Kelsea Ballerini - Patterns (October 25, 2024) Album

1. "Patterns"
2. "Sorry Mom"
3. "Baggage"
4. "First Rodeo"
5. "Nothing Really Matters"
6. "How Much Do You Love Me"
7. "Two Things"
8. "We Broke Up"
9. "Wait!"
10. "Beg for Your Love"
11. "Deep"
12. "Cowboys Cry Too" (feat. Noah Kahan)
13. "I Would, Would You"
14. "This Time Last Year"
15. "Did You Make it Home?" (Outro)

Fifth full-length from pop-country star Kelsea Ballerini, and the follow-up to her acclaimed EP from last year, Rolling Up the Welcome Mat.

I know that a few people around these parts (@Matt Chylak, @Garrett) were just about as jazzed about Kelsea's EP last year as I was, so I figured a thread for her new album would be warranted. I've been spinning it all day and it feels like the perfect follow-up to that chapter of her life and her sound.

 

Damn this is GOOD

 

I am very excited to get to this after my marathon. Actually just listened to the EP three times through on my flight today.

 

This is pretty immediately one of my 2-3 favorite albums of the year, maybe my favorite. Her evolution and maturation as a songwriter has been really fun to watch over the past couple years. She subverted pretty much all the expectations I had for her and has made a few really interesting albums in the process.

it's odd to me that, given how many Taylor Swift fans are on this website, Kelsea has never gotten a ton of attention around here. From her country roots to her songwriting style, she seems like so much more of a spiritual successor to Taylor to me than any of the more obvious "heirs" in the pop world.

Anyway, lots of songs that rule on this thing, but "WAIT!" is my early favorite.

And good luck in your marathon @Garrett!

 

Is there a “Penthouse” on this I should get absolutely hyped for?

 

This album is definitely not as crushing as the EP. It definitely oscillates between being a "found love again" album and a "getting back out there is pretty tough, huh?" album. "Beg for Your Love" is probably the closest to something that would have been on the EP, though.

 

Fantastic album, no surprise

 

This is great so far! I’m going to her album release show on Tuesday, should be fun

 

Yeah this absolutely rules

 

Yeah big fan of this, although I do wish there were some Rolling up the Welcome Mat crushers on it

 

Haven’t spun it yet but haven’t loved any of the singles so far in isolation. Will give it a shot soon!

 

lol why wasn’t “Baggage” a single this is perfect

 

I like all the singles, particularly “Two Things.” But I am puzzled about why each of them was chosen, with the possible exception of the Noah Kahan one, because that guy is massive. The singles feel like album tracks and a few of the album tracks (“Baggage,” “WAIT!”) feel like such obvious singles.

 

Yeah this is the best Taylor Swift album since folklore. The way she sings “red” at the beginning of “WAIT!” is such a good wink.

Single choices were alllll wrong, holy cow! They fit into the overall narrative fine, but I literally liked almost every other song on the album. “Baggage” is earmarked for summer 2025. Didn’t know she could do a song like “I Would, Would You” — guitar is almost doing Bill Withers’ “Lean On Me”.

 

I think i’m really impressed with the musicianship here as well, there are a lot of really great bridges, outros, etc that caught me off guard in a good way. This is such a strong record

 

1/3 of the way in and this album is crushing it. What a treat this is.

 

Wasn't into this as much as I was hoping, but "Two Things" is great

 

The more I listen to this, the more crazy it becomes that "WAIT!", "Baggage" or "I Would, Would You" weren't singles

 

While I agree, somehow "Two Things" is the song that is constantly stuck in my head, it's super catchy

 

I think "WAIT!" remains my favorite, but man this entire record is so good. She rules.