God bless Cody Johnson.
Country music’s resident cowboy is back at it, releasing two new songs on Friday titled Work Boots and Watching My Old Flame, as well as announcing a November 3rd release date for his upcoming double album, Leather.
The two songs show off Cody‘s range perfectly. The first, Work Boots, is as classic as it comes. With an upbeat melody and a great swinging groove, it sees Johnson giving a tongue in cheek pep talk to his sh*t kickers. After a long day of work, both him and his boots want to sit down and relax, but there’s a girl that needs dancing with, and Johnson is up to the task. The song never takes itself too seriously, and it has a timeless, lighthearted feel to it.
That easy going tone is contrasted heavily by the second track, Watching My Old Flame. A far more somber tone winds through the song as it details the heartache of seeing a love slowly fade out. Johnson has no choice but to watch as the woman he used to love moves on and walks away, and he captures that bittersweet feeling all too well in the chorus:
“It’s the hardest thing, watching my old flame, go out.“
Cody couldn’t have chosen two more different songs to showcase ahead of the new album, and his ability to do both so well is truly impressive.
The pair of songs marks the second drop from Johnson ahead of the new album, following the release of The Painter in August. Johnson has alluded to the new record for a while, but hadn’t shared an official release date until now. Leather is confirmed to be a double album, marking his second extended length record in a row following 2021’s Human. The lead track from that album, Til You Can’t, gave Johnson his first number one at country radio, and is currently certified 2X platinum.
While we don’t have an official track list yet, we do have some idea of what to expect come November. We already have the three previously released tracks confirmed to be included. Cody also revealed in an interview in April that he recorded a duet with Carrie Underwood that will be appearing on the album. Those are two of the most powerful voices in country music, so we can’t wait to see what they come up with. Johnson also released a whopping eight songs off the album prior to the release of Human, so it it won’t be a surprise if we get another drop or two leading up to Leather.
Leather might be the most anticipated album release of the next few months, and we can’t wait. Check out the new songs here: