Cody Jinks Is Ready to “Change The Game”
Cody Jinks is already ensconced as one of the top headliners in independent country music, and has been for many years now. Consistency has been one of his calling cards, putting together solid shows, and putting out quality records. You can count on Cody Jinks. But when you’ve climbed to the top of the mountain, what comes next? How do you keep things fresh and moving forward?
The announcement of his new album Change The Game comes at a time of transition for Cody Jinks. He recently parted from his long-time manager, and is now self-managing his own career. Instead of saddling up with some major label or even big independent, he’s releasing albums on his own Late August Records in partnership with distribution service The Orchard. Jinks is going more independent, bringing things more in-house, and calling his own shots more than ever before.
To be released on March 22nd, Change The Game was produced by Ryan Hewitt, who is known for working with the Turnpike Troubadours, American Aquarium, and on Cody’s 2016 album I’m Not the Devil. Cody’s long time bass player Joshua Thompson also co-produces. This time Cody chose to forgo The Sonic Ranch recording studio in West Texas where he cut many of his recent albums, and instead recorded at the MOXE outside of Nashville.
“This is the most open and honest record I’ve ever recorded, I laid everything out,” Jinks says about the album. You hear this in his vulnerable and honest new track, “Sober Thing” (listen below), shirking the “Outlaw” country stereotype. This joins the certified banger “Mustangs and Outlaws” released in October from the album.
“I wrote ‘Sober Thing’ right after we finished the ‘Mercy’ album,” Cody Jinks says about the solo-written tune. “I was giving up a twenty plus year affair with whiskey and every word of that song is true. I don’t remember writing some of my biggest songs but I damn sure remember writing that one.”
Jinks also includes a cover version of Faith No More’s “Take This Bottle” on the new album featuring solo artist Pearl Aday, known for collaborating with many rock artists, including her father Meat Loaf.
Joining Cody Jinks on the recording sessions for Change The Game are his Tonedeaf Hippies of Chris Claridy (acoustic guitar, electric guitar), David Colvin (drums, percussion), Drew Harakal (B3, piano, acoustic guitar, electric guitar), Jake Lentner (acoustic guitar, electric guitar), Joshua Thompson (bass) and Austin “Hotrod” Tripp (pedal steel, dobro).
Change The Game is now available for pre-save/pre-order.
TRACK LIST:
1. Sober Thing
2. Outlaws and Mustangs
3. I Can’t Complain
4. Take This Bottle feat. Pearl Aday
5. Deceiver’s Blues
6. A Few More Ghosts
7. Change The Game
8. I Would
9. The Working Man
10. Wasted
11. Always Running
12. What You Love
December 2, 2023 @ 8:27 am
horrible
December 2, 2023 @ 8:47 am
Horribly good
December 2, 2023 @ 8:55 am
Well this is disappointing. 2 new songs off the album and I don’t care for either one. Sad day. Guess it’s true being hungry for success brings out the best then once you get it you lose the fire and just become an imitation of yourself.
December 2, 2023 @ 9:00 am
Not blown away by either song but I’ll still spin this album a bunch I’m sure. Going to see Cody with Turnpike in February, can’t wait!
December 2, 2023 @ 9:05 am
Going to be a good one and really looking forward to it. Sober Thing hits hard. Outlaws and Mustangs still hasn’t completely clicked for me. Something about some of the verses just feels awkward or forced for me. Can’t put my finger completely on it.
Trig – just want to say the comments section for AOTY is pretty incredible. When folks stick to the music and things don’t go off the rails it is really cool to see passionate discussion about the actual MUSIC.
You mentioned only 8% of the country songs released on Spotify this year were by female artists. JB lost his mind, rightfully so. Question – what has happened to Darci Carlson? Your review of her record from 2018 was one of the first articles I read on SCM and if one could wear out streamed music, the grooves on that album would be completely gone for me. I have seen a single or two since but nothing else. Darci – if you are reading, we need you….. 8 freakin percent!
