“You ask me what I think about when I’m driving through the night,” Ashtyn Barbaree coos softly before admitting that her mind wanders to mistakes, yearning for home and the person waiting on the other end of the drive before accepting the journey in “Along for the Ride,” the opening song on her forthcoming third album, “Sent Through The Ceiling.”

Landmarks like the Bobby Hopper Tunnel on Interstate 49 North, signal that she’s close to home. She morns the mile marker where her teenage boyfriend died in a car accident a decade earlier. She plays with the language of a long road trip, singing “there’s a distance/in between, who I am/ and who I used to be,” before accepting her journey singing, “I don’t mind/I’m along for the ride.”

On the surface, the song seems simple, but it’s like a table of contents to the 10-song collection. An introduction to the heart of a songwriter who continues to hone her talents as she navigates life. It’s also her first album made at home with a community of musicians she calls friends.

“One really big thing about recording in Arkansas was I was able to hire a lot of people that I know on a really personal level, so I felt really relaxed and comfortable,” Barbaree said. “I think that really came through in the recordings. It just was a really warm experience.”

Barbaree recorded both her self-titled debut in 2017 and her 2022 album “Better Luck Next Time,” in Nashville. While a friend or two tagged along for her previous albums, “Sent Through The Ceiling,” was recorded with friends and fellow locals Phillip Cannon, Ty Dunn, Garrett Jones, Matt Nelson, Jacob Campbell, Derek Weiand, Nick Caffrey, Christian Serrano-Torres, Lacy Hampton and Adams Collins. She worked also with co-writers Mike Mains, Joel Robertson, Eric Spahn and Megan Palmer for several of the songs. Her vocal coach, Bonnie Montgomery, was even there at Haxton Road Studios in Bentonville as she recorded last December. The album releases Oct. 25.

“I’m Not Ready” and “The Doorbell Rang,” were written by Barbaree about her experiences with grief.

“Songwriting has always been a very therapeutic place for me,” she said. “Some of these things that I’m writing about on this album happened 10 years ago, and I’ve just gotten to a point in my grief process to finally open up and feel like I can articulate some of my feelings. This is a very personal and really emotional album, and very therapeutic as well.”

The first single, “Copenhagen,” came out in August. The song is both a love letter to the city where Barbaree frequently tours as well as a declaration of love to a special someone in her own life.

“Copenhagen was a place that I fell in love with my partner of six years. And sometimes, when you’re around certain people, they can just bring a warmth to any situation or environment, even if it’s literally cold and harsh temperature-wise,” she said.

“There’s also a warmth to the culture in Denmark. … It’s very a warm, beautiful culture. I just love visiting there so much.”

Many of the songs on “Sent Through The Ceiling” were a result of a grant that required the her to take a risk as an artist. For Barbaree that was pushing herself to write music at the piano.

Even though she first began taking piano lessons during her youth, she worked her own songs out on guitar or ukulele. Many of the songs for her latest album began on piano, which profoundly affected her sound.

“I noticed I had a very different vocal tone and energy,” she said. “When I sit down at the piano, my voice would open up and have this kind of grown-up depth to it.”

While her vocals are still sweet when the melody requires it, she feels like she’s growing into her voice.

“I really started doing this so young. A lot of the Arkansas communities kind of watched me grow up,” she admitted. “I’ve been learning and developing over time, and I feel like I finally got to a spot where I’m locking into my sound and my voice and everything.”

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At A Glance

“Sent Through the Ceiling”

Ashtyn Barbaree’s latest album is available everywhere Oct. 25. Preorder the album, including her first ever vinyl release, at ashtynbarbaree.com. “Copenhagen,” and “Reckless Nights,” are streaming now. The album’s title track, “Sent Through The Ceiling,” drops Oct. 18.