A new album is coming soon from Dierks Bentley! The Grand Ole Opry member announces the release of Broken Branches on June 13, 11 songs that includes collaborations with John Anderson, Riley Green, Miranda Lambert and Stephen Wilson Jr.
“The country music community has a lot of broken branches in it. That’s why we’re all here,” Bentley says of the project. “We want to do something a little bit different, and I think everyone sees themselves like that – certainly in country. This is the people’s music and it represents that spirit of individuality so well – it’s just about doing it our own way.”
Bentley wrote four of the 11 tracks on Broken Branches, including his current Top 40 single, “She Hates Me.”
“I think that’s what’s special about country – we’re still making music in the studio with our buddies,” Bentley says. “We’re still getting together and talking about the songs and letting the musicians have a big say. It’s a good team – maybe a little messed up – but that’s the whole idea behind broken branches, so it just works.”
Bentley also posted a new update on social media about Broken Branches, revealing a new song will be available on Friday, April 18.
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“This album represents what country music is to me,” Bentley writes, “a group of people and songs that come together in a way that’s imperfect, individual, and sometimes even a little messed up. They’re all a bunch of broken branches on one tree! My next track ‘Well, Well Whiskey’ drops this Friday in honor of the announce. Cheers.”
In a separate post, Bentley shares the story behind the title track.
“‘Broken Branches’ is the title track off the album,” he explains. “My buddies John Anderson and Riley Green are on this track, and it’s about how all of us in country music in some way, shape or different form, are broken branches. We’re all black sheep of the family.”
When Bentley wrote “She Hates Me,” he had no idea that the song would ever be released, let alone become a hit single.
“’She Hates Me’ is just a really fun song I wrote with a few friends of mine back here in Nashville,” Bentley tells his record label. “I think it’s a song that everybody can relate to, guys and girls. We’ve all been in a relationship where you know no matter what you do that person just does not like you. And you can’t figure it out and you have these great plans for what your life might look like together but they never come to fruition because she just doesn’t like you.”
It was Bentley’s three children who pushed their dad to make “She Hates Me” a single. He ultimately released it on Valentine’s Day, a tongue-in-cheek response for those who might not have anything to celebrate on the romantic holiday.
“We were goofing around with this idea before diving into our next ‘serious’ song, really just trying to make each other laugh,” Bentley says. It just fell out, and I didn’t think much more about it after that,” he continues. “But then it really came to life in the studio, and then my kids were requesting it and then I was getting texts from friends who had heard it, so I started taking it more seriously! I love any opportunity to laugh at myself – especially my younger self, and ‘She Hates Me’ definitely provides that.”
See a track list for Broken Branches below. Find all of Bentley’s music and upcoming shows, and pre-order the album, at Dierks.com.
Broken Branches Track List:
1. Cold Beer Can
Written by Jon Randall, Luke Dick, Stephen Wilson Jr. and Dierks Bentley
2. Jesus Loves Me
Written by Adam James, Ben Stennis and Allison Veltz Cruz
3. She Hates Me
Written by Ashley Gorley, Chase McGill, Ross Copperman, Jimmy Allen, Wesley Scantlin and Dierks Bentley
4. Something Worth Fixing
Written by Stephen Wilson Jr., Luke Dick and Dierks Bentley
5. Standing In The Sun
Written by Kyle Sturrock
6. Well Well Whiskey
Written by Seth Ennis, Devin Dawson and Jordan Reynolds
7. Broken Branches
Written by Zach Abend, Beau Bailey and Graham Barham
8. Off The Map
Written by Jeremy Bussey, Lauren McLamb and Adam Wood
9. Near You (ft. Miranda Lambert)
Written by Scooter Carusoe, Ross Copperman and Ben Williams
10. For As Long As I Can Remember
Written by Devin Dawson, Connie Harrington
11. Don’t Cry For Me
Written by Jim Beavers and Dierks Bentley
Photo Credit: Robby Klein