December 2, 2023 @ 3:20 pm
Outlaws and Mustangs is just a terrible throwaway song. I don’t understand why it trigger loves it so much that it’s on the top 25 list for so long.
The new song is great in my opinion. It’s much more like what I would expect from Cody.
December 2, 2023 @ 8:35 pm
I’m ok with the chorus to be honest and the melody is fine. It’s the prodigal sons line for me. No one talks like that. You’d never say that in a conversation. It’s so nitpicky and pisses me off that it bugs me because Cody is my guy.
December 5, 2023 @ 9:44 am
Well, if you’re a Turnpike fan, I’m either about to redeem Outlaws and Mustangs for you or ruin The Funeral for you, but:
‘Ain’t nobody waiting on a prodigal son’
It doesn’t have to be conversational, it’s lyrical!
December 2, 2023 @ 9:16 pm
“Outlaws and Mustangs” is a banger that sounds so good, independent fans think it must suck.
December 2, 2023 @ 9:11 pm
For the record, I don’t know if that 8% stat holds up for 2023. That was the stat shared by Spotify a year or two ago, but it illustrates the inventory issue when it comes to women.
Darci Carlson has been hanging out with Jeff Crosby in the Pacific Northwest. She’s still active, but I agree would love to hear a new album from her.
December 2, 2023 @ 9:14 am
A couple of these early comments seem a bit harsh, IMO. Here’s a dude out here mostly writing his own songs and standing up there singing them every night. I’ll take that every time vs. just chasing trends and hit songs with major labels, buying songs off the open market.
I do think Cody is getting a ton of mileage at this point from his first few (incredible) albums, but each album still has good songs on it.
I pre-ordered the vinyl like I do with every Jinks album. I didn’t listen to either song – I wait to hear albums in full on release day.
December 2, 2023 @ 10:53 am
You may consider my comment harsh. I love Jinks and if he comes near me anytime I’m gonna go see him. One of the shows I’ve been to of his was one of the greatest moments/experiences of my life and I can’t explain it but it was. This music just doesn’t grab me like anything before Mercy. I forgot that album even existed til I read this article. I’ll listen to this album and probably pre-order it here soon cause I’m a Jinks fan and hopefully I’ll be surprised with the full album
December 4, 2023 @ 7:28 pm
Wow, I think Mercy is his best I’m not the devil.
December 2, 2023 @ 3:35 pm
I’m with you AltCountryFanatic. This song defines the words “heart felt.” Congrats to Cody for getting real. If the experience of some other artists I can think of who have traveled the road to sobriety is any indication, there’s some great music to come. One day at a time, brother.
December 2, 2023 @ 10:23 am
Good song. His albums have been good and well worth a listen. I look forward to the album.
December 2, 2023 @ 1:41 pm
Good on him for doing what he wants.
However, I don’t really care about someone else’s minor personal issues.
We already dealt with listening to his ‘yay, I’m a hero for not cheating songs’ (One good decision etc) and now it sounds like we’ll get some “yay, I’m a hero because I’m sober”
Not saying that songs about being sober are bad. Alcohol is a deadly drug. People who struggle with it need all the support they can get.
But personally, I prefer ‘Joe’ (luke combs) that have a positive message rather than a negative personal message.
December 2, 2023 @ 3:25 pm
I feel like that’s a common problem in the moder” outlaw” movement. You get a lot of songs about substance abuse, sometimes as an allegory for self-doubt and sometimes just about literal substance abuse. It gets old but it’s also a really common problem for people today.
I think some of Cody’s best work is actually singing about very minor, everyday stuff. Somewhere In The Middle is like an anthem for that and it’s such a great song. David is obviously not about a minor thing but the fact that he made the character a cop rather than some other kind of badass biker outlaw (which I think a lesser songwriter would have done) is another example of the ‘everyday’ that he does so well.
December 5, 2023 @ 5:27 pm
I’ll add “David” is about alcohol too. It’s real life, and anyone like me who has struggled with alcohol knows this one hits way close to home. I actually teared up the first time I heard it. I don’t care about the “Outlaw” movement or whatever, I just care about well written, real music, and that’s exactly what this song is.
