After a wave of change, Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott have watched the tides rise and fall, and are embracing the power of vulnerability with the release of Lady A’s new album Ocean. It marks a new beginning that brings the multi-Platinum trio back to their roots, showcasing their familiar vocal interplay and individual instruments on the emotionally resonant 13-track project. Lady A chronicles personal relationships and everyday responsibilities with a balance of growth and maturity that could only come from 13 years of creating together.

“There’s this theme of returning to the core of who we are – as writers, vocalists and people – that came out in each of these songs,” Haywood explains. “Our time in the studio with Dann had an excitement that felt like we were making our first album all over again.” Produced by first-time collaborator Dann Huff, Ocean is full of depth and despair. Moments like “Be Patient with My Love,” which Kelley co-wrote as a beautiful ode to commitment, balance raw feelings with squealing guitars. With its title-track, Scott’s bare vocal puts a bow on the album’s core reminding us of life’s beauty even when we get caught in its undertow. “It’s such a cinematic and theatrical melody with a message that became the cornerstone of this record for us,” adds Scott. “Ocean is all of the things that we think and feel when we hear the word. This album is immersed in life stories about barely keeping your head above water all the way to those times that make you feel like everything is smooth sailing.”

The album allows Lady A to let loose too. “You Can Do You” is a swaying live-and-let-live anthem inspired by the hustle of Nashville’s crowded streets, while “Boots” combines heartland-rock crunch with Celtic fiddles. On the swirling “The Thing That Wrecks You,” the trio gets an assist from fellow Country music superstars Little Big Town, who supply background vocals; its dreamy coda features the two groups’ vocals intermingling, weaving in and out of one another and occasionally hovering over the gauzy guitars.