While on 2022’s ‘Subject To Change’ it felt like Kelsea Ballerini was pulling her punches, the following year’s ‘Rolling Up The Welcome Mat’ EP found the country-popper hit the reset button with a right hook. Stepping off the genre’s customary carousel of songwriters by choosing to write and produce solely with Alysa Vanderheym, Ballerini channelled a divorce-sized stack of feelings into six stripped-back numbers.
But, like Kacey Musgraves following ‘Golden Hour’ up with ‘Star-Crossed’, Ballerini has found too much comfort in her new sound. ‘Patterns’ is, on paper, the perfect country album — it’s got twangy, stadium-conquering country-pop (Baggage and I Would, Would You), back-porch Americana (Beg For Your Love), and stuff that sounds like Taylor Swift’s offcuts (This Time Last Year, How Much Do You Love Me).
TLDR; ‘Patterns’ plays it safe. It feels like an extended episode of a TV show rather than a cinematic experience.
The titular opener’s hazy guitars subtly rise with the sun, as if a continuation of Leave Me Again. Ballerini begins questioning the choices that have led her life to this point, with honey-soaked harmonies pondering: “Will I outgrow all these patterns?”
The lo-fi firefly country pop of Sorry Mom carries the torch for Ballerini’s new-found confidence in writing what she feels, but it’s the Noah Kahan-featuring, toxic masculinity-tackling Cowboys Cry Too that rises to the top. It also suggests that Kahan should swap indie-folk for country, but even then it’s hard to shake the sense that you’re listening to something Swift’s got in her vault.
Elsewhere, the radio-ready country popper Wait!’s exploration of juxtaposing emotions exudes confidence, and Nothing Really Matters does its best to marry her past and present styles. Just like Ballerini wasn’t ‘Subject To Change’, ‘Patterns’ is a fitting album title. If you’ve found a winning formula that allows you to write 15 ready made country radio hits, why play it anything but safe?
Kelsea Ballerini Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Tue January 21 2025 - GRAND RAPIDS Michigan - Van Andel Arena (USA)
Thu January 23 2025 - CHICAGO Illinois - United Center (USA)
Fri January 24 2025 - MINNEAPOLIS Minnesota - Target Center (USA)
Sat January 25 2025 - MILWAUKEE Wisconsin - Fiserv Forum (USA)
Wed January 29 2025 - DULUTH Georgia - Gas South Arena (formerly Infinite Energy Arena) (USA)
Fri January 31 2025 - NASHVILLE Tennessee - Bridgestone Arena (USA)
Sat February 01 2025 - COLUMBUS Ohio - Value City Arena - Schottenstein Center (USA)
Tue February 04 2025 - DETROIT Michigan - Little Caesars Arena (USA)
Thu February 06 2025 - BUFFALO New York - Keybank Center (USA)
Fri February 07 2025 - PITTSBURGH Pennsylvania - PPG Paints Arena (USA)
Sat February 08 2025 - TORONTO Ontario - Scotiabank Arena (Canada)
Mon February 10 2025 - PHILADELPHIA Pennsylvania - Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia (USA)
Thu February 13 2025 - BOSTON Massachusetts - TD Garden (USA)
Fri February 14 2025 - UNCASVILLE Connecticut - Mohegan Sun Arena at Mohegan Sun Casino & Resort - Complex (USA)
Sat February 15 2025 - WASHINGTON District Of Columbia - Capital One Arena (USA)
Tue February 18 2025 - NEWARK New Jersey - Prudential Center (USA)
Thu February 20 2025 - CHARLOTTE North Carolina - Spectrum Center (USA)
Sat February 22 2025 - TAMPA Florida - Amalie Arena (USA)
Sun February 23 2025 - DAVIE Florida - Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood - Complex (USA)
Wed February 26 2025 - FORT WORTH Texas - Dickies Arena - Complex (USA)
Thu March 13 2025 - SEATTLE Washington - Climate Pledge Arena (USA)
Fri March 14 2025 - SPOKANE Washington - Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena (USA)
Sat March 15 2025 - PORTLAND Oregon - Moda Center - Complex (USA)
Tue March 18 2025 - SACRAMENTO California - Golden 1 Center (USA)
Fri March 21 2025 - LOS ANGELES California - Crypto.com Arena (USA)
Sat March 22 2025 - SAN DIEGO California - Pechanga Arena (USA)
Tue March 25 2025 - PHOENIX Arizona - Footprint Center (USA)
Fri March 28 2025 - LAS VEGAS Nevada - T-Mobile Arena (USA)
Sat March 29 2025 - SALT LAKE CITY Utah - Delta Center (USA)
Sun March 30 2025 - DENVER Colorado - Ball Arena (USA)
Tue April 01 2025 - KANSAS CITY Missouri - T-Mobile Center (USA)
Thu April 03 2025 - OMAHA Nebraska - CHI Health Center (USA)
Fri April 04 2025 - ST LOUIS Missouri - Enterprise Center (USA)
Sat April 05 2025 - TULSA Oklahoma - BOK Center (USA)
Tue April 08 2025 - GREENVILLE South Carolina - Bon Secours Wellness Arena (USA)
Wed April 09 2025 - NORTH CHARLESTON South Carolina - Coliseum at North Charleston Coliseum & Performing Arts Center - Complex (USA)
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