Hot Country Knights, Dierks Bentley’s ’90’s-influenced band, will release their debut album The K Is Silent on May 1. The project was produced and co-written by Bentley, and the record includes collaborations with Terri Clark and Travis Tritt.
“We were out on the road singing a lot of other people’s hits, and we called them Greatest Hits because by us singing them, it actually made them great,” Doug Douglason, Bentley’s alter ego, says in a statement. “But this is a step beyond our Greatest Hits. This is all original material, and it’s the best stuff to come out of Nashville from a man band in several decades.”
Bentley penned seven of the album’s 10 tracks which includes co-writes with A-list songwriters Brett and Jim Beavers, Chase McGill, Jon Randall and Jon Nite, among others. Hot Country Knights released their infectious debut single “Pick Her Up” featuring Tritt, in February.
In a previous interview with Billboard, Douglason said “Pick Her Up” served as the catalyst for the album. The track’s video also stars actress Tiffani Thiessen as Kelly Kapowski, her character from beloved ’90s sitcom Saved By the Bell.
“You listen to the radio right now, oh my gosh. You wonder why there’s not a lot of girls on the radio, and it’s because the guys are singing all the girls’ songs. You’ve got the guys who are singing bro country, but they’re also doing boyfriend country. They’ve stolen the entire format from women,” he says. “We need some guys to come out there and put a little ‘T’ back in country — a little testosterone. So we want to put it out there and get it going. And that song really got the juices flowing.”
See the track listing and album artwork for The K Is Silent below.
1. “Hot Country Knights”
Brett Beavers, Jim Beavers, Cassady Feasby, Ben Helson, Dan Hochhalter, Chase McGill, Steve Misamore, Jon Nite, Jon Randall, Tim Sergent, Brett Tyler and Dierks Bentley
2. “Pick Her Up” (Featuring Travis Tritt)
Dierks Bentley, Brett Beavers and Jim Beavers
3. “Asphalt”
Jim Beavers, Jon Nite and Brett Tyler
4. “Moose Knuckle Shuffle”
Brett Beavers, Jim Beavers, Buddy Brock, Dan Hochalter, Chase McGill, Zach Turner and Brett Tyler
5. “Then It Rained”
Brett Beavers, Jon Nite and Jon Randall
6. “Wrangler Danger”
Dierks Bentley, Brett Beavers and Jim Beavers
7. “Mull It Over”
Dierks Bentley, Jim Beavers and Jon Randall
8. “Kings Of Neon”
Dierks Bentley, Brett Beavers and Chase McGill
9. “You Make It Hard” (Featuring Terri Clark)
Dierks Bentley, Brett Beaver, Jim Beavers, Mary Hilliard Harrington, Jon Randall and Luke Wooten
10. “The USA Begins With US”
Dierks Bentley, Brett Beavers and Jim Beavers
