Debut album, released 31 July 2026
A Little Mercy, If You've Got Any
A Little Mercy, If You've Got Any is the debut album by Cody Hawthorne & The Wildflowers. Its songs are about flawed people, family history, moral doubt and the search for a little understanding, without every track telling the same story.
The record combines the singles with new material: country-rock, restrained ballads, Southern noir, humour and an epilogue sung by Emily. The running order makes those contrasts part of the album's identity. A shared world, with a different reason to enter each song.
Tracklist
- Gasoline & GraceThe opening statement and the original Wildflowers blueprint
- The Bell At Mercy CreekA dark local story of guilt and an unresolved crime
- Blacktop HaloCody and Emily's country-rock duet
- The Things My Father Never SaidWhat a father leaves unsaid
- She Took The Dog, I Kept The Bar TabSharp country humour and self-deprecation
- Southbound GhostA trucker's story, told from the outside
- Borrowed Time and Broken BreadScarcity, dignity and sharing what little there is
- Three Steps from LeavingA departure that hasn't become final yet
- Under the Same SkyCommunity and common ground
- Mrs. Calder's PorchA character study of another life and generation
- The Good Man's AlibiA Southern-noir portrait that resists good and bad
- Every Road Leads to YouThe familiar ballad, returning late in the record
- The Far Side of MercyThe thematic climax: the question of mercy
- Carry It KindlyAn epilogue sung entirely by Emily
The making of the album
The title
A Little Mercy, If You've Got Any ties together songs about flawed people, family history, moral doubt and the search for a little understanding. Not every song needs a road, a house or a chapter from Cody's own life: other people, difficult choices and everyday observations give the record more room.
Character and contrast
The first half moves between character and contrast: a dark local story, a family song, sharp humour and a trucker's tale. The second half turns to consequences and mercy, from a departure that isn't final yet to a Southern-noir portrait and the record's climax, The Far Side of Mercy.
Emily gets the last word
Emily's role grew beyond fiddle and backing vocals. Blacktop Halo made her a full duet partner, and Carry It Kindly gives her the final song of the album, sung entirely in her own voice. The record closes on a more human scale, through another point of view.
The cover
Seven band members in a compact arrangement, with Cody in the foreground. Dark brown and sepia tones, weathered wood and the floral western logo place the cover firmly inside the album's Americana world.