Track-by-Track: Rachel Whitcomb Dives into Her Country Influences on ‘Wildest Dreams’

Pittsburgh singer‑songwriter Rachel Whitcomb’s new album, Wildest Dreams, is a heartfelt ode to ’90s country, seamlessly blending nostalgia with fresh, modern energy. Through its ten tracks, Whitcomb channels the defiant spirit of legends like Shania Twain and Martina McBride, infusing each song with bold vulnerability and twangy guitars. Whether she’s cheekily winking at small-town life or baring scarred-open heartbreak, Whitcomb’s voice anchors the album with both grit and grace.

Wildest Dreams rides a wave of emotion, mixing raw storytelling with the kind of buoyant, radio-ready hooks that would feel right at home on a ’90s country countdown. As Whitcomb balances humour, heartache and hard‑won hope, the album becomes more than a nostalgic throwback. It’s a modern reinvention, paying tribute to the era while staking its own claim. Perfect for fans who grew up on belt-it-out tunes but crave the honesty of today’s songwriting.

Today, we are excited to have Rachel Whitcomb joining us for an exclusive Track-by-Track rundown of her new album and the sounds and stories that inspired these songs.

1. “Walk of Shame”

“I wrote this song as a nod/love letter to ’90s country music. Lyrically, my goal was to describe the aftermath of a wild night from a one-woman-to-another perspective. I’m a loyal country music fan, so as a songwriter, I try to tell the cold, hard truth in my lyrics. Musically, ‘Walk of Shame’ was heavily inspired by Pam Tillis’s Sweetheart’s Dance album that was out in the 1990s. I wanted to feature pedal steel, fiddle, and electric guitar. It’s similar in sound and instrumentation to ‘They Don’t Break ‘Em Like They Used To’ (Roger Brown, Jason Sellers), and I was lucky enough to have the great Brent Mason on guitar! It was such a memorable experience to be in the recording studio with him and the other wonderful Nashville musicians.”

2. “You’ll Want Me”

“This is the kind of song I love to write, and the track is exactly what I would want to listen to over and over again…like the ones you might find on a Patty Loveless album or an early Faith Hill album. Steel guitar and fiddle are featured throughout. I’m trying to bring back the ’90s country ballad! The lyrics tell the story of a love that never quite happened and the regret that will inevitably come from it. The vocal harmonies are my favourite part of this track.”

3. “Kryptonite”

“This is a sexy, bluesy song about forbidden attraction that one has for a person that they know is toxic to them. In my opinion, the guitar solo is the musical equivalent of sex. The narrator in the song feels invincible (like Superman…but in this case, a woman), but the object of her obsession is going to paralyze and compromise her (like Kryptonite).”

4. “Live in the Lonely”

“There is an epidemic of loneliness in America, so much so that the Surgeon General wrote an advisory and book about it in 2023. Of all the songs I wrote for this album, this one (in my opinion) will relate to the most people. Audience members have wept through this song during live shows. The song asks, ‘How do you live in the lonely? How do you thrive in the pain?’

“Through its questions, the song serves as a witness to those living through loneliness. It’s another way that the power of music can heal, by bringing people together and telling them they are not alone, even when they are lonely. The song’s ending is hopeful and optimistic. A tear-jerker in all the right ways. I’ve been so pleased to see that it’s received such a positive response already. The video shows me all alone in a very big, beautiful house we rented in Nashville in the summer of 2024, and I think it really captured the song’s meaning.”

5. “Promise”

“This is a wedding song, a song about true love. I used words and short phrases to express the comfort, solace, and relief of being with that one special person. The beauty of love in musical form. I wanted this track to capture a mood similar to ‘Evergreen’ (Barbra Streisand, Paul Williams). The placement of this song on the album is intentional, as the listener has just heard the line ‘and the lonely lets mercy appear’ in the previous track, and this song is the mercy. The words ‘fly’ and ‘soar’ are captured in the layering of strings, and the vocal harmonies represent blissful togetherness.

