Frankie Ballard

The Messenger is the newest release from Frankie Ballard. Produced by Tyler Bryant, the album showcases Ballard’s songwriting sweet spot between country, gospel, blues and rock ’n’ roll. “I thought, I’m just going to make a record that I want to make, one that sounds like the music I fell in love with when I first started playing guitar,” Ballard says. From the heavy riffing opener Dirty Church Clothes to the classic story-song with a backbeat Freight Train of Trouble (featuring backing vocals from Larkin Poe’s Rebecca Lovell) and the countrified stunner Cussin' In My Prayers, it’s a fresh and life-affirming answer to those well-intentioned questions he’s been getting about new music. “It’s like I’m starting all over again, with a whole new perspective,” he continues. “But at the same time, I feel like I’m in my prime.” The Messenger is out now on Rattle Shake Records.