Growing up in a village with a population of 300, country singer/songwriter Lainey Wilson has been surrounded by the art of storytelling her entire life. ‘It’s impossible to escape the sounds of country music when you grow up in a village like Baskin,’ she explains. ‘In a community so small, there’s not a whole lot to do, so we’d find ourselves sitting around a kitchen table telling the same stories that just got better every time you heard them.’ It’s these early experiences that inspired the fiery anthem, Small Town, Girl, from her new album Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’. The track puts small town life under a magnifying glass, with lyrics such as ‘like the roots running through southern ground, word gets out when you get around’ suggesting there’s no such thing as a secret in Baskin. Lainey released Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’ earlier this year and it’s an album that’s really solidified her as a modern-day country artist. It’s a collection of work that’s unapologetically honest through ballsy vocals layered with a contemporary country arrangement, and a southern twang that’s sassy yet warm-hearted. Lainey describes this sound as ‘bell-bottom country’- country with a flare. Throughout the 12 songs on the album we’re taken on a journey from the heartache that comes with Keeping Bars In Business to the wild wonderment of a Neon Diamonds kind of night. We’re reminded of all our worst hangovers in Sunday Best and we learn to live like Dolly Parton in WWDD. Written from a bank of personal experiences and emotion, there’s not one song on this album that doesn’t feel truly authentic. ‘If I don’t believe what I’m saying and singing, why should I expect anybody else to believe it?’ Lainey says. ‘My goal for this record is for people to hear it and feel like they’re not alone, whether that means the listener is wanting to have a dang good time or let the walls come down.’