochran. Her goal may still be to play to arenas full of adoring fans and to entertain them. But she wants to do so with songs that actually mean something.
McBryde doubled down on her commitment to songs and songwriters with her last album, the collaborative Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville. It sold terrible, and her label approached it as more of a side project despite critics raving over it and the Grammy Awards giving it a nomination. The day before this new McBryde album The Devil I Know came out, Lindeville was nominated for the CMA Album of the Year, and McBryde was nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year.
Lindeville was a career achievement for Ashley McBryde, and a landmark release for modern country music. Why it wasn’t taken more seriously and promoted feels like a travesty, but apparently her label sees The Devil I Know as the album with better commercial prospects. It probably is, but McBryde’s insistence on quality songs does not waver.
Ashley McBryde’s strong suit is taking snapshots from the everyday lives of average working people, and gracing them with unadorned, plainspoken, but deeply potent songwriting poetry. Country wisdom and colloquial truths is what she deals in, making songs like “Coldest Beer in Town,” “Cool Little Bars,” and the album’s lead single “Light On In The Kitchen” work without resorting to flash or formula.
There may not be any $700 words or riddles to unwind, but Ashley McBryde’s “Learned To Lie” co-written with Nicolette Hayford and Sean McConnell is a killer testament to the kind of songs McBryde writes and champions. They’re songs that make you realize things about yourself you may have never reflected on before, including sometimes things that are scary and dark, but are worth bringing out of the shadows to expose and reflect upon.
The producer for The Devil I Know is Jay Joyce, who is famous (or notorious) for shifting country projects more into the rock territory. His work with Ashley McBryde has been no different. At one point McBryde said about this album, playfully mocking her critics, “‘Y’all are too country.’ We leaned into that – more country it is. ‘Y’all are awfully rock leaning for a country artist.’ Is that so? You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”
The Devil I Know definitely has some country songs like “Women Ain’t Whiskey” and the 3/4 time “Whiskey and Country Music.” But where McBryde’s last solo studio album Never Will (2020) seemed surprisingly country compared to other Jay Joyce productions, the rock attitude is really ratcheted up on this new one, at times rendering it interruptive to what’s supposed to be the centerpiece of Ashley McBryde: the songs.
“The Devil I Know” is written to be a great little country song and starts off that way. But by the end of the song it succumbs to so much wank off rock guitar, McBryde feels like she’s pushed to the backline. Even on “Whiskey and Country Music,” it ends with a weird devolving diminuendo because they just couldn’t let it be a straightforward and unencumbered country track.
Jay Joyce made sure to get his licks in and leave his stamp on The Devil I Know, perhaps to the album’s overall detriment. But to play a little devil’s advocate, it also infuses the album with some unmistakable energy. “Blackout Betty” is a pure rock song, but it’s also arguably one of the standouts in the set because it leans into Ashley’s rock influences. It’s when the songs don’t know if they want to be country or rock when it can confuse the mood of the song, and the audience by proxy.
Ashley McBryde has always had a rock and roll heart to go with her more country writing, and that’s cool. But one of the great things about Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville produced by John Osborne is that it always centered the song as the most important element, and took a more measured approach to adding rock components.
The Devil I Know is a great album by all mainstream standards. Lindeville was arguably even better though, and probably included some better overall songs. There’s just a lot of reliance on alcohol in the lyricism of this new album. So why was Lindeville seen as a side project to woo the critics, and The Devil I Know the heavily-promoted solo album? This speaks to the skewed priorities of mainstream country. But both albums speak to Ashley McBryde’s earned spot as one of the top women in the mainstream who delivers the goods when it comes to good songs, along with a good time.
1 3/4 Guns Up (8/10)
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Purchase Ashley McBryde’s The Devil I Know
September 8, 2023 @ 7:46 am
I listened to the album in its entirety last night and I was impressed with the quality of songwriting, not that I was surprised however given Ashley’s other music. There are lots of standout songs that it’s hard to cover them all, but Learned to Lie is a masterpiece. I loved Women ain’t Whiskey, and the lead single Light on in the Kitchen, that seems to be finally taking off, sends me back to a time where my mom would wait up for me to come home to make sure I was safe and have some of my most treasured talks I’ve had with her. I’m with you in the only complaint I truly have with the album is where Jay Joyce can’t help himself by overdoing a song. I wish John Osborne would have produced this too. Either way, we are lucky to have her in the mainstream, and no doubt will she see her time come when she’s inducted to the Country Music Hall of Fame
September 9, 2023 @ 3:56 pm
How do you listen to the whole album on its entirety before it’s released? I’ve seen other folks post the same comment and I would love to know!
September 10, 2023 @ 10:18 pm
Hey Jennifer. I’m in the mountain time zone and new music is usually released at 11 PM Thursday night and I’ll often listen at that time. I didn’t have any sneak peek or anything.
September 15, 2023 @ 8:10 am
ah, a time traveler among us!
