Cody Jinks On Tapping Into Vulnerability, Redemption And Resilience On New Album ‘In My Blood’

Cody Jinks has released his new album, In My Blood. Out via his label Late August Records on July 25, this collection boasts 11 tracks and is what the multi-Platinum singer/songwriter calls “the best album we’ve released yet.”

“I hope so at least,” the Fort Worth, Texas native told Country Now in a recent interview. “I don’t know if it’s far more honest than I’ve ever been. I’ve always been honest. Maybe vulnerable is the right word. I think this album is really vulnerable.”

Co-produced by Joshua Thompson and Charles Godfrey, In My Blood found Jinks immersing himself in the music at Sonic Ranch outside of El Paso, Texas. On the album, he turns the page, entering a new chapter of his life, with an evolved sense of maturity as he explores real-life storytelling themes of “redemption, resilience, and the working-class struggle,” per a press release. Those topics aren’t difficult for Jinks, 44, to capture as a veteran independent artist, who has done it all with a DIY approach, having already released 10 albums, sold over 5 million tickets on his tours, and has had eight songs certified Platinum or Gold.

Embracing A New Level Of Vulnerability

From a sonic standpoint, the songs on In My Blood combine the country outlaw’s soulful signature sound with a gritty fusion of traditional honky-tonk attitude and Southern rock vibes. Jinks credits In My Blood as being his most personal project to date, having written all but one track and served as the sole writer for five of the cuts. 

“There was vulnerability in this record that nobody’s ever seen before, and a lot of the songs that were coming out were things that I didn’t ever know I would write,” Jinks shared, revealing that his previous body of work, Change the Game, served as somewhat of a precursor to his current release.  

“Change The Game was the end of the last era of how I was,” Jinks explained of the 2024 release, which touched on subjects of sobriety, reflection, and triumphs, but also was mainly driven by anger and discord. “I think Change The Game was the ending of part one of the book. And hopefully In My Blood is the beginning of a very long part two of the book.” 

In a press release, Jinks further explained: “We know what we did. We know where we’ve been. We know what we’ve done. In My Blood is why we keep doing it.”

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Inside The Title Track

The title track “In My Blood” features the only collaboration with guest vocals by Cody Jinks’ longtime friend Charlie Starr of Blackberry Smoke. The buddies have toured together, but this is the first time they’ve joined forces on a recording. Jinks wrote “In My Blood” with Starr in 2024, and the song showcases just how all-consuming music is to the artist as he croons, “It’s in my blood / It’s in my bones.” The track also finds Jinks driving home the message that he has always enjoyed blazing his own trail, learning from his mistakes, and gaining the knowledge that comes with hard-earned wisdom. 

“I use what I’m given / Making this living / I do what comes honest to me / Oh,” they sing. 

Of working alongside Starr for the track, Jinks said, “I’m a huge fan of Blackberry Smoke and the way they do things, and getting to tour with them pretty extensively last summer gave us the opportunity to begin a friendship. I think I found a kindred spirit in Charlie. Our band and Blackberry Smoke worked so well together, and Charlie’s such a good dude. I enjoy talking with him about music and about writing songs. He’s a rockstar, and it was a pleasure and a joy and an honor to write this song with him.”

Jinks’ Favorite Track

“Something Wicked This Way Comes,” which Cody Jinks wrote by himself, is the song on the project that he considers his favorite. Featuring a thought-provoking melody and heart-pulsing guitars, the track showcases the deeper side of Jinks, an avid reader. Inspired by the 1962 fantasy novel of the same name by Ray Bradbury, “Something Wicked This Way Comes” conveys a message that the temptations of good and evil tend to recur. 

“By the prickin’ of my thumb / Something wicked this way comes / Something wicked that way goes / He’ll be back  / My son the dark don’t stay gone long / The lost miss him when he’s gone  / It’s hell disguised as fun / Something wicked this way comes,” Jinks sings. 

“That song could have told the story just as an instrumental, but I love writing lyrics about literature,” Jinks, who began his playing thrash metal before cutting his teeth in honky tonk bars, shared in a press release. “and that’s why I like metal music so much, because there’s so many literary allusions in those songs.”

