LISTEN: Mitchell Tenpenny's Broken Up Sharpens His Artistic Focus

Mitchell Tenpenny returns to the bottle with "Broken Up," a progressive breakup song that finds him both the heartbreaker and the heartbroken. Two years after releasing "Drunk Me," the Nashville native is again trying to drink his way out of a depression, but this new song is less of a vocal showcase and more of nod to his overall artistry.

A delicate banjo opens this new country single, but the deeper you get into the track, the further away from traditional country it gets. The final minute is a swirl of synthetic sounds, vocal effects and callbacks. Electric guitar riffs weave in and out of this thick, pop-country arrangement. It's a song that's built, not written.

With "Drunk Me" (a No. 2 Billboard airplay hit in 2019), Tenpenny successfully captured the sad resignation that comes with an unwelcome end to a relationship. A bit of nuance is added here. "Broken Up" eventually reveals that the breakup was his fault, a point that might change how you connect to his story as the second verse plays out.

How the public feels about recalling regret will determine how this new song performs on country radio. While progressive, Tenpenny is within parameters set by similarly-minded artists such as Keith Urban and Dan + Shay.

Tenpenny wrote "Broken Up" with Devin Dawson, Kyle Fishman and Ernest Smith.

LOOK: 14 Country Singers You Probably Forgot Did Reality Television

Mitchell Tenpenny's "Broken Up" Lyrics:

Usually I'm put together / Most the time I'm fine / Normally I break up better / But baby, not this time / Yeah, I don't know what to do about it / I'm laying in bed about it / Yeah, I'm tryna keep my cool about it / Get up out my head about it

Chorus:

But baby I'm still broken up about it / Yeah, I've had it up to here, had enough about it / Maybe I will open up about it / Yeah, but only if I drink until I'm drunk about it / Lord knows I wish that I could say that I'll be fine / But baby, I'm still broken up about it

Yeah, I guess that karma knows my name / 'Cause she called me up the other night / Momma always knew just what to say / But now she ain't on my side / 'Cause I'm the one to blame about it / I'm the one that messed it up / Yeah, I deserve the pain about it / Wish that I could give you up / But I'm still in love

Repeat Chorus

Yeah, time will change, but I'll still feel the same / Might take a week, a month, a year / But I'll still feel, I'll still feel the same

Repeat Chorus

LOOK: The Top 10 Songs of 2020, So Far