itself is an exemplary piece of country songwriting, only bolstering Peck’s claim to mastery of the scene and of the genre. Pulling from bluegrass, power balladry, and man-on-the-run twang, Peck used the flourishes of country to produce his most honest album to date. And what else country if not parabolic storytelling done at the highest level?

The record begins with a sort of chant on “Prologue (Eulogy Of A Man Turned Mule),” calling back to the genre’s oral folktale beginnings, imagining what might have happened had Peck actually died that night in 2023. Sung by Emmylou Harris, Noah Cyris, and Allison Russell — all Peck’s dear friends — the song is a “eulogy,” both for the life Peck once led and for what might have become of him had he continued. “I had this idea where I kinda wanted the album to start with this Greek chorus, almost like these voices singing an old Appalachian hymn,” he says. 

When asked, Peck can’t even quite remember the number of songs he wrote for the project. His best guesses place the number around 60 or 70, though maybe even more. “When I started, it wasn’t originally even supposed to be this chronological event. It wasn’t necessarily going to be all about that year, but naturally every song I was writing was sort of about what happened that year, because I had these massive events happen in my life. It was impossible to want to write about all this stuff,” he tells me. The more he wrote, the more the timeline emerged. From there, the concept solidified. “I keep joking it’s my by The Who. It’s sort of like my rock opera or something.”

Peck resolved to only release the album when he could communicate its message exactly as he wanted to. In between the year chronicles and its eventual release, Peck took breaks to pick back up acting and try a stint on Broadway as the Emcee in . He released , his 2025 EP, to tide him over. In the background, he was writing and beginning to record , working as hard as he could to get it just right.

“I knew that there were songs about each period, and I knew what each period had to feel like,” Peck says. Tracks like “Already Gone” and “Rehab Blues” chaotically chronicle the downfall, a time when Peck was nearly forced into getting help he wasn’t so sure he wanted or needed.