The Mockingbird & the Crow

The Mockingbird & the Crow
The Mockingbird & the Crow
Studio album by Hardy
Released	January 20, 2023
Genre	Country; nu metal; post-grunge;
Length	61:14
Label	Big Loud; Big Loud Rock;
Producer	Joey Moi; Derek Wells; Hardy; David Garcia; Jordan Schmidt; Ben Johnson; Andrew Wade; Jeremy McKinnon; Cody Quistad;
Hardy chronology
Singles from The Mockingbird & the Crow
	"Wait in the Truck"; Released: August 29, 2022; "Jack"; Released: October 18, 2022; "The Mockingbird & the Crow"; Released: January 2023; "Truck Bed"; Released: May 15, 2023; "Sold Out"; Released: May 23, 2023;

The Mockingbird & the Crow (styled as the mockingbird & THE CROW) is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Hardy. It was released on January 20, 2023, through Big Loud Records. The album features a mix of country music and hard rock music. Hardy co-wrote all seventeen songs on the project and co-produced with Joey Moi and Derek Wells. "Wait in the Truck", a duet with Lainey Wilson, is the album's first single. While receiving mixed reviews from music critics, the album debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 with 55,000 album-equivalent units, making it Hardy's highest-charting album.^[1]

Content

Hardy first announced the release of the album on October 10, 2022. He told the blog Taste of Country that he intended to include influences of both country music and rock music on the project, and that he considered the songs on the project among the best he had written. Prior to the album's release in 2023, Hardy released the lead single "Wait in the Truck", a duet with Lainey Wilson. Also released prior to the project were "Sold Out", "Truck Bed", "Here Lies Country Music", and the title track.^[6] Other tracks on the project feature vocals from Morgan Wallen and Jeremy McKinnon. Dan Hyman of Spin noted influences of both country and hard rock in the album's sound.^[7]

The closing track is a ballad titled "The Redneck Song" which is a Halloween pirate metal sea shanty with redneck lifestyle-related lyrics and is a spoof on "The Pirate Song" by The Beatles. It also references a few elements from the theme park ride Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland, as well as the song "Dead Man's Chest" from Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.

Bobby Moore of the blog Wide Open Country noted themes of alcohol consumption and deconstruction of country music clichés in the first half of the album's tracks, particularly in "Red" and "I in Country". Moore also thought the title track showed influences of nu metal and marked the transitional point between country and rock sounds on the album.^[8] Hardy wrote every song on the album, in addition to co-producing with Joey Moi and Derek Wells. David Garcia, Jordan Schmidt, Ben Johnson, Andrew Wade, Jeremy McKinnon, and Cody Quistad also produced individual tracks.^[9]

Critical reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic rated the album two stars out of five, as he thought the more country music influenced tracks on the first half sounded more like Southern rock and Kid Rock than country music, while also noting "cliché" lyrics in several tracks and comparing the more rock-influenced tracks unfavorably to nu metal.^[10]

Track listing

*The Mockingbird & the Crow* track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Beer"	Michael Hardy Ashley Gorley Ben Johnson Hunter Phelps	3:12
2.	"Red" (featuring Morgan Wallen)	Hardy Rhett Akins Ben Hayslip Jacob Rice	3:26
3.	"Wait in the Truck" (featuring Lainey Wilson)	Hardy Renee Blair Phelps Jordan Schmidt	4:38
4.	"Drink One for Me"	Hardy David Garcia Phelps	3:32
5.	"I in Country"	Hardy Smith Ahnquist Nick Donley Jake Mitchell Phelps	3:49
6.	"Screen"	Hardy Jessie Jo Dillon Matt Dragstrem Phelps	3:48
7.	"Happy"	Hardy	3:57
8.	"Here Lies Country Music"	Hardy Cole Taylor Brett Tyler Will Weatherly	3:41
9.	"The Mockingbird & the Crow"	Hardy Schmidt Tyler	5:06
10.	"Sold Out"	Hardy Garcia Phelps	3:23
11.	"Jack"	Hardy Garcia Hillary Lindsey	2:49
12.	"Truck Bed"	Hardy Gorley Johnson Phelps	2:48
13.	".30-06"	Hardy Cameron Montgomery Phelps Rich	2:21
14.	"I Ain't in the Country No More"	Hardy Garcia Lindsey	4:15
15.	"Radio Song" (featuring Jeremy McKinnon)	Hardy Zach Abend Nick Donley McKinnon Cody Quistad	3:08
16.	"Kill Shit Till I Die"	Hardy Garcia Phelps	3:25
17.	"The Redneck Song"	Hardy Andy Albert Donley	3:56
Total length:			61:14

Notes

Tracks 1–8 stylized in all lowercase; track 9 stylized as "the mockingbird & THE CROW"; tracks 10–15 and 17 stylized in all caps; track 16 stylized as "KILL SH!T TILL I DIE".

