Rayland Baxter Details 1st Album In 4 Years ‘True Violet’ & Shares “Better Man’ Single

Rayland Baxter returns with his first album in four years, True Violet, on October 23 through ATO Records. The singer-songwriter also released the album’s lead single, “Better Man,” with contributions from Tyler Ballgame.

The opening track on True Violet, “Better Man,” is a good introduction to Rayland Baxter’s first LP since 2022’s If I Were A Butterfly as it continues to trace the singer-songwriter’s metamorphosis. Press materials further detailed the artist in flux.

Baxter spent the years surrounding his 2022 album If I Were A Butterfly touring heavily while navigating difficult relationships, personal loss, and the death of his father, Bucky Baxter, a multi-instrumentalist best known for his work with Bob Dylan and as a member of Steve Earle and The Dukes whose musicianship and encouragement had shaped every previous chapter of his career. After returning to his quiet Tennessee hometown, Baxter found himself with the stillness to confront the patterns and emotions he had spent years outrunning.

“I sat in my chair alone for a year and wrote a bunch of songs, and what started off as an attempt to write a record got sideswiped by mediocre attempts I wouldn’t even sing to my dog,” Baxter stated. “Then, like many times over the last three years, I called my sister. We talked about life and family and love and heartache, and our individual experiences with all of that. She simply encouraged me to write about what I was feeling, something I was avoiding in the early stages of writing.”

“It’s very personal and bloody,” Baxter added. “There are bruises and bite marks in these songs. Tears and enlightenment and pains of the heart.”

The album’s title True Violet stems from the blending of “the reds of anger and the blues of sadness.” Introducing the record co-produced by Nick Waterhouse and Paul Butler is “Better Man,” featuring backing vocals from Tyler Ballgame.

“‘Better Man’ is a song about making it through the hard times and coming out the other side better than before,” Rayland said of the lead single. “It’s a reminder to myself that it’s ok to close the book on a time in my life, as long as I remember the lessons I learned during that time.”

Check out the official video for “Better Man,” directed by Joshua Shoemaker, below:

True Violet Tracklist:

1. Better Man
2. Up and Down a Mountain
3. Bad Love
4. Haymaker
5. What a Day My Friend
6. The Fool
7. Bolly Plateau
8. Real Bad Rut
9. Dreamin About
10. Never Do
11. Oh My Love