As hard-core fans, DB Congress reps, maybe more so than the casual fan, are consistently in a state of anxiousness, always awaiting new music from our president, Dierks Bentley! And he is always worth the wait, and we finally have a date! RISER will be released February 25, 2014!
"I hope the fans, when they listen to the record, I hope they hear their involvement in the record, because they really were the reason why I was able to get from one spot to the other [from his dad's death to his boy Knox's birth] and find that happiness and joy that is who I really am," Dierks admitted.
You may know that "7" is Dierks' lucky number (also the number on his
Iceholes hockey jersey), so with RISER being his 7th studio album, it's sure to be a phenomenal project, "grounded in lyrical substance with a new sonic power that spotlights Bentley's distinctive gravely voice, one of the most original and recognizable in the genre," according to the press release.
We've already witnessed a few of the songs we believe will be included, like "
Bourbon In Kentucky" and "
I Hold On," and if you attended Last Call Ball in June, you heard a few more, namely, the title song,
"I'm A Riser," written by Travis Meadows and Steve Moakler (Read our exclusive interviews with them
here and
here), and "
Drunk On A Plane." At the Arizona firefighter's benefit concert, Dierks performed the personal "
Here On Earth."
Other tracks that
Windmills's Musical Musings says will be included are: "
Hurt Somebody" (previously recorded by The Dirt Drifters), "Say You Do" and "Pretty Girls Drinking Tall Boys."
"I named the album RISER because the lyrics in that song perfectly articulate who I want to be, who I try to be," Bentley explains. "There's a lot of really intense material on this record, but there's also a lighter side that is equally important in telling the story of the last two years of my life. When I first started writing for this album, I was in a place of grief over the loss of my dad, but over the course of the next 18 months, my wife and I had our son Knox, and I ended in a place of real joy and gratefulness. Both sides of that coin are what country music has always been about, and I hope that my fans can feel how much of myself I put into this project. It's all out on the table, for sure."
Last year, we posted our exclusive
interview with Ross Copperman (Tip It On Back co-writer and Riser producer), where he revealed some unique strategies and tactics to recording "Riser."
The lead single, "I Hold On," is currently at #18 on the Billboard Country Airplay radio charts. "Written by Bentley and
Brett James, the track is drawing attention from other artists, critics and fans for its authenticity and emotion with Music Row calling it a "song that shakes you," and American Songwriter comparing the track to U2 with Bentley "rocking a little harder than most of contemporary country's crooners.""
Watch RISER: Making The Album:
Keep requesting "I Hold On," congress! Let's get it to top ten for album release week! We need a #1 debut!