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for *The Mockingbird & the Crow*
Chart (2023)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[11]	74
Australian Country Albums (ARIA)^[12]	6
Canadian Albums (Billboard)^[13]	6
US Billboard 200^[14]	4
US Independent Albums (Billboard)^[15]	1
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[16]	1
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)^[17]	1
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)^[18]	1

Year-end charts

2023 year-end chart performance for *The Mockingbird & the Crow*
Chart (2023)	Position
US Billboard 200^[19]	61
US Independent Albums (Billboard)^[20]	8
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[21]	14

2024 year-end chart performance for *The Mockingbird & the Crow*
Chart (2024)	Position
Australian Country Albums (ARIA)^[22]	52
US Billboard 200^[23]	116
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[24]	23

References

^ ^a ^b Wood, Mikael (February 16, 2023). "How country hitmaker Hardy became Nashville's nü-metal king". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 16, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
^ "Album Review – HARDY's "the mockingbird & THE CROW"". Savingcountrymusic. January 24, 2023.
^ "the mockingbird & THE CROW, Album by Hardy". Spotify. January 20, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
^ "Future Releases for Country Radio Stations". All Access. Archived from the original on August 29, 2022. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
^ "Rock Future Releases". All Access. Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
^ Carena Liptak (October 10, 2022). "Hardy announces second album The Mockingbird & the Crow, drops three new songs". Taste of Country. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
^ "Hardy's Country-Rock Rebellion". Spin. January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
^ Bobby Moore (January 23, 2023). "'The Mockingbird and The Crow': a Track-by-Track Guide to Hardy's Country-Metal Odyssey". Wide Open Country. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
^ "HARDY flies high with the mockingbird & THE CROW". Country Standard Time. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
^ "The Mockingbird & the Crow review". AllMusic. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 30 January 2023". The ARIA Report. No. 1717. Australian Recording Industry Association. January 30, 2023. p. 6.
^ "ARIA Top 40 Country Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
^ "Hardy Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
^ "Hardy Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
^ "Hardy Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
^ "Hardy Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
^ "Hardy Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
^ "Hardy Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2023". Billboard. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
^ "Independent Albums – Year-End 2023". Billboard. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2023". Billboard. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
^ "ARIA Top 100 Country Albums for 2024". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2024". Billboard. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2024". Billboard. Retrieved January 3, 2025.

[BB200-1] Wood, Mikael (February 16, 2023). "How country hitmaker Hardy became Nashville's nü-metal king". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 16, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.

[2] "Album Review – HARDY's "the mockingbird & THE CROW"". Savingcountrymusic. January 24, 2023.

[3] "the mockingbird & THE CROW, Album by Hardy". Spotify. January 20, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023.

[4] "Future Releases for Country Radio Stations". All Access. Archived from the original on August 29, 2022. Retrieved January 25, 2022.

[5] "Rock Future Releases". All Access. Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved January 25, 2022.

[6] Carena Liptak (October 10, 2022). "Hardy announces second album The Mockingbird & the Crow, drops three new songs". Taste of Country. Retrieved January 25, 2023.

[7] "Hardy's Country-Rock Rebellion". Spin. January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2023.

[8] Bobby Moore (January 23, 2023). "'The Mockingbird and The Crow': a Track-by-Track Guide to Hardy's Country-Metal Odyssey". Wide Open Country. Retrieved January 25, 2023.

[9] "HARDY flies high with the mockingbird & THE CROW". Country Standard Time. Retrieved January 25, 2023.

[10] "The Mockingbird & the Crow review". AllMusic. Retrieved March 8, 2023.

[11] "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 30 January 2023". The ARIA Report. No. 1717. Australian Recording Industry Association. January 30, 2023. p. 6.

[12] "ARIA Top 40 Country Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.

[ac_BillboardCanada_Hardy-13] "Hardy Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2023.

[ac_Billboard200_Hardy-14] "Hardy Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2023.

[ac_BillboardIndependent_Hardy-15] "Hardy Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2023.

[ac_BillboardCountry_Hardy-16] "Hardy Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2023.

[ac_BillboardHardRock_Hardy-17] "Hardy Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2023.

[ac_BillboardRock_Hardy-18] "Hardy Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2023.

[19] "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2023". Billboard. Retrieved November 22, 2023.

[20] "Independent Albums – Year-End 2023". Billboard. Retrieved November 27, 2023.

[21] "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2023". Billboard. Retrieved November 22, 2023.

[22] "ARIA Top 100 Country Albums for 2024". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 14, 2025.

[23] "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2024". Billboard. Retrieved January 1, 2025.

[24] "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2024". Billboard. Retrieved January 3, 2025.

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