A couple weeks ago, rising country star Ashley Monroe released the debut track off her new record, Sparrow. Sultry and slow-burning, “Hands On You” paints a picture of a night full of unfulfilled longing, but almost manages to be sexier due to the fact that it runs on the sheer force of desire. Her next single, on the other hand, is a song about the emptiness that settles in when someone chooses to leave. “You’re all that I’m seeing, now that you’re not mine,” Monroe admits, voicing a familiar freeling for anyone who didn’t realize what they had until they fucked it up.
Monroe last released an original record in 2015, with the Grammy-nominated The Blade, and put out a live album recorded at Third Man Records in 2016. Now she’s back with Sparrow, which was produced by the go-to country producer of the moment, Dave Cobb, who has worked with the likes of Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Anderson East and Chris Stapleton. One thing you’ll notice all those names have in common, is that they are all men. Women historically have a hard time succeeding in country music over the last couple decades, but with a writer as talented as Monroe, hopefully that trend is coming to an end.
Listen to the track below and look for Sparrow out 4/20 via Warner Music Nashville.
