On Friday, Oct. 25, country singer Kelsea Ballerini released her fifth studio album titled PATTERNS. The 15-track album is full of complex lyrics and clear vocals, capturing the country genre in a compelling and beautiful light while stepping into a new acoustic folk sound. 

Ballerini, a four-time Grammy nominee, grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee. She began writing songs as a small child, and took off after the release of her first single “Love Me Like You Mean It,” at the age of 21. Country Music Television named her one of their Next Women of Country shortly afterward in 2014. 

Ballerini, now 31, has spent the last two years perfecting PATTERNS. She sang, played guitar, and wrote all the songs on the album, showcasing her varied talents. Ballerini announced the album Aug. 8, 2024 on her Instagram account. She released four songs from the album as singles from June to September 2024, “Cowboys Cry Too,” “First Rodeo,” “Sorry Mom,” and” Two Things.” The announcement and the pre-release singles stirred excitement amongst her fans for Patterns.

PATTERNS begins with the title track, a song with a cozy and nostalgic feel and elements of folk and country genres. With the lyrics “Like the rhythm in my head/ like the blanket on my bed/ always hangin’ by a thread/ I got patterns,” Ballerini opens the album in a soft and clear voice. The opening track is one of the most beautiful and memorable songs on the album.

The third track, titled “Baggage,” has an upbeat tune that captures the listener’s attention with snappy lyrics and an uplifting beat. The love song recaptures her signature elevating country style and is the first track on the album to do so. The lyrics go over life as a constantly-traveling celebrity and some lyrics allude to Ballerini’s short-lived marriage. While catchy, the song is repetitive and doesn’t meet the high standards Ballerini set for the album in the first two tracks.

The 10th track, “Beg For Your Love,” is a raw, acoustic melody that captures the pain of a one-sided relationship and having to put up boundaries. “I’d follow you to the moon but / it’s getting harder to do / if you want to chase, I won’t run / I ain’t gonna beg for your love,” Ballerini sings in the chorus. The song is short, bittersweet, and leaves listeners with a lasting impression. With only a simple acoustic guitar background and no backing vocals, she lets listeners into her mind and heart with the track.

One of the album’s standouts is the 12th track, “Cowboys Cry Too feat. Noah Kahan” which is also the only song on PATTERNS featuring another artist. On June 28th 2024, Ballerini released the song as a single and received high praise from fans of both artists. The lyrics look at stereotypes of masculinity within the country genre. “He hides his heart and hurt ’cause he kinda had to / In a world that says ‘Saddle up and be a man,’” Ballerini vocalizes with trademark country instrumentals in the background. 

In Kahan’s first verse, he sings “I grew up wishing I could close off the way my dad did / because that man never felt a damn thing he didn’t want to feel,” further expanding on the same topic of masculine vulnerability. 

PATTERNS by Kelsea Ballerini is a refreshing and beautiful album. It is similar in some areas to her previous releases, but embraces more of a folk genre that Ballerini previously avoided. Although some tracks blend together and become repetitive, others jump out and grab the listener’s attention immediately. The combination of her recognizable sound from older albums and her new styles in PATTERNS earns the album four out of five feathers, worth the listen and consideration of purchasing tickets for her upcoming tour.