While co-hosting Backstage Country with Elaina Smith, Ashley Cooke opened up about her newly released self-titled album, reflecting on the emotional experiences that shaped the 15-track project. Released Friday, August 14, the album captures Cooke in what she describes as one of her most honest songwriting periods yet.
Ashley Cooke Says the Album Became a “Time Capsule”
Cooke explained that much of the album was written while she was still in the middle of the experiences that ultimately inspired the songs.
“I feel like when I wrote a lot of this project, I wrote it dead in the messy middle of a lot of the stuff that I was going through with relationships and whatnot. And so I feel like I'm very healed and moved on from the whole situation now,” she shared adding that she had been eager for the album to finally be released so she could close that chapter.
The singer-songwriter described music as a kind of time capsule, allowing her to revisit the emotions she experienced without necessarily still being trapped in them. “It feels like I can look back at this project and say, ‘Oh, wow. I remember when I felt that hurt, that pain, that happiness, that excitement.’ All of the things that this project has in it and just be like, yeah, you know, that was a cool little time capsule.”
Looking back, she can hear the hurt, happiness, excitement and pain that went into the project and recognize them as snapshots of a different point in her life.
“Now onto the next,” Cooke said of her mindset.
Cooke Feels Emotionally Distant with “Johnny and June”
One of the clearest examples of Cooke’s emotional distance from the songs is “Johnny and June.”
The track was inspired by the early stages of a relationship and contains personal details that Cooke now views from a very different perspective. While she still loves the song, she admitted that listening to it today can feel almost surreal.
The song captures a yearning version of Cooke who was deeply invested in the relationship at the time.
Now, she said, she no longer speaks to the person who inspired it and does not intend to rekindle that connection. That created a disconnect as she prepared to release a song publicly in which she essentially sounds like she still misses him.
As Smith jokingly pointed out, Cooke is almost “getting the ick” from her former self. Cooke agreed—but ultimately, she can appreciate the situation for what it gave her creatively.
“At least he gave you a great song,” Smith joked.
“A lot of great songs,” Cooke replied.
A Self-Titled Album That Feels Like a Journal
Cooke described all 15 songs as essentially journal entries that evolved into songs. “All 15 of these songs, starting with, ‘if I'm being honest,’ all the way through ‘the girl who cried wolf,’ every single song was like a genuine journal entry that just became a song.”
For Ashley Cooke, the album isn't simply about creating music that could perform well on country radio. While she certainly hopes the songs connect commercially, their personal significance matters more. “And that was important to me for a self-title record because it wasn't just songs I think will do well on the radio. It was songs that I hope do well on the radio, but that if they don't, I don't care because they mean something to me.”