“I’m just having too much fun with that song right now,” he added. 

“Monsters”

In “Monsters,” written by Jinks with Ward Davis, the focus lies on the mind playing tricks, where if one isn’t careful, they could fall back into the same dark situation. It’s a reminder that people often have to keep running from their demons, whether that be a vice or something else. 

“I know he likes to show up when I think he’s finally gone / Preying on my weakness like before / I know that I can’t fight or face that monster all alone / He ain’t welcome / He don’t live here anymore,” the recently sober Jinks sings, celebrating his victory on the tune, which was the final tune that made the record. 

“It was written during a pre-production rehearsal that Ward Davis happened to be at,” Jinks recalled. “We didn’t know we were missing that song until we wrote it. And Ward and I wrote that song in particular about alcohol, about drinking, but it doesn’t mention that specifically. I think that everybody’s got their monsters, and this song’s talking about not letting the monsters come around anymore.”

Reflecting On Younger Days

Elsewhere, Jinks finds himself reflecting on his wild years, knowing that, against all odds, he and his band have risen from the ashes. Perhaps no other track sees Jinks looking back at a younger version of himself more than the heartfelt closer,  “When Time Didn’t Fly.” The track finds him having a sense of gratitude, knowing that although aging may be a thief, those early years have given him a new perception and attitude about life.

“That’s actually one of the older songs on the record. We wrote that during COVID. I wrote it with Kendall Marvel and Channing Wilson, and I love those guys. It’s such a touching song about not looking forward to as many days as you’ve already had,” Jinks said. “And it’s a great closer, because you’re looking at things in retrospect. You’re not done yet, but it’s important to remember where you’ve been, and it’s important to know where you’re going.”

Reflecting On His Career Journey

Before dropping In My Blood, Jinks built excitement around the release with three tracks — “Better Than the Bottle,” “The Others,” and “Found,” setting a tone for what fans could expect from the project. But, overall, he calls the collection a “celebration of survival” and a message of “we made it as a band and as humans.” 

Elaborating on that message further, Cody Jinks said, “We’re lucky to be playing music, to have had a career as long as we have to this point, and to actually be on a trajectory moving upward at this point in our career is really, really special.” 

“It typically doesn’t happen once you get to the age that I’m at, but we’ve always been unconventional. So I’m just so grateful,” he continued. “The band’s so grateful. We’ve grown up together. We, in a lot of ways, continue to learn; we continue to try to write better songs, create better music. And at the end of the day, all the lessons we’ve learned individually and as a band, those things come out in our music. You can hear it. You can feel it.”

Cody Jinks 2025 Tour Dates

Folks have plenty of chances to see Jinks on the road. His previously sold-out co-headlining Same Kind of Crazy Acoustic Tour with Ward Davis kicks off in November, plus his headlining 2025 Hippies and Cowboys Tour is scheduled out throughout the rest of the year.

Jinks also has a few festival shows sprinkled in through the remainder of 2025 and will be taking the road for his forthcoming The Hippies and Cowboys Tour: The Outlaw Shows, which includes support from Davis and consists of select dates across Texas and Louisiana, including Midland, Corpus Christi, Edinburg, and Lake Charles. 

Slowing Down

When things finally slow down, Cody Jinks — a loving father to his two kids and husband to his wife of over 20 years, Rebecca — says he’s going to do just that — slow down. 

“I think I’ll slow down,” he acknowledges. “I love getting back on the road now, because we don’t play nearly as much as we used to. So every show is so much fun, so special. I love seeing the crowd out there, but right now, my off time is really dedicated to raising kids, trying to keep writing songs, along with music. 

“Marriage is 100/100…. It’s not 50/50, and I haven’t always been the husband or father that I should be,” he added. “But I’ve had an amazing partner that I will attribute to well, really me still being alive to her, so I guess I wouldn’t have a career either. I carve out way more time for my family than I used to.”

In My Blood Track List:

1. Better Than the Bottle
2. Lost Highway
3. The Others
4. In My Blood (ft. Blackberry Smoke)
5. Something Wicked This Way Comes
6. See the Man
7. When You Can’t Remember
8. Lonely Man
9. Monster
10. Found
11. When Time Didn’t Fly