| Backslider | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Elvie Shane |
| Cover: | Backslider (album).jpg |
| Genre: | Country |
| Length: | 53:14 |
| Label: | |
| Producer: | Oscar Charles |
| Next Title: | Damascus |
| Next Year: | 2024 |
Backslider is the debut studio album by American country music singer Elvie Shane. It was released through Wheelhouse on October 29, 2021, for digital download/streaming, and made available on CD on February 11, 2022.[1] It includes the singles "My Boy" and "County Roads".
Shane co-wrote all of the album's 15 tracks, with the exception of "Kickin' Stones", which is a spoken word interlude by The Fletch.[2] It was preceded by the release of the EP County Roads, which featured six of the album's tracks.[3] Tenille Townes is featured on "Nothin' Lasts Forever", and Shane's mother guests on the closing track, "Miles", which he wrote as a tribute to his father, inspired by his career as a truck driver.[4] Oscar Charles produced the album.[4]
The album title was inspired by a conversation Shane had with a preacher friend of his who referred to him as a "backslider". He favorably embraced the terminology as just being "human", saying: "Love found, love lost. Mistakes made in the recklessness of youth, lessons learned from mistakes made".[5] A country music record, Backslider draws additional inspiration from southern rock, R&B, and gospel genres.[4] Topically, the album is described as "[weaving] between blessings and contradictions" and displaying "a messy honesty" inspired in equal parts by Shane's rebellious upbringing and his Christian faith.[6] Shane informally defined Backslider as having three distinct chapters inspired by his life: "The Dazed and Confused Year" (inspired by his reckless youth), "The Mandy Years" (dedicated to his wife and turning his life around), and "The Nashville Years" (as a tribute to his appreciation for country music).[6] [4] The first song written for the record was "My Boy", which went viral on social media in 2018, and led to Shane eventually signing a record deal with BBR Music Group in 2019.[4] [7] It was released as Shane's debut single to country radio on September 21, 2020.[8] It became a number one hit on the Billboard Country Airplay chart on the week dated October 23, 2021,[9] and was certified Platinum by the RIAA.[10] "Country Roads" was released as the album's second single on February 7, 2022, and it debuted (and peaked) at number 60 on the Country Airplay chart.[11]
Rolling Stone Australia named Backslider number 23 on their list of the 25 Best Country and Americana Albums of 2021.[12] Lee Zimmerman of Holler gave the album a 7.5/10 ranking, calling it "a tenacious debut that paints a vivid picture of life in rural America and the blue-collar attitudes that define so many of those that reside within those realms".[13]