Parmalee Talks Cowgirls, Hitting Their Stride and Leaning Into 90s Pop-Rock Influence (Exclusive)

Parmalee hasn’t had a new studio album since 2021. And now that Fell In Love With a Cowgirl is available, the country group is ready to have a bucking good time.

“It’s exciting to get the music out and see what people think and then what songs they gravitate towards,” said singer Matt Thomas. “That gives you a little direction to keep in mind when you’re working towards what’s next.”

Comprised of brothers Matt Thomas (guitar/lead vocals) and Scott Thomas (drums), along with their cousin Barry Knox (bass) and life-long friend Josh McSwain (guitar), Parmalee approached this two-part project ready to take risks.

The band lassoed seven songs for Fell In Love with a Cowgirl that span the traditional-leaning to ultra-contemporary diversity of Parmalee’s eclectic country career. The songs share production elements that cohesively lace the tracks together.

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Parmalee’s Fell In Love With a Cowgirl is Out Now

“This project is getting back to the organic side of it,” McSwain said. “It’s more acoustic instruments, and there’s still slick production, but no made-up sounds. It’s real instruments.”

The band wrote “Cowgirl,” the album’s debut single, with James Daniel Lewis, David Fanning, Peter Daniel Newman, Robbie Jay, Thomas Frank, and Ridley Horsley. The light-hearted, rhythm-driven bop combines country lyrics about captivating cowgirls in Chevy trucks with a progressive country pop track. “Cowgirl” roped in 93 adds its first week at country radio –enough to give Parmalee the most significant impact date of their career.

“Cowgirls are definitely part of the culture now,” Matt Thomas said. “Every time you watch these shows, you’re like, ‘Man, these girls are badass. I’m in!’ It’s just so much fun. The song just caught us. It was like, ‘Man, we got to do this.’ We’re about fun.”

They’re also about leaning into their influences.

Songs “Beautiful” and “Miss Me When You’re Drinkin’” reflect the band’s late ’90s pop-rock influence. The men namechecked Lifehouse and Incubus as examples. Parmalee even joked about joining Incubus on stage on June 25 when the rock band plays in Nashville.

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“It feels like we’re finally at a point in our career where we can feel comfortable incorporating those elements,” said Scott Thomas. “That feels really good. It is exciting for us because we’ve kind of hit this stride, and some of the pressure has been taken off. We feel like we can explore more and still be in the game. It’s a great place to be. I feel really happy about it.”

Matt Thomas added: “We got to do stuff that we all think is fun, and we love just as much as the easy-as-pie hits. We just wanted to branch out.”

Fell In Love With a Cowgirl is the first part of a two-part album. Members listened to countless songs on their bus, brought in songs, kept lists of song ideas, and finished titles they loved. They looked at the album as a whole and worked to ensure it takes listeners on the ride of their lives.

“Cowgirl,” “Day One,” “God Knew Better,” and “Feels Like Home” are creatively straight down the Parmalee pipe. “Feels Like Home” reaches back to “Carolina” musically and lyrically.

“These are the seven favorite songs we’ve had over the past couple years that we all felt like were our favorite songs and songs that we felt like our fans want to hear from us,” Matt Thomas said. “We didn’t want to bombard everybody with 25 songs or even 15 songs. We were like, ‘These are our favorites.’”

Fell In Love With A Cowgirl Tracklisting:

1. Feels Like Home (Ashley Gorley, David Fanning, Matt Thomas, Beau Bailey, Ned Cameron)
2. Day One (Ashley Gorley, David Fanning, Matt Thomas, Steph Jones, Ben Johnson, Taylor Phillips)
3. God Knew Better (Abram Dean, David Fanning, Jamie Collazo, Andy Albert, Parmalee)
4. Cowgirl (James Daniel Lewis, David Fanning, Peter Daniel Newman, Robbie Jay, Thomas Frank Ridley Horsley, Parmalee)*
5. Enough (Matt Thomas, David Fanning, Abram Dean, Sydney Cubit, Dave Villa)
6. Beautiful (Matt Thomas, David Fanning, Michael Tyler, Ben Stennis)
7. Miss Me When You’re Drinkin’ (Matt Thomas, Ben Williams, David Fanning, Andy Sheridan)

Photo by Adam Budd