David Nail reminds Nashville why he was regarded as one of the best singers of the 2010s on his new song “She Knows.” It’s a pristine slice of country music balladry that proves the Missouri native hasn’t lost a step.
Nail provided country music with one of its most dynamic voices, scoring hits with slow-burning ballads like his 2009 breakthrough “Red Light” and 2011’s “Let It Rain,” along with the radio-ready singalong “Whatever She’s Got.” Now, he returns with his first full-length album in nearly a decade: Flowers arrives Aug. 21.
Nail previews the album with “She Knows,” premiering on Rolling Stone. On Tuesday night, he gave the live debut of the song on the Grand Ole Opry. Nail co-wrote the track with Anderson East, who produced Flowers and co-wrote nine of the album’s 10 songs. Lori McKenna, Trent Dabbs, and Melissa Fuller also appear as writers on select songs.
“I think what makes this album special is that I never intended to make one,” Nail tells Rolling Stone. “It started with a song, which then became three, then five, and eventually 12 to 14. These are 10 of those songs, written over the course of a year and a half. I never once went into a session thinking about anything other than writing the best song possible, something I’d be excited to play my wife when I got back home. It was unlike any process I’d used in the past, and Anderson’s studio is not only the most inspiring place I’ve ever had the privilege to be creative in, but his laid-back personality was the perfect contrast to my chaotic, anxious, always-in-a-rush philosophy that I’d been known for throughout my career.”
Nail is on tour this summer and will play a Nashville headlining show on Aug. 29 at the Basement East.
Flowers Track List
1. “Skyline” (David Nail, Lori McKenna, Anderson East)
2. “The Crown” (David Nail, Anderson East)
3. “Broken In” (David Nail, Trent Dabbs, Anderson East)
4. “Time Ran Out” (David Nail, Anderson East)
5. “Book of Us” (David Nail, Lori McKenna)
6. “I’ll Break Yours Too” (David Nail, Anderson East)
7. “Fare Thee Well” (David Nail, Anderson East, Trent Dabbs)
8. “She Knows” (David Nail, Anderson East)
9. “I Bought the Flowers” (David Nail, Anderson East, Melissa Fuller)
10. “Riverbank” featuring Lori McKenna (David Nail, Lori McKenna, Anderson East)
