22. February 2025
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Media Review

Lainey Wilson – Whirlwind

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

Lainey Wilson - Whirlwind

Lainey Wilson - Whirlwind
4.7

Rating

 4.7/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Very versatile set of typical Lainey Wilson songs
  • Nice range of ballads to party tracks

The week of 23th August 2024 indeed comes with some (potentially) great releases on the country music side. After I shared the album About A Woman by Thomas Rhett already, this review is about the new long-play release on that Friday. Lainey Wilson released her new album Whirlwind. Here is my review.

 

Lainey Wilson – About The Artist

Lainey (Daney) Wilson has been one of the first female country artists I featured live at all. In 2019, she was the support act of Eric Pasley in Aschaffenburg. The career of the 32 year old, born on 19th May 1992 in Baskin, Louisiana, has sky-rocketed since then. In 2024, her album Bell Bottom Country even won the Grammy Award for the Best Country Album. The album has also been her fourth album to make it into the US Country Album Top 10. Two songs of her topped the US Country Airplay, while three of them (all from that 2022 album) topped the Canadian charts. One of these songs, Heart Like a Truck was her first one to be listed in the Billboard Worldwide Charts. Whirlwind is her fifth album overall.

 

Lainey Wilson – Whirlwind – Track by Track

The fourteen track album lasts 52 minutes.

1. Keep Up With Jones

The first seconds of the opener may feel a bit confusing. However, Keep Up With Jones is driven by fast, zesty Americana grooves soon thereafter. Lainey Wilsons adds a very own touch to this first track of her

2. Country’s Cool Again

Country’s Cool Again comes with strong country grooves and a nice pop touch. However, the party vibes of this song are significantly slower than the rhythm of the preedcessor. As the song has been released as a single already, there is this lovely touch of familiar vibes in it.

3. Good Horses (feat. Miranda Lambert)

Another already released song is Good Horses. Ain’t it amazing that this lady, who played on smaller stages in Europe as a support act just a few years ago, is now joined by one of the greatest female country artists. The song is very melodic, has a dreaming touch as well, which sometimes adds a folk music blending to the listen.

4. Broken Hearts Still Beat

The title of the fourth song sounds like the perfect one for a melancholic ballad – and that’s exactly what you get. Lainey Wilson is showing her most emotional side – and you look around where you left your tissues. That illustrates that this song is a beauty. And f you cannot stand the sad touch – it is (somehow unfortunately) the shortest track on Whirlwind.

5. Whirlwind

The four minute title track of the album is its fifth song. The song is a typical Lainey Wilson track. On the instrumental side, the heavy bass lines and the pop-ish rhythm are the key elements. It is a good song, but I feel that this mid-tempo track could be even more catching.

6. Call A Cowboy

The sixth track Call A Cowboy is moving between rather slow and gentle as well as rocking, almost angry moments. This does not only create an entertaining plot, but also defines a very unique touch to the song. I absolutely like it.

7. Hang Tight Honey

The third song on Whirlwind, which fans already know from previous single releases is Hang Tight Honey. Lainey Wilson combines country music melodies with rock’n’roll elements. The sing-a-long parts almost guarantee fun when the artist is back on stage. My favorite song out of the four single releases overall.

8. Bar In Baton Rouge

This one is epic. The story about the Bar In Baton Rouge takes a little more than five minutes. Lainey Wilson takes time to tell the story of this song, which is rather calm, but breaks out again and again with smashing guitar episodes. This leads to a versatile, enjoyable listen over the full duration of the song. How could this be a bad thing?

9. Counting Chickens

The ninth song on Whirlwind has a nice ease. The guitar is tootling an easy melody, the drums are just doing what is necessary. At the beginning of the song, it even reminds me of a track made for children. However, the lyrics and story have much more than that. Finally Lainey states I am loving counting chickens with you. That’s also a way to combine two typical country music topics, farm life and love, in one song.

10. 4x4xU

The tenth track reminds me of some earlier Maren Morris recordings. Country music elements are presented in a very groovy and laid back back atmosphere. This leads to a lovely song which is made to make you move during the listen. Good one.

11. Ring Finger

Okay, this one seems to be about love. The more Lainey Wilson surprises in this one. The song opens with heavy riffs, before the song suddenly turns into a soul-pop alike track. Vocals are almost given as spoken words. The chorus, though, is a pure country listen. This is one of these “love it or hate it” tracks. It definitely comes with a special touch.

12. Middle Of It

Middle Of It feels like another ballad on Lainey’s 2024 album. At least the verses suggest that. However, the pre-chorus are significantly more rhythmic and work with a wider instrumentation. Nonetheless, it is absolutely fine to cuddle during the listen.

13. Devil Don’t Go There

The second last listen of Whirlwind shows a really nice and slow Western-style melody. Even the devil don’t go there – there is also a certain level of drama in this song. I enjoy listening to it as well.

14. Whiskey Colored Crayon

Do you have a whiskey colored crayon? is the closing question of the album. A calm, unagitated farewell from Whirlwind, which nicely focuses on the beauty of Lainey Wilson’s voice and her storytelling.

 

Lainey Wilson – Whirlwind – Spotify

Here is the album on Spotify:

 

Lainey Wilson – Whirlwind – My View

Lainey Wilson is definitely not one of my absolute favorites. I just don’t get that well into her style. But that’s just my personal opinion and favor. She does really do well on her 2024 release. The songs have a common link, a unique and characteristic style. And, having said that, listening to Whirlwind is definitely not boring or monotonous at all. So it is an absolutely good album, indeed.

Favorite Song: Broken Hearts Still Beat

 

Women Country 2024

Here are all my postings related to female country music artists published in 2024:

 

Songs of the Week (August)

Here my Songs of the Week posts, published in August (regardless of the year):

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