Mitchell Tenpenny, Can’t Go to Church | Track Review

Country artist Mitchell Tenpenny “Can’t Go to Church,” not because of spiritual matters, mind you, but because he must avoid seeing her. 

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of country musician Mitchell Tenpenny? “Bitches”, of course – what did you think I was going to say? Of course, Tenpenny has released songs beyond that eyebrow raising hit (can you say bitches in country music?), which appears on his 2018 debut album, Telling All My Secrets. Now, into the new decade, Tenpenny returns with a new single, “Can’t Go to Church.”  Hmm, given his potty mouth, maybe Mitchell needs to be running to the sanctuary, haha.

“I’ll still do my prayin’ but I’ll do it somewhere else…” Hmm, so what’s the problem Mitch? Well, here’s the deal with Tenpenny. The reason that he can’t go to church isn’t because of his spiritual views – it’s because of matters of the heart.  “I ain’t tryin’ to avoid that place / But I don’t know what else to do,” he sings on the bridge (of sorts), continuing, “I don’t wanna see her face / Sittin’ in the front pew.” Later, he even adds, “She gets the church, she gets the Bible / I get the hurt, I get the bottle.” As you can imagine, such a dramatic, emotional song – one that’s four-and-a-half-minutes long – gets an equally dynamic, powerful backdrop (Jordan Schmidt produces).

Final Thoughts

Going into “Can’t Go to Church,” I was curious about the direction that Mitchell Tenpenny would go.  The expectation? Some sort of spiritual, but not religious take.  So, when it came down to avoiding a woman, well, that made the narrative much more compelling.  You can have a debate about the state of his salvation by avoiding church if you wish, but keeping it much simpler, this is definitely an intriguing country record.  Solid vocals, interesting songwriting – quite intriguing overall.

Mitchell Tenpenny • “Can’t Go to Church” – Single • Riser House Entertainment, LLC / Sony • Release: 1.24.20

Photo Credits: Riser House Entertainment, LLC / Sony