MITCHELL TENPENNY - The 3rd - Riser House/Columbia Nashville

As his current single “Not Today” is set to impact country radio on the heels of “Bigger Mistakes” lauding heavy impact, fan favorites “Breaking My Heart” and his incredible cover of the Goo Goo Dolls “Iris” have both continued to add heightened anticipation for a new album from Mitchell Tenpenny.

With his fans clamoring very loudly for it, he satisfied their itch earlier this week with the official announcement of The 3^rd, a brand-new studio album coming our way on September 20^th.

Swirling amid the excitement of the album announcement, he also now gifts his fans the next look at it with its poignant title track, “The 3^rd.”

In the lyrical vein of songs like Dierks Bentley’s “My Last Name,” Tenpenny accents the modern era backbeat with the natural rawness of his voice to deliver a heartfelt snapshot of the racing emotions derived from the responsibility of carrying the generation spanned name of his father and grandfather, James Mitchell Tenpenny.

Trailing the very beginnings of being named that upon his birth in August of ‘89, Mitchell turns the pages of his Polaroid filled album to share the memories of where that very name has since gone on to appear - on the back of some jerseys, beneath the lights on a marque, etc. - while battling the emotional stress of being named after the lineage that came before him and wondering if he will do the name proud:   

“Is the third time always a charm?

Yeah, sometimes I'm not sure

'Cause I got tattoos on my arms

And I barely go to church

I'm still trying to live up to the men I know they were

'Cause they could've named me anything

But I'm James Mitchell Tenpenny

The 3^rd”

Utilizing the second half of the song to face the mirror with the internal heaviness of the questions that are keeping him up at night, Mitchell wonders if he has any choice but to name his own son that same name if he ever has one,  if the name will end with him or if it will carry on, etc.

Though Mitchell Tenpenny has consistently been an artist who has put out music that’s drawn strong connection to the emotions of the vast listening audience, by scaling into such an ultra-personal song like this one, he masterfully opens the diary of his own life to showcase a layer of who he is at his core for an audience eager to know the depth of who he is.

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)

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