December 4, 2023 @ 10:02 am
you don’t care for someone else’s minor personal issues but then in the same paragraph you go on to say how alcohol is a deadly drug. I have been in and out of rehab multiple times and this song hits really hard for me too. Trigger spoke of Cody saying he just stopped a 20-year habit with Whiskey, that is no minor personal issue, that is a huge personal issue and one that is worth singing about. Maybe you should stick to “country music” radio instead of the real stuff that is full of someone writing about his/her personal struggles. There is nothing more powerful than a song that rips your heart out, most likely because you can relate.
December 2, 2023 @ 3:09 pm
Adobe Sessions is his best ever, everything after that was hit and miss, mustangs is not a great song IMO, but what do I know,
December 2, 2023 @ 3:26 pm
Mustangs sounds like something that came out of a songwriting mill for bro country or something.
It’s just not a good song.
December 2, 2023 @ 3:13 pm
Reckon I’m an outlier on “Sober Thing.” Over this past Summer, I hit 5 years sober. For me, this songs hits hard. I’ve avoided listening to it, because I knew it would. I have the testicular fortitude to confess that I just sat in my living room and bawled my eyes out, listening to this damned song.
Anyone who’s battled addiction (in any of it’s nefarious forms) knows, it’s about so much more than just stopping the addictive behavior.
For me, once the fog began to lift, it became about uncovering and understanding what fueled my addiction. Sitting with painful emotions, instead of numbing them. Facing trauma, not hiding from it or pretending it didn’t exist. “The numbing just fueled me for the running away from the pain…” Damn, son…
Today, I have a better life than I ever dreamt I could have or deserve, and I’m deeply grateful. But, “Sober Thing” is a perfect encapsulation of those last days of my spiral downward and the early days of getting sober.
Sometimes people just need to know they aren’t the only ones who have felt or experienced certain things. This is a song for those people. My people.
December 2, 2023 @ 3:27 pm
I’ve never had an addiction problem of any kind but I got tears from listening to this song, too.
December 3, 2023 @ 3:35 pm
Agree! This one is a gut punch for me.
December 2, 2023 @ 3:59 pm
Favorite Cody Jinks song? Go!
Heavy Load
December 2, 2023 @ 8:30 pm
No Words
December 2, 2023 @ 11:05 pm
Took the thought right out of my head Rich, you and I are way too much alike. It just gave me goosebumps the first time I heard it….. the melody, the lyrics etc…. I love Cody and I’ll always give him a chance……that being said, I have no problem with Sober Thing but I wouldn’t open an album with it. I’m always looking forward to new Cody as we all should. He IS the gold standard every independent Country artist should want to be like, it’s just that simple. I remember telling Ben Jarell one time……”we all love Whitey, but you aspire to be Cody”…… he agreed.
December 3, 2023 @ 6:46 am
Vampires
December 4, 2023 @ 6:37 am
My favorite question to answer:
1. Never Alone Always Lonely
2. Cast No Stones
3. Somewhere In the Middle
4. No Words
5. Vampires
6. Grey
7. Hippies & Cowboys
8. I’m Not the Devil
9 Colorado
10. Aint A Train
December 4, 2023 @ 9:51 pm
We get by
December 7, 2023 @ 9:11 am
“I’m Not the Devil.”
When I first heard it, I played on repeat for hours.
December 2, 2023 @ 4:00 pm
Cast no Stones
After the Fire
December 2, 2023 @ 4:13 pm
It’s almost inevitable. Once you’re in your 40’s you kinda gotta choose – go the Shane MacGowan route or get sober. Although I guess there’s also a third option – the Billy Strings/Willie Nelson route aka “California Sober.”
December 3, 2023 @ 5:44 am
I’ve been waiting for this one all year. I’m sure glad that Cody is a “know what your getting ” kind of guy when it comes to picking writers. I was especially happy to see Adam Hood has a couple cuts on this one. He is often overlooked but I don’t believe that’ll remain that way after Cody sends this Album out. It’s been along time coming but I believe Adam Hood is by far one of my favorite writers of killer songs.
