'Rolling Up the Welcome Mat' for a new Kelsea era

In 2017, Kelsea Ballerini was Unapologetically in love. Her sophomore album was a love letter to her then husband Morgan Evans, about falling in love hard and fast. However, as her 2022 album taught us, things can be SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

There's something about the best music coming from Songwriters and Artists wearing their hearts on their sleeves, and KB proves just why. This week she released a 6 song EP and subsequent series of short films, Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, which details the ending of her marriage to Evans. It has taken me a few days to put pen to paper and write about this, as it's so personal it almost doesn't seem right. But the sheer depth and honesty of these songs made it impossible not to.

Mountain With a View introduces us to the turmoils of a long distance relationship between two musicians, and the catalyst decisions to leave the relationship. "I think that this is when it's over for me" parallel's Evan's most recent release Over For You. "Scream I'm just like my parents and giving up easy" also relays stories told in Secondhand Smoke, a track on Ballerini's 2015 album The First Time, referencing her parents divorce.

Just Married is a reflection of their "fairytale start" and the quick disillusion of being "just married", Ballerini states "I wasn't strong enough to hold on with all of the weight that I carried", contemplating how young she was, getting married at 23.

Penthouse is when it really starts to hit hard, "We played the part five nights, but when I left town did you hate me?" alludes even more to the long distance struggles of their relationship, and gets personal with perhaps details of their divorce; "And it stings rolling up the welcome mat, knowing you got half."

Half way through and we hit the Interlude. A 46 second address to the public side of their divorce, claiming "I wanna set it straight but my lawyer says I shouldn't", nuancing her Pop side, you can hear the frustration looming within the lyrics.

The penultimate track of the EP, Blindsided, hints at Evan's lack of understanding to Ballerini's side of the breakup. "Baby, were you blindsided or were you just blind?" The song again reflects on how exposed their relationship and breakup was, referencing "I put on a smile and sang about how it's okay to cry", insinuating performances of her 2019 hit, Homecoming Queen?

Leave Me Again ends the EP on a sombre yet heartwarming note. A love letter to her ex-husband, stating that she hopes "that you find somebody new" but that ultimately she hopes "I never leave me again" stating she lost herself within their marriage and won't let that happen again.

All 6 songs are accompanied by short films, available on YouTube, and Ballerini showcases her acting skills within them. But is it more so a question of how much is she really acting? An artist who has always been honest with her work, the rawness and exposure of this EP is like nothing we've seen from her before, and seems to be opening a new chapter for her. A bittersweet ending with the silver lining being some incredible music.

Let us know what you think of the EP in the comments below, or on our Social Media Pages, @behindthesounds_

All tracks on the EP were written by Kelsea Ballerini; Penthouse, Interlude, and Blindsided co-written by Alysa Vanderheym.

Rolling Up the Welcome Mat is available to stream everywhere now. Photo credit to Instagram.

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