COREY KENT - Never Ready- RCA Records Nashville

“Country music is three chords and the truth” – Harlan Howard.

One of the most famous descriptives of the very essence of what makes country music so relatable, but within that quote’s simplicity there also sits tremendous depth that allows the songwriter, the artist, and the listener to weave their truths together in a moment that plays out in song like a snapshot of life.

Alongside the news that his highly anticipated sophomore album, Black Bandana, will be releasing on Sept. 6^th, platinum-selling artist Corey Kent has delivered our first glimpse of things to come with “Never Ready.”

“I’m so proud of this song,” Kent said. “It’s about those moments in life that no matter how much you prepare for, you’re never ready for them. You know they’re coming and they’re such big moments when they happen, it still feels like they hit you out of left field. A song about real life, love and loss…all the elements that make for a great country song to me.”

Co-written by Kent, Austin Goodloe, Joybeth Taylor, and Lydia Vaughn, the song wraps a soft, acoustic strum around the nostalgic tone of Corey’s natural grit as he guides the melody through a series of life altering moments in the lyrics, perfectly setting up the storyline that flows from verse to verse.

From falling in love with your college sweetheart to marrying her, from talking about having kids to actually having kids, and from your parents taking care of you to them slowing down and the roles now reversing, Kent masterfully weaves the verses in such a way that it feels like your flipping through the photo albums that outline the biggest moments of his life that shaped the man he is today.

The slight lift into the chorus from a vocal perspective accentuates the pure emotions that teeter a full understanding of those out of left field moments, while humbly gripping the absolute truth that you’ll never really be prepared for them when they hit you.

“You're never ready for that kinda hit you outta left field

Naw, you never saw it coming, how it'd make you feel

Seeing your blue jean baby in a white dress

Trying to act tough, but you're a train wreck

It's a half smile, half cry, change your whole life feeling that'll stop you in your tracks

People talk about it, and you thought about it

But that kinda heavy, naw, you're never ready for that”

“Never Ready” is the best country song I've ever written,” Corey Kent shared on his socials ahead of the songs release and we couldn’t agree more. It’s a song expertly built on the foundational aspects of country music at its core; relatable storytelling about real life, a simplistic melody that matches the tone of the lyrics, and a vocal performance that captures all the right feels to tug in the listener and then strike them with the right emotional chords.

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)