December 3, 2023 @ 7:24 am
Have to say I’m excited for this album, and a little nervous. With the first single being Outlaws and Mustangs, the title being Change The Game, and Trigger’s comment about shirking the Outlaw stereotype, I’m a little worried about this album. Not that I think Cody was really ever Outlaw, though some of his songs do have that outlaw influence. I don’t even have a problem if Outlaws and Mustangs is intended to be a sort of bridge to radio play, since Cody has been attempting to break in there with single releases the last few years. Cody Jinks on the radio would only be a good thing.
I just hope Outlaws and Mustangs and the talk of change isn’t a sign of a complete new direction for Cody. Sober has me relaxing a little. Looking forward to hearing Take This Bottle with Pearl who is a great singer. Also, as much as Sonic Ranch is revered, I’m glad he is trying something new here, because the last couple albums had strange audio. This one already sounds better.
Crossing my fingers this album will be Cody’s next great one.
December 3, 2023 @ 8:38 am
I’m absolutely baffled by the comments. These first two songs are amazing and couldn’t be more excited for this album.
Cody is the one constant in country right now. This man delivers and this album will be no different.
December 3, 2023 @ 8:27 pm
The most disappointing artist.
December 3, 2023 @ 8:27 pm
The most disappointing artist ever.
December 5, 2023 @ 7:44 am
Stating your opinion once wasn’t enough, huh?
December 3, 2023 @ 8:40 pm
In Too Long in the Wasteland, James McMurtry said:
“Well, I hadn’t intended to bend the rules
But whiskey don’t make liars, it just makes fools
So I didn’t mean to say it, but I meant what I said.”
With Western culture under constant, relentless attack, and Western man at his weakest and most deflated, the bulk of these ritualistic mea culpas are simply the conscience of normal men in correctly apologizing for offending deviants, criminals, wayward women, etc. With the proper amount of swagger and confidence, Western men could once again come to embrace the paternalism that was bestowed upon them by their forefathers.
December 3, 2023 @ 9:15 pm
“incorrectly”
December 5, 2023 @ 6:50 am
This is the problem. A lot of men who aren’t, never were, and never met a real ‘western guy’ getting their ‘western guy’ definitions from the internet and internet TV (here’s to you, Yellowstone). Try being a loud swaggering guy at your nearest ranch. Give that a shot and come back and write Cody Jenks a book report about what a real ‘western man’ is. Ask around. Any ‘western man’ who describes their forefathers with your adjectives hates their guts, trust me. Those that love and emulate their paternal ancestors will use words like hard work, humility, honesty, sobriety, can do, try, family, kindness, etc. to describe them. Like my gentle grandfather who would have kicked your forefathers asses back to whatever rock they crawled from.
December 7, 2023 @ 9:13 am
Agreed.
Anything masculine is incorrectly labeled “toxic masculinity.”
But, RD, it is too late for the West.
December 7, 2023 @ 12:43 pm
Mike Cooley said in “Women Without Whiskey”:
“You know the bottle ain’t to blame and I ain’t trying to
It don’t make you do a thing it just lets you”
December 5, 2023 @ 7:41 am
For those that seem to know how to do it better then why aren’t you doing it? Cody Jinks could whisper and I will listen to him simply because his music is relatable, honest and cuts straight to the point. If you don’t like a track, move on to the next one, but have some respect for the effort. I am not in the music industry and know nothing about the process, but I would assume an album has elements of personal growth, change, experiences, etc. so each album is going to be different and can’t or shouldn’t be compared to previous albums. How about appreciate and respect the artist and their work instead of criticizing? Novel idea in today’s world…..I know.
December 7, 2023 @ 12:16 am
I didn’t hear that he doesn’t use alcohol anymore in the song. Somewhat concerning to me. I haven’t seen any artists from this music scene stop drinking and produce a better product. Very selfish of me, but I can’t lie.