Lady Antebellum Vow to ‘Bare It All’ on Upcoming ‘Ocean’ Album

Lady Antebellum will release their highly-anticipated seventh studio album, Ocean, on Nov. 15. The record is the most personal one the trio, made up of Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood, has ever released, and they vow to hold nothing back on their next set of tunes, which is evidenced in the title track.

“There’s several songs like that that really bare it all. I mean, that’s probably the most vulnerable I’ve ever seen Hillary in the studio,” Kelley said, speaking of “Ocean.” She had to stop several times, not just like the video, she did that in the studio crying. And we really tried to capture that on that take. I think we only did two or three takes.”

Kelley also chose to be honest, in a song called “Be Patient With My Love,” which he wrote with Dave Barnes and Ben West.

“I’m talking about a lot of my struggles too, as well,” Kelley revealed. “We just tried to be more honest. I think that’s a big part of this record is just saying, ‘Hey man, let’s hone our craft and put it out there.’ There’s some light-hearted stuff on here too, but I will say for the most part it’s very honest. It’s a very honest record.”

The 13-track record marks a shift for the threesome, who have all experienced plenty of life changes – including marriage and parenthood – since their eponymous freshman debut was released in 2008.

“We all go through seasons, I think, where we’re more introspective,” said Scott. “And then there’s more seasons of just celebrating living in the moment. For me, I think, I got married with three children into my thirties and I’m like, ‘Okay, I’ve got to figure some stuff out, and think about who these little girls are hopefully going to become, that I’m raising in my house.’ And so we wrote really honest. The songs that we found they were all really honest.

“There’s one about our kids that is a song that we didn’t write that I wish we had, but it’s about our children,” she continued. “It’s called ‘What I’m Leaving For,’ and even though we didn’t write it, it feels so personal that I’m excited for everyone to hear. I just think baring it all, being vulnerable builds connection with each other, with our fans, with anybody who, who gets to hear this record. So I’m excited for that.”

Pre-order Ocean at LadyAntebellum.com.

Photo Credit: Getty / Robyn Beck