Who says you can’t go home? Having spent the last decade as a successful country artist, former Hey Monday frontwoman Cassadee Pope returns to her pop-punk roots, with the release of her new solo album Hereditary, due July 12th on Awake Music. After three years on Pete Wentz’s Decaydance Records as lead singer and songwriter of Hey Monday, Cassadee decided to forge her own path, auditioning and ultimately finding herself winning Season 3 of NBC’S The Voice with coach Blake Shelton. Her country music career was full of highs and lows, but even having a grammy nominated, number one hit, the Chris Young duet Think Of You, wasn’t enough to keep Cassadee in Nashville. Tired of the racist and sexist politics of the country music scene, she left the genre and decided to go back to her more traditional pop-punk sound. 

Hereditary opens with the Paramore-esque anthem People That I Love Leave, where Cassadee explains her reservations about falling in love too quickly. This song shows that she picked up right where she left off in rock music, with its infectious groove and catchy chorus. This is what Pope does so well, creating earworms that are meant to be played loud and on repeat.  Eye Contact is another uptempo jam, which draws inspiration from former boss Pete Wentz’s band, Fall Out Boy.  Cassadee really shows off her powerhouse vocals throughout Hereditary, maybe none more impressive than on Secret. 

More To Me slows things down slightly, which really allows her voice to shine. This is about a woman who is finding herself again. “It’s only recently I recognized/ I drank the poison just to watch you die.” Is she talking about alcohol or is this a toxic relationship? Regardless, it’s one of her strongest songs lyrically. Three Of Us is an acoustic ballad that has a bit of a country feel to it, reminding us of her past. Tired of her lover’s drug problem, she writes “But it’s you and me/and the drugs make three/if they’re so damn good/how could I compete?” Hereditary is a deeply personal record. Cassadee shows her vulnerability and resiliency on every song, as if the album is a diary filled with her innermost thoughts.  

Finally, in this world of Taylor Swift fairytale romances we find ourselves in, Pope brings us back to reality. Rom Coms is a celebration of a perfectly imperfect relationship, despite what romantic movies taught her to believe love was supposed to feel like. Love is kind of fucked up at times, and that’s okay. Things get a little more risqué on Almost There. “I love misbehaving/bad things are fine when we’re naked.” Being bad hasn’t sounded this good since Rihanna’s last album. This song most certainly wouldn’t have been on country radio, but I’m glad it found its home here. Capacity brings us back to the world of pop-punk. Nothing flashy here, but a solid track nonetheless.

I Died is a heavier rock song, featuring Nashville rapper, Daisha McBride. The two ladies work well together, breaking things up a bit. The title track Hereditary follows with a hypnotic piano perfectly layered underneath a dirty guitar riff and hard-hitting drums, and is one of the more sonically interesting songs on the album. Underoath’s Aaron Gillespie shows on Ever Since The World Ended, and pairs beautifully with Cassadee’s voice. This song is everything you hope it would be and might be the best song on Hereditary. The 12 track album finishes with Wrong One. Starting off sounding like a Kacey Musgraves song, it slowly builds into a more traditional power-pop ballad. A piano quietly fades out, perfectly closing this new chapter of Cassadee Pope’s storied career. 

Though returning right back to where you started might be viewed as failure to some, for Cassadee Pope, it’s a sign of growth. Her time in country music only made her a better singer and songwriter. Her lyrics are more honest and raw and her voice is stronger than it’s ever been. Hereditary reminds us that life’s about the journey, not the destination. Sometimes we have to venture off a different path to truly find ourselves. 

Rating: 7.9/10

Release Date: 7/12/24

Tracklist:

 1: People That I Love Leave 

 2: Eye Contact 

 3: Secret 

 4: More To Me

 5: Three Of Us

 6: Rom Coms

 7: Almost There

 8: Capacity 

 9: I Died

10: Hereditary 

11: Ever Since The World Ended

12: Wrong One