the mockingbird & THE CROW

The Mockingbird & the Crow (stylized as the mockingbird & THE CROW) is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Hardy. The album features a mix of country music and rock music. Hardy co-wrote all seventeen songs on the project and co-produced with Joey Moi and Derek Wells. "Wait in the Truck", a duet with Lainey Wilson, is the album's first single. Content Hardy first announced the release of the album on October 10, 2022. He told the blog Taste of Country that he intended to include influences of both country music and rock music on the project, and that he considered the songs on the project among the best he had written. Prior to the album's release in 2023, Hardy released the lead single "Wait in the Truck", a duet with Lainey Wilson. Also released prior to the project were "Sold Out", "Truck Bed", "Here Lies Country Music", and the title track. Other tracks on the project feature vocals from Morgan Wallen and Jeremy McKinnon. Dan Hyman of Spin noted influences of both country and hard rock in the album's sound. Bobby Moore of the blog Wide Open Country noted themes of alcohol consumption and deconstruction of country music clichés in the first half of the album's tracks, particularly in "Red" and "I in Country". Moore also thought the title track showed influences of nu metal and marked the transitional point between country and rock sounds on the album. Hardy wrote every song on the album, in addition to co-producing with Joey Moi and Derek Wells. David Garcia, Jordan Schmidt, Ben Johnson, Andrew Wade, Jeremy McKinnon, and Cody Quistad also produced individual tracks.