“I started out writing this song as an ode to the beauty of nature, but as the melody took shape, it was clear I was writing a love song. When you’re in love, things feel like they are in harmony, so I incorporated that idea into the song literally and lyrically, with prominent vocal harmony in the chorus and the words, ‘one song in harmony.’”

Rachel Whitcomb ‘Wildest Dreams’ Album Artwork

6. “Tryin’ to Quit Me”

“This song pays homage to western swing. It’s a playful message to an ex-lover, pointing out the clues she sees as evidence of how he can’t get over her. I go for truth and honesty in my songwriting, and this song is based on my own observations. Can’t you just tell when someone isn’t over you? Musically, I wanted it to harken back to ‘Houston (Means I’m One Day Closer to You)’ by Larry Gatlin, and I was thrilled with the way the musicians paid homage to that kind of music.”

7. “Flirt With Me”

“This is a song that married women everywhere can relate to! I am confident there is an audience for this song, primarily married women in their 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond. It’s a country ballad with an important message to husbands. I have seen a lot of talk shows and interviews with women who are desperate for their husbands’ attention. I’ve heard women talk about how they tell their husbands to pay attention to them, and yet there is something that holds men back from doing that. I think husbands feel that their wives are never satisfied with anything, but I firmly believe that if they simply show desire for their wives, their wives would be satisfied.

“I wrote this song as a direct response to the Tim McGraw single, ‘Angry All the Time’ (Bruce Robison), one of my favourite songs of all time. ‘Angry All the Time’ is written from a husband’s perspective, and ‘Flirt With Me’ is written from a wife’s perspective. ‘Flirt With Me’ even addresses the statement, ‘I don’t know why you gotta be angry all the time’ with the line ‘You’ve been asking why I’m angry all the time…I’ve tried to tell you…it’s not gettin’ through…’ and goes on to elaborate on what she needs.

“I’ve played this song live for audiences, and it gets an extra few moments of applause and knowing nods from women quite often. I’ve also talked about it with the male musicians who play shows with me, and they’ve said that this song makes them think about their relationships and whether they are flirting with their partners.”

8. “Control”

“I wanted to write a song that was primarily electric guitar and vocals, similar to the Tom Jones track ‘Burning Hell’ (John Lee Hooker, Bernard Besman), where the guitar riff repeats throughout the song and is relentless (in a good way). And I asked Jacob Zang, a guitarist/producer/engineer who was a big part of this album, to send me a few guitar riffs so I could write a melody and lyrics over them. I put the riff on a loop and wrote it by singing ideas over it.

“It’s a song born from anger towards a mentor who does not willingly give up control of someone. The rhythmic guitar riff with sustained vocal lines over it captures the intensity of that anger, and the guitar solo is a throwback to ’80s rock. I often think that Ann Wilson (Heart) would rip this song up (in a good way, of course). It’s a rock song.

“My favourite line is ‘no resolution except evolution,’ and the truth of that message keeps showing up in all aspects of my life. We have to keep evolving in our relationships, work, and lives! The guitar solo is everything an ’80s rock fan loves, and Jacob is fabulous. Young women in my audience love the message of the song.”

9. “Taking Me Down to the Blue”

“This is a song about relationships and compromise. Hayden Nicholas, my songwriting teacher and one of the best songwriters of all time (in my opinion), taught me some new shapes on the guitar and told me to experiment between lessons. Luckily, I listened to my teacher, and this song is the result. I felt like it expanded my songwriting palette. The lyrics are metaphorical, expressing emotions as they relate to colours. It was also a nod to another wonderful songwriter, Leslie Satcher, and her song ‘Burn Me Down.’”

10. “Can’t Say Goodbye”

“This is the country waltz that I want to hear on every album. Steel guitar, vocal harmonies, and heartache. Country music for traditional country fans. The ending always intrigues audiences when they hear it for the first time. When I play at places that know my songs, this one is the sing-along. It was a perfect way to end the album where it began, as a love letter to traditional country music.”