Virtuoso singer-guitarist Molly Tuttle shows off the diversity of her taste on the upcoming all-covers album …But I’d Rather Be With You, set for release on August 28th via Compass Records. The first preview of the album, an atmospheric remake of the National’s “Fake Empire,” is out now.
Replacing the original’s insistent low-end piano rumble with rhythmically complex strums of acoustic guitar and waves of droning feedback, Tuttle still captures the grown-up anxiety and denial that the National put forth in their recording from 2007’s Boxer. The accompanying video includes footage of activists in the streets, seemingly calling for everyone to not ignore the urgency of our present situation. Elsewhere on the project, Tuttle takes on the Rolling Stones’ “She’s a Rainbow,” Arthur Russell’s “A Little Lost,” FKA Twigs’ “Mirrored Heart,” and Harry Styles’ “Sunflower, Vol. 6.”
The album was recorded and finished during quarantine — Tuttle taught herself ProTools and laid down tracks in Nashville, then sent them along to producer Tony Berg in Los Angeles, who recruited musicians such as Matt Chamberlain and Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes to add parts from their home studios.
The new album follows Tuttle’s 2019 debut album When You’re Ready and her fall 2018 Americana Awards win for Instrumentalist of the Year.
…But I’d Rather Be With You track listing:
- “Fake Empire” (The National)
- “She’s a Rainbow” (The Rolling Stones)
- “A Little Lost” (Arthur Russell)
- “Something on Your Mind” (Karen Dalton)
- “Mirrored Heart” (FKA Twigs)
- “Olympia, WA” (Rancid)
- “Standing on the Moon” (Grateful Dead)
- “Zero” (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)
- “Sunflower, Vol. 6” (Harry Styles)
- “How Can I Tell You” (Cat Stevens)
