Old Dominion Defy the Elements on “Never Be Sorry,” Reveal Fourth Album

It was one of those songs that was kicking around for some time since Old Dominion simply didn’t know what to do with it. “It took us quite a while to wrangle that one into submission, because we weren’t quite sure about it,” says singer Matthew Ramsey of the band’s latest single “Never Be Sorry.”

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Off the band’s latest self-titled third album, the more country-pop fused “Never Be Sorry” is a more uptempo breakup song, despite its overriding elements of heartache with Ramsey singing Sometimes forever gets away from you / No matter how hard you grab… Just ‘cause we couldn’t get the stars to line up / Don’t mean we left empty-handed… sorry the second verse, just wasn’t as sweet as the first.

While “Never Be Sorry” is ultimately about breakup, it’s still a positive song, says Ramsey. “It’s looking on the positive side of it and just being thankful that person was in your life and you can’t apologize for who you love,” he says. “It’s also a danceable song, and I think right now people are looking for that feel and that vibe and energy.”

Ramsey adds, “People hear lots of different things, and this song is so different. It’s definitely not the traditional country sound for sure, but it suits the song.”

Since their 2015 debut Meat and Candy, Old Dominion continue to sweep up accolades—most recently picking up “Top Country Duo/Group” and “Top Country Song” for the Billboard Music Awards, as well as the 2020 CMT Music Awards’ “Video of the Year” and “Group Video of The Year.” The band recently earned awards for “Song of The Year” for “One Man Band,” and currently reign as the ACM and CMA “Group of the Year.”

Currently putting the final mixes on their fourth album, Old Dominion—Ramsey, along with guitarist Brad Tursi, multi-instrumentalist Trevor Rosen, bassist Geoff Sprung and drummer Whit Sellers—recently reconvened in Asheville, NC after months apart during the pandemic, along with Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne at the end September through October. Writing and recording daily, Old Dominion ended up finishing an entire album in three weeks. 

Written predominantly by Tursi, the new songs still took some rounds around the writer’s table. Ramsey says regrouping in Asheville was just the recipe the band needed to make new music, and even filmed a socially distanced video for “Never Be Sorry.”

“We went out there with this goal of maybe we would get a couple of songs together, but we just wanted to see what happens, but once we all got together, it was like the dam broke,” says Ramsey. “It was an amazing experience to just dive into that process again.”

Adjusting to life living predominantly in lockdown has also been a big adjustment that Ramsey says the band is carefully working around after halting their tour around Old Dominion earlier this year.

“It’s definitely something that’s major is definitely going to affect you as a musician and just as a person and our relationships with each other,” says Ramsey. “We spent six, seven years every day together and then suddenly we’re off the road and apart, so it’s been a nice break, but we do miss each other. We miss just being in music every day, so I think when we come back, we will have a greater appreciation of our lives.”

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