(EBM) Working cowgirl and songstress Jenna Paulette has worn her authenticity on her sleeve throughout her career with a mix of grit and vulnerability. On her debut album The Girl I Was in 2023, Paulette candidly depicted her journey of self discovery following a toxic ten year relationship. Now, Paulette is arriving on the other side of that journey, with a project that reflects on all the experiences and values that have shaped her into that girl, with the release of her sophomore album, Horseback, available now via Leo33. Listen to Horseback HERE..
"The Horseback album is a culmination of perspectives I have of myself-to the things my family instilled in me, the men and women I grew up with and the one's I am blessed to be surrounded by where we live in a small town in West Texas," shares Paulette. "A window into the way so many of us feel and the things we value."
Consisting of 13 tracks, Horseback starts off with "Wild Is Her Favorite Color," celebrating the freedom that comes with living authentically, before delving into "3 Kings," a tip of her hat to the three kings that have influenced her lifestyle, "King George, King Ranch, King James."
The album intertwines upbeat tracks, including previously released "Outside" and "Run The Damn Ball," harkening back to the values of grit and hard work that Paulette has come to embody, with the heartbreak ballad "Chasin' Whiskey" and empowering "Darlin,'" both of which signal the redemption of love lost and found again.
Having co-written eight of the 13 songs on the project, Paulette reflects on the songwriting and selection process, stating, "The songs were mostly inspired on the back of my horse driving cattle to the next pasture or set of pens. Sung into my phone in hopes of not forgetting the budding melody or thought. Out where there is enough room to think. Anything I didn't write myself was most likely listened to on one bar of service in my husband's dusty Dodge full of cowboys or horseback on the top of a hill looking for cows. I then put my heart and story into the lyric.
"So much has happened, so much good, since The Girl I Was. All I've got to say is the girl I was pretending to be before I got back to me...you ain't getting that Horseback. The woman I am is here to stay. This album is a picture of who she was always meant to be."
Perhaps the most poignant of all is Paulette's title track, "Horseback," which portrays Paulette arriving confident in this new era of her life. "The title track is my 'Wide Open Spaces,' my rebellion against the way people say things need to be...It's the bridge between leaving somewhere and finding some place in what's left of the middle of nowhere that is real and is home," she shares.
To coincide with the album's release, and in a partnership with Ely & Walker apparel company (Home of Ely Cattleman shirts), Jenna Paulette brings to life a functional working female cowboy collection called CowboyGirl. This collection addresses the need for functionality in the saddle, designed to offer all the same benefits that men need working cattle, but with a style that is vintage and feminine. Small details tie the CowboyGirl collection together and make it relative to today's functional needs, while honoring generations past.
The collection will highlight two new ideologies: the State Flowers of Texas, where Jenna grew up, and Oklahoma, where Jenna's family ranch was, and will be available exclusively at over 200 Boot Barn locations beginning November 1, 2024.
Horseback Tracklisting (songwriters in parentheses):
1. Wild Is Her Favorite Color (Lori McKenna, Liz Rose, Hillary Lindsey)
2. 3 Kings (Jenna Paulette, Parker Welling, Casey Brown)
3. The Devil's An Angel (Jenna Paulette, Parker Welling, Casey Brown)
4. Run The Damn Ball (Rodney Clawson, Casey Beathard, Hunter Phelps)
5. The Dirt (Jenna Paulette, Will Bundy, Hillary Lindsey)
6. Chasin' Whiskey (Joe Fox, Tony Lane)
7. The Prophet (Granddaddy's Song) (Ashley McBryde, Matraca Berg, Lori McKenna)
8. Outside (Kelley Lovelace, Ashley Gorley, Dallas Davidson)
9. Prairie Primrose (Jenna Paulette, Will Bundy, Lydia Vaughan)
10. Darlin' (Jenna Paulette, Jess Cayne, Matthew Morrisey)
11. Horseback (Jenna Paulette, Will Bundy, Lydia Vaughan)
12. Hang Your Hat (Jenna Paulette, Smith Ahnquist, Jim Beavers, Rhett Akins)
13. A Hill To Die On (Jenna Paulette, Smith Ahnquist, Lynn Hutton)
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