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Cody Jinks will release two new albums on November 12: Mercy, a solo country record, and None The Wiser, a metal record created with his band Caned By Nod. Both albums will be released via his own independent label, Late August Records. Ahead of the releases, Jinks is debuting a new track from each album today: “All It Cost Me Was Everything” from Mercy and “Middle Finger” from None The Wiser. Both produced and engineered by Edward Spear (Blackberry Smoke, Devon Gilfillian, Rival Sons) and recorded simultaneously at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas, the two records represent Jinks’ uniqueness as an artist, demonstrating his rare ability to successfully create across genres. Although varying sonically and thematically, Mercy and None The Wiser are tied together through Jinks’ signature songwriting, which takes yet another step forward with even more perception and grit displayed on both albums.
With Mercy, Jinks continues to put forth his eclectic country sound, incorporating traditional elements with soul, rock and blues. Written entirely during quarantine, Jinks used his time at home to further develop his already accomplished songwriting skills. Working with both longtime friends and heroes, Mercy features collaborations with artists such as Chris Shiflett, Kendell Marvel, Adam Hood, TN Jet, Josh Morningstar, Greg C. Jones and Ward Davis, as well as Jinks’ wife, Rebecca. Meanwhile, None The Wiser takes its cues from arena-caliber classic rock, thrash metal and psychedelic-tinged grunge and marks a full circle moment for Jinks, who performed in a metal band two decades ago before making the shift to country music. The ten tracks on None The Wiser, all of which he wrote with his past bandmate Ben Heffley, are a mix of old and new, some written as recently as this year, while others date back to the early 2000s.
Reflecting on the two projects, Jinks shares, “It was very different recording them at the same time. Literally, it was being in one studio and walking next door and going from this beautiful country song that we’re doing to just this really angry metal song, flipping a switch,” and continues, “The actual art of writing was the only thing I really had to focus on to keep myself sane…the song comes first. If I’m not writing a great song, then I’m dead in the water. I really, really focused on being a better wordsmith.”
In addition to Jinks (vocals), Mercy features his longtime band—Joshua Thompson (bass, background vocals), Chris Claridy (lead guitar, acoustic guitar), Austin Tripp (steel guitar, dobro), David Colvin (drums, percussion) and Drew Harakal (keys, acoustic guitar, background vocals)—while Caned By Nod is Jinks (vocals, guitar), Jacob Lentner (guitars), Aksel Coe (drums) and Calvin Knowles (bass).
Since the release of his 2015 breakthrough record, Adobe Sessions, which features his Platinum-certified and fan-favorite song, “Loud and Heavy,” Jinks has gone on to release four more studio albums: 2016’s I’m Not the Devil, 2018’s Lifersand a pair of self-released 2019 albums, The Wanting and After the Fire, which reached #2 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. Moreover, Jinks has sold over 1.5 million equivalent units throughout his career, garnered over 2 billion streams across platforms and has 2.18 million monthly Spotify listeners.
MERCY TRACK LIST
1. All It Cost Me Was Everything
2. Hurt You
3. Mercy
4. Feeding the Flames
5. I Don’t Trust My Memories Anymore
6. Like a Hurricane
7. How It Works
8. Nobody Knows How to Read
9. Shoulders
10. Dying Isn’t Cheap
11. Roll
12. When Whiskey Calls the Shots
NONE THE WISER TRACK LIST
1. Middle Finger
2. Dying Trying
3. None the Wiser
4. Seeing Ghosts
5. Covet
6. Led Astray
7. Half a Life
8. Can’t Hide the Truth
9. Broken Wings
10. Eyes
