Ashley McBryde is set to release her fifth studio album, Wild, on May 8 – marking her first full project since 2023’s The Devil I Know.
Produced by John Osborne and recorded alongside her longtime band Deadhorse, Wild captures a pivotal period in McBryde’s life, building toward the moment just before she chose to stop drinking. The record draws heavily from her upbringing in Arkansas’ Ozark Mountains and the influence of a strict religious background, while also confronting addiction, inherited trauma, and the difficult road to sobriety.
In announcing the project, McBryde shared a glimpse into her mindset, writing, “Sometimes going with your gut is the scariest thing you can do… and the most necessary.” She likened the creative process to building something from the ground up, explaining, “This record felt like building a tree fort from some pieces we’d been needing to put to good use and some building materials I had to go scout out and look for. And piece by piece, trusting it would all hold together in the end. I’m so ready for y’all to hear it.”
McBryde says that at its core, Wild is about reconnecting with a fearless, instinct-driven version of oneself. “When people hear this record, I hope it wakes up the part of them that I’m singing about in ‘Wild’-the part that still believes in those unrealized dreams and untaken risks. I believe that wild little kid is still alive inside of all of us, and that’s the version of everyone that I want to sing to.” You can check out the album trailer: HERE.
Fans have already gotten an early taste of the album through songs like “Rattlesnake Preacher,” “Arkansas Mud,” and “What If We Don’t,” and recently Ashley has released the track ‘Bottle Tells Me So‘ written by McBryde with Shelly Fairchild and Terri Jo Box. The song is accompanied by an official music video, directed by Brandon Campbell. The clip picks up where the official music video for “Arkansas Mud,” leaves off – McBryde waking up in her makeup in a motel room, retracing the steps of a blacked-out binge.
McBryde went on to unveil the full tracklist for Wild, but rather than a traditional announcement she turned to her fan community — dubbed The Trybe — to share the reveal. Eleven members of The Trybe were each given a unique patch stamped with its own passcode, and fans could enter those codes on McBryde’s website, slowly revealing the album’s tracklist one song at a time. With every new title uncovered, a digital version of her signature denim jacket—seen on the cover—began to illuminate section by section, creating an interactive experience that brought her and fans into the moment together.
See the video for Bottle Tells Me So – HERE.
Preorder/save Wild – HERE.
Editorial credit: Geoffrey Clowes / Shutterstock.com
