The Devil I Know

The Devil I Know is the fourth studio album by American country music singer-songwriter Ashley McBryde, and released on September 8, 2023, by Warner Music Nashville. It was preceded by the lead single "Light On in the Kitchen". It follows her 2022 concept album Lindeville and re-teams her with producer Jay Joyce, whom she worked with on her first two albums Girl Going Nowhere and Never Will, and features eleven tracks, all of which were co-written by McBryde.

Background
The Devil I Know had already been completed when McBryde began writing and recording Lindeville with John Osborne and a series of collaborators, and she submitted both albums to her label simultaneously, stating that they were aware she had been working on something in addition to her "proper" third record but did not know what. McBryde was able to convince the label to release Lindeville first, and explained that "Blackout Betty" a song written with Nicolette Hayford and Aaron Raitiere for The Devil I Know had helped to inspire the idea for the project that would eventually become Lindeville. McBryde described the process of recording both albums over a three-month period between late 2021 and early 2022 as "going over to a friend's house for a sleepover and then deciding to stay an extra day" and noted the intentional contrast between Lindeville, a project featuring songs about fictional characters inhabiting the titular town, and The Devil I Know, which veered more towards introspection and reflection of McBryde's real life experiences on the road. She and producer Jay Joyce recorded the majority of the album live with McBryde's touring band Deadhorse.

McBryde released the album's lead single, "Light On in the Kitchen", on February 24, 2023. It was written with Connie Harrington, a significant contributor to Lindeville, and Jessi Alexander about the importance of female figures in their lives and received a positive response from critics.

The album was officially announced on June 2, 2023. Discussing the concept of the album, McBryde stated that it was created as a pushback to some of her critics, noting "'Y'all are too country.' We leaned into that – more country it is. Y'all are awfully rock leaning for a country artist.' Is that so? You ain't seen nothin' yet. 'Last thing y'all need is another tender, finger pickin' song.' Oh? Tender makes you uneasy, cowboy? I hear you. Let's see how much more tender we can be. We listened to all those opinions and said, 'I hear you. I understand what you're saying.' But sadly, there's no room on the record for your opinion. We'll do what we want."

Critical reception
Veteran critic Robert Christgau gave the album an "A" in his "Consumer Guide" on Substack, applauding the subject matter and the "impressive clarity and deliberation" with which McBryde sings.

Personnel
Musicians
 * Ashley McBryde – lead vocals (all tracks), acoustic guitar (tracks 2, 6, 8, 9, 11), background vocals (3, 5, 8), electric guitar (5, 10)
 * Quinn Hill – drums (all tracks), percussion (8, 11)
 * Jay Joyce – keyboards (all tracks), electric guitar (1, 2, 4–7, 10), acoustic guitar (1, 4, 6, 8), claps (1), programming (1–3, 6, 8), percussion (1, 10), bass guitar (4)
 * Chris Harris – background vocals (1, 2, 4–11), acoustic guitar (1, 4–7, 9, 10), mandolin (2, 3, 9), bouzouki (2, 8, 11)
 * Chris Sancho – bass guitar (1–3, 5–11)
 * Matt Helmkamp – electric guitar (1, 3, 4–7, 9–11), 12-string guitar (2), acoustic guitar (6, 8)
 * Jason Hall – claps (1)
 * Mickey Raphael – harmonica (8)

Technical

 * Jay Joyce – production, mixing
 * Andrew Mendelson – mastering
 * Jason Hall – mixing, recording
 * Court Blankenship – production assistance
 * Jimmy Mansfield – engineering assistance
 * Josh Groppel – engineering assistance