First Time

Personnel: Jason Massey, Forest Glen Whitehead (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, slide guitar, banjo, mandolin, piano, organ, drums, percussion, programming, background vocals); Josh Kerr (background vocals).Recording information: Ronnie's Place, Nashville, TN; the Apartment; Treeman Studio.Photographer: Jeremy Ryan.There's an innocence to the title of The First Time that suits Kelsea Ballerini. Twenty-one years old at the time of The First Time's 2015 release, Ballerini sometimes skews herself even younger, singing of new loves and teenage dreams, and she shows a facility with modern R&B rhythms that marks her as young country singer. Beneath this guise, she's savvier than she initially seems, a strong songwriter with an assured grasp on her persona. At times, she may resemble a pre-pop Taylor Swift -- this is especially true of her ballads, a place where she reveals a vulnerability along with some narrative flair -- but Ballerini, despite bearing writing credits on every one of