September 8, 2023 @ 8:32 am
I have been an Ashley fan since before her fan club “The Trybe” existed. I’m drawn to her storytelling despite not being able to personally associate with much of what she writes about. Having heard many of these songs played at live concerts previous to any commercial releases I thought this would be a killer album. I was right…the overproduction of the music completely killed these songs for me. I literally cannot listen to this album as much as I still enjoy the songs themselves. Thank you for saying what I felt guilty about feeling and what I dare not bring up in a Trybe chat: “It’s when the songs don’t know if they want to be country or rock when it can confuse the mood of the song, and the audience by proxy.” I still believe there are some amazing songs on here and I look forward to hearing them in concert next month but this album is a no-go for me :'(
September 9, 2023 @ 6:44 pm
It was on YouTube by about 11 PM CST on Sept 7.
September 8, 2023 @ 8:38 am
This is a great album. Ashley is in her prime and doing some amazing writing.
One disappointment and it’s more an industry disappointment than an Ashley one is that this album feels more like a greatest hits than an album of new material. As an Ashley fan, I’ve heard 8 of these songs more than a dozen times. The only “new song” that really got to me was Coldest Beer in Town. I saw her in September 2022 and she played five of the songs on this album. It’s too bad that she hasn’t reached a level where she can write an album of songs and her label rushes it to the shelves.
I love this album, but in my opinion, it should have come out 10 months ago.
It would also be great to hear Coldest Beer in Town or Learn to Lie on the radio, but we now live in an era where artists like Ashley get maybe one single. It climbs radio for a year and maybe gets into the top 10. I’m sure sometimes in February or March, “Kitchen” will get into the top 10, but I sometimes wonder if Ashley having 3 top 30 singles off an album might be better than one top 10.
Great review Trigger.
September 8, 2023 @ 11:13 am
Singles that only peak in the 20s often don’t get heard at all on major market country stations. Warner Nashville would never release a second single from the album if the first one were to die at No. 27. I think everyone who still listens to music on commercial radio wishes the charts would move faster, but since both country and pop charts have been sludge-like for the better part of 30 years now, apparently no one in the recording or radio industry is in favor of change.
September 8, 2023 @ 2:36 pm
The one thing I will say, this record made me feel good. I wish Ashley would get the recognition she deserves. She is one of the most talented women in the business right now.
September 8, 2023 @ 2:48 pm
High quality Broadway rock opera material.
September 8, 2023 @ 3:27 pm
Ashley is an artists’ artist. The majority of female artists I’ve talked to cite her as their favorite and/or inspiration. Request a cover of one of her songs and you’ll often see how much they enjoy singing them. One artist actually told me “her songs are too good for radio.” She may be onto something there. Her songwriting is so strong and relatable. Girl Goin’ Nowhere will always be my favorite album with Lindeville a close second. This one did not disappoint though.
September 8, 2023 @ 4:57 pm
I’m just here waiting on his review of Childers latest “effort”. Man he’s trending hard in the wrong direction.
September 8, 2023 @ 5:02 pm
RCA Records was super tight with the Tyler Childers release, and so I didn’t hear it until everyone else did. I am working on a review and it will be up shortly. I don’t deal in knee-jerk reactions. I want to regard the material and give a thoughtful review.
September 8, 2023 @ 6:42 pm
Random question: have you ever thought about revisiting an occasional review? I know you’ve got your hands full just handling releases one time around, but I always enjoy reading your take. Makes me wonder how you find recent releases are holding up several months down the line and whether there are albums that are sneaking their way back into your listening rotation. Anywho.
September 8, 2023 @ 10:01 pm
I feel bad for Trig because unlike the rest of us……(or maybe just myself) when an album or EP makes my rotation….. it stays ….for awhile…… until I’m done or they get here to play it live…all while I’m listening to/and or auditioning the new 2-3 releases that come out weekly. Trig, the poor guy has to always listen to the NEXT/New not leaving him time to enjoy what we/or he already knows he likes and that’s what he sacrifices for us. There’s just not enough time in the day and or week for any human being to give the amount of listens it may take to properly give this unprecedented amount of releases a real chance. Most of the artists have no clue what gets released every week. What’s going on right now in Country music is unlike anything I’ve ever seen in 50 yrs of any genre that’s all I can say……… and it’s far from over………….
September 8, 2023 @ 10:53 pm
This is what the end-of-year lists are for. Albums are selected for Album of the Year nominations, and then an Essential Albums list is populated. Time is always the best arbiter of music, and so we always reflect back at the end of the year.
