After making a name for himself as a songwriter and artist with his mixtape, Hixtape, Vol. 1, Hardy has officially announced that his debut album, A Rock, will arrive this fall. Releasing on Sept. 4 on Big Loud Records, A Rock will continue to show off Hardy’s proficient storytelling, most of which is inspired by real events.
“I know I don’t do it with every song,” Hardy told Rolling Stone of his fable-spinning abilities. “But it’s always fun when I do. Some of the first songs that I started liking, especially country songs like ‘Ole Red,’ I gravitated towards that. I guess subconsciously I wanted to do that with my writing too.” Hardy co-wrote all 12 songs on A Rock, working with industry veterans including Hillary Lindsey, Ashley Gorley and David Garcia. The album was produced by Joey Moi and co-produced by Derek Wells along with production from Garcia and Jake Mitchell.
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The 29-year-old shared that he was able to find the focus of A Rock after writing “Boots,” a guitar-heavy, rock and roll-inspired track that he released earlier this year. “It’s just something that I hadn’t really done before — to really experiment with more of the rock & roll side of my music,” he said.
Hardy released his first single, “Rednecker,” in 2019, and his sophomore single, “One Beer” feat. Lauren Alaina and Devin Dawson is currently in the Top 25 on the country charts. Though Hardy has expanded beyond his swaggering redneck persona of “Rednecker,” he hasn’t abandoned it, as evidenced by the fully countrified “Unapologetically Country as Hell.” “I didn’t want to fill my record up with overly obnoxious country songs,” he explained. “I love those kind of songs, but I wanted for people to know that I have a little bit more to say than just that. But that one is definitely for the people.”
See the full tracklisting for A Rock below.
1. “TRUCK” (Michael Hardy, Ben Johnson, Hunter Phelps)^
2. “BOYFRIEND” (Michael Hardy, Zach Abend, Andy Albert)^
3. “GIVE HEAVEN SOME HELL” (Michael Hardy, Ashley Gorley, Ben Johnson, Hunter Phelps)^
4. “BOOTS” (Michael Hardy, David Garcia, Hillary Lindsey)^
5. “WHERE YA AT” (Michael Hardy, Jessie Jo Dillon, David Garcia)*
6. “AIN’T A BAD DAY” (Michael Hardy, Jake Mitchell, Hunter Phelps)^
7. “ONE BEER” feat. Lauren Alaina & Devin Dawson (Michael Hardy, Hillary Lindsey, Jake Mitchell)^
8. “SO CLOSE” feat. Ashland Craft (Michael Hardy, Mark Holman, Hillary Lindsey)^
9. “BROKE BOY” (Michael Hardy, David Garcia, Brett Tyler)^
10. “HATE YOUR HOMETOWN” (Michael Hardy, David Garcia, Hillary Lindsey)^
11. “UNAPOLOGETICALLY COUNTRY AS HELL” (Michael Hardy, Smith Ahnquist, Nick Donley, Jake Mitchell)•
12. “A ROCK” (Michael Hardy, Smith Ahnquist, Jake Mitchell)•
^ Produced by Joey Moi and Co-Produced by Derek Wells
* Produced by Joey Moi, Derek Wells and David Garcia
• Produced by Joey Moi, Derek Wells and Jake Mitchell
