Work of Heart Flatland Cavalry

• 1 Gone 03:34
• 2 On and On 03:45
• 3 Bird's Eye View 04:09
• 4 Never Comin' Back 03:58
• 5 Unglued 03:54
• 6 Life, Love, and Happiness (Entertainer’s Lament) 01:58
• 7 Flicker 02:52
• 8 Work of Heart 03:30
• 9 Long Goodnight 03:51
• 10 Nightshine 03:10
• 11 Real Slow 03:23
• 12 All or Nothing 03:27
• Total Runtime 41:31

Info for Work of Heart

Critically acclaimed country-roots six-piece Flatland Cavalry releases their fifth full-length studio album, "Work of Heart". A contemplative, panoramic bloomer, the album finds Flatland broadening their sonic horizons while keeping a clear, firm grasp on their foundational and endearing sound – Easy on the ears, Heavy on the heart.

The Texas-bred outfit returned to Matchbox Studios in Austin, Texas, last year with producer Dwight A. Baker (Brandi Carlile, Josh Abbott Band) and emerged with a collection of stargazing slow dances, small-town heartbreakers, and long solo walks that illuminate the most treasured corners of the human experience. Work of Heart highlights a renewed sense of purpose for the band and offers gratifying resolution and contentment across 12 West Texas Vignettes.

“This album is a collection of songs of life, love, and loss [that were] collected over a season of living, learning, and growing,” says Flatland frontman and lyricist Cleto Cordero. “My approach has been the same the whole time in the sense of showing up to write a song with all my heart, my mind, and soul.”

Life’s fingerprints–the good, the bad, the bold, and the fragile–are all over Work of Heart: an embrace of the present, a remembrance of the past, and an appreciation of what lies in the great wide open of the future.

“I think music can do that to us. It can force us to be in the present,” he continues. “Our minds, maybe they’re wandering elsewhere, picking up memories and thoughts and bringing them to the forefront with our bodies in the present.”

Flatland gave fans a preview of the album with October’s “Gone,” and their just-released debut single to country radio, “Never Comin’ Back,” which was the second most-added single of the week upon impact and debuted on the Billboard Country Airplay chart at No. 57. In addition to these two singles, Flatland has also released “On and On.” Written by Cordero with Ray Fulcher and Cole Taylor, “On and On” is a vintage and shameless love ode that highlights plucking banjo, robust fiddle fills, and tugs at the heart.

Flatland Cavalry

Flatland Cavalry
is breaking out into a gallop. After years of hot trotting across their native Texas, the country outfit is primed for a breakout with the release of their third full-length album, the sonically sprawling and wistfully written Welcome to Countryland.

The Texas sextet–bandleader and chief lyricist Cleto Cordero, guitarist Reid Dillon, bassist Jonathan Saenz, drummer Jason Albers, fiddle player Wesley Hall, and recent newcomer utility instrumentalist Adam Gallegos–continue to embrace their trademark sound while further pushing into the wild unknown. When it was time to embark on recording a new album, resting on their laurels was simply out of the realm of possibilities.

After the release of 2019’s critically-acclaimed Homeland Insecurity and their 2016 full-length debut Humble Folks, they’ve been on a healthy trajectory rising through the country ranks. After years of working with Lubbock stalwart Scott Faris in the friendly confines of Amusement Park Studios, Flatland decided a change of scenery was necessary. Despite some hesitation and a mix of emotions, they instantly knew recording at Nashville’s Sound Emporium Studio A with rising producer Jake Gear was the right move.

“With our last two projects, we knew that room and setup. There’s comfort in working with Scott,” says Albers. “I think it was important to try and further expand with this album. Sonically, this album is definitely something bigger.”

“I think everyone kind of experienced this bit of nervousness going from Scott’s studio to Sound Emporium,” adds Dillon. “That first day, everyone was a little fidgety and shy. You eventually fall into this comfort zone.

While the roster of collaborative confidants and colleagues (Spencer Cullum, Jim Hoke, Billy Justineau, Hailey Whitters, and Kaitlin Butts) has continued to expand with Flatland’s sound stride for stride, Countryland isn’t a cut and paste effort with Nashville studio musicians. Rather, it finds the rootsy Texans delivering their A-game due to countless tour runs zig-zagging across the country and becoming seasoned performers and musicians.

Since their humble beginnings out in the Panhandle town of Lubbock, Texas, Flatland Cavalry has embraced their surroundings and rural West Texas roots. Formed in 2014 while attending Texas Tech University, Cordero and company made their presence felt within the Hub City’s songwriting circles and dancehall circuits. Banking on Cordero’s earnest pen and the band’s blend of country instrumentation, toe-tapping grooves, and earworm choruses, Flatland quickly became a regional sensation.

This album contains no booklet.