12 Stories is the debut studio album by American country music singer-songwriter Brandy Clark, released on October 22, 2013, through Slate Creek Records.

It took her many years to hone a voice as an individual artist with a view to creating songs which would be commercially viable and which people wanted to listen to.

[5][4] Previous to this and during that time span she had become a part of a tight circle of friends and regular song collaborators that included singing songwriters Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe, Kacey Musgraves, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne and Trevor Rosen, some of whom contribute to the album.

They first toyed with making the album a concept record, chronicling a couple's relationship but ended up rejecting the idea but that instinct is evident in the track listing order.

Describing her songs, Randy Lewis from the Los Angeles Times wrote: "find this record and listen to a dozen dazzlingly witty and insightful takes on the struggles of the working class ("Pray to Jesus"), neglected and/or mistreated women ("Crazy Women," "The Day She Got Divorced"), the battle between right and wrong ("What'll Keep Me Out of Heaven") and the pros and cons of chemical mood enhancers" ("Hungover," "Get High").

[13] Regarding Clark's writing, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic commented, "She's on the outside but she's an observer, not an outcast, noticing the quirks and eccentricities of her brethren instead of diving head-on into their madness" and describing her singing said, "she avoids full-throated showstoppers for something better: she's sly and strong, mining heartbreak and sneaking in punch lines at unexpected times" and that the "strength and clarity" of Clark's voice becomes undeniable.

He concludes "the superb 12 Stories showcases a unique artist who stands firmly, proudly on her own merits" [1] At American Songwriter, Jonathan Bernstein noted the simplicity of the album title "gives a good sense of Clark's direct, plain-spoken, songwriting" and that her debut was "a welcome, engrossing respite from the party-fueled escapism that's dominated Music City throughout the summer of 2013"[14] Jon Freeman of Country Weekly described the set as "a staggeringly great collection of original tunes that paint vivid, honest portraits of real life, from a uniquely feminine perspective"[18] Grady Smith of Entertainment Weekly noted that Clark "keeps things edgy, singing about divorce, drugs, jail, and Jesus—a.k.a.

country music’s Golden Quadrangle, with matter-of-fact sass and ample twang"[16] Will Hermes, writing for Rolling Stone, concludes that Brandy's ear "is unerring and her characters true" describing her as " the kind of talent who makes the term "alt-country" unnecessary"[19] At Roughstock, Matt Bjorke said Clark possesses a voice "that recalls Mary Chapin Carpenter, Suzy Bogguss, Kathy Mattea and Trisha Yearwood" and described her as "a unique talent in that she writes songs that are classic and contemporary all at the same time" and that 12 Stories is "one of the strongest albums of 2013 and of any album released in this new century".