September 8, 2023 @ 11:24 pm
There’s a really strong, exclusively southern vibe to this. The overall sound really draws from that Appalachian mountain music crossed with a bluesy swamp rock thing to varying degrees. It’s a type of country sound that just doesn’t resonate with me at all and really borders on similar territory to Stapleton, who I probably enjoy slightly more for sounding less Backwoods, but also can’t really get behind for all the southern-rock-ness. Like I can see that lyrically this shouldn’t be bad, but sonically it’s such a hard no. I think it’s just the total lack of anything western sounding to me. Not movie cowboy western. Just of the west, which is a hard thing to describe verbally but that I know when I hear it whether it’s Strait, RHCP, Modest Mouse or Zach Bryan. The variation in what different people can prefer is always fascinating.
September 9, 2023 @ 7:27 am
You’ve hit on exactly why I like this album and, believe it or not, why I disagree so emphatically with Trig and many of my fellow SCM fans on Jelly Roll. My three musical loves, in order of intensity, are country music, Southern soul music (especially Memphis and Muscle Shoals), and folk. My passion for rock depends on how much the specific artist I’m listening to draws from those three other genres. So when Ashley incorporates that greasy Southern rock sound in her recordings, I love it. When Chris Stapleton or, yes, Jelly Roll starts howling, I think of soul greats like Sam Moore and Clarence Carter and appreciate what they’re doing, as much as it may be cultural imperialism. But that’s OK. I love what The War and Treaty is doing, too.
Maybe I shouldn’t be commenting here. Maybe my musical tent is too big for a movement of sorts that seems to be out to “purify” country music. (Did I mention I enjoy classical, Celtic and Mexican music as well as cheesy ’70s pop and disco?) But I’m not going to reject outside influences on contemporary country music out of hand, as some here are in the habit of doing. What’s going on in country music right now doesn’t have to be exclusively reactionary. it can be progressive, too.
September 9, 2023 @ 8:10 am
I personally don’t like the uber southern or southeastern stuff like this and I can’t stand southern rock. So Ashley mcbryde checks off a bunch of negatives. Even though I like og Atlantic soul, just not in the context of country music so much. To me, Texas, Oklahoma, and California are the beating heart of country music, Austin is the center, and I often enjoy when pnw indie rock sounds bleed over into it. An artist like Aaron McDonnell is my prime example for how to make sonically interesting country music in 2023. To each their own.
September 9, 2023 @ 1:03 am
Her albums are great and this is another great one with some killer songs. I hope her sound man and band listen to it and her other albums before they next play live. The last time I saw her live, I could hardly hear her and the drums overwhelmed the sound, which was disappointing. I hope for an improvement next time. I want to hear her and her songs. They are good.
September 9, 2023 @ 6:15 am
I’m a fan of McBride, but maybe not as high on her as some others. I view her as more of a mainstream artist, though that’s not necessarily a bad thing. She’s a good songwriter, a very good singer, and her music is what radio should be playing. I would compare her to the female equivalent of Cody Johnson. Someone who is consistently good, but just barely missing that something original that puts them at the top of your favorite artists.
Good, solid album. Thanks.
September 9, 2023 @ 10:38 am
Sure is rock. I don’t mind either, I’ll just tell myself it’s Southern Rock. Heh-…
Seriously though if she does just straight rock I imagine she could possibly crossover, rock needs some ass-kicking and I think she is perfectly palatable for the mainstream. Besides a lot for 90s country was pretty damn rock too it’s just genre labels kept folks from playing in certain market or getting on certain charts.
September 9, 2023 @ 7:08 pm
Ashley is just consistently good. I feel like I’m almost taking it for granted that when she releases an album, I know it’ll be good and so don’t need to talk about it.
September 9, 2023 @ 7:15 pm
Listened to this one 5 times since it came out and can’t find a weak track anywhere. Can’t wait til December, get to see Ashley as a headliner for the first time.
September 10, 2023 @ 10:22 pm
You are in for a treat. I’ve seen her as an opener, and she was awesome, then I saw her as a headliner in a small venue and I was blown away. She’s incredible.
September 11, 2023 @ 7:53 am
I saw her open for Stapleton and Hank Jr. I’m 2016. I had never heard of her, and I leaned over and told my wife “this girl is gonna be huge!” Seeing her success has been awesome. Pumped for December in Charleston, WV.
September 10, 2023 @ 1:49 am
I’m not usually one to complain about songs mentioning drinking because as a country fan I’d probably never stop. However as I was short of time I played a few songs on random as I’d already heard a few of the early ones, and the first two I heard both mentioned puke, so yeah I could probably live without that.
September 11, 2023 @ 6:51 am
Agree with several of these takes.
Ashley is not only one of my favorite female singers in the game right now, she’s one of my favorite singers, period. That also ties into my struggle with her music at times – she’s such a great songwriter and singer, and I feel that gets lost in the production from time to time in her music. If she wants to lean on the rock a bit more for her live shows – I get it, but I wish I could turn back the production by like 25%-50% in a number of her studio cuts.
Regardless – every album she’s put out continues to get spins from me with no perceived misses, yet.
September 11, 2023 @ 9:35 am
Finally got around to listening to it. Another strong album from her for sure showing she will be around for awhile.