Lady A‘s stunning seven-track What A Song Can Do (Chapter One) EP is out! All of the songs on the new set of tunes were written by at least one of the Lady A members, which they say is their most honest, and vulnerable, collection of songs that they have ever released.

“I think it’s a continuation of what we really tried to step into on the last record, of just going back to what feels the most authentic to us, the songs that we really gravitated towards, and would say are the most pillars of who we are as a band from the very beginning” Hillary Scott shared with Everything Nash and other outlets, during a virtual media event.

“And that this album is a very present continuation of that with us working on music,” she continues. “That was our way of coping with the world stopping and everything we were going through as a band, and just wanting to be really honest and stay true to what we do with harmonies, and with what the content of these songs are about.”

For What a Song Can Do (Chapter One), Scott, along with Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood, tried to get back to the reason they got into music in the first place, without regard to hit singles, album sales or awards.

“I think the biggest thing is that the intention is just putting the art at the forefront,” Kelley reflects. “Enjoying the process and focusing on the process and not necessarily the outcome. And I think the minute you let go of the outcome … The truest to that point is when we put out ‘What If I Never Get Over You,’ getting back to that sound. It feels like that’s what the fans [want]. They can tell when you’re authentic, and you’re most authentic sound, and you’re putting out the art that is really true to you.

“I think that’s especially what we’ve done on this project.,” he adds. “This is some of the most vulnerable music we’ve ever put out, songs like ‘Talk of this Town,’ ‘Fire’ and ‘Worship What I Hate.'”

“Worship What I Hate” is one of the most transparent songs Lady A has ever released. Scott and Haywood wrote the song with Natalie Hemby and Amy Wadge, choosing to be completely truthful about some of their own personal struggles.

“For me, this song is redemptive, though, in the fact that you’ve noticed and now you can change,” Scott shares. “That’s I think the biggest piece that I want people to hear when they hear this song, because when we wrote it and when I listen to it, I can go down into a deep, dark, shame spiral of all of the things that I could be doing better,
whatever else that comes up when I hear it. But ultimately, when you become cognizant of it, you can change it.

“And I think that my hope is that anyone who hears it,” she adds, “who feels a little bit like I do, a little bit like icky like, ‘Oh, man, that’s really what I’m struggling with. But what can I do to change it?’ and to focus more on who we can become instead of letting all of our energy go to … the things that don’t serve us.”

Lady A might have just released What A Song Can Do (Chapter One), but the trio promises that there will be a Chapter Two as well.

“In years past we feel like we’ve put so many songs on a full-length album, which this one will be considered a full-length album when the second chapter is released later in the fall. But you miss a lot; everybody’s going to listen and find their favorite songs. But to me, this gives you a way to really highlight and spotlight all seven for what they are and what they say, and what they bring to this project. And I think that hopefully people will sink their teeth into them a little bit more, and to each individual song.”

Purchase What A Song Can Do (Chapter One) at LadyAMusic.com.