Rising rock band New Madrid Releases a brand new Single “It’s Ok (2 Cry)” From their upcoming album
The new single ‘It’s Ok (2 Cry) lopes along with catchy lyrics and a woozy guitar line before descending into a propulsive beat surprisingly reminiscent of the Madchester era. Of the track, lead singer Phil McGill offers, “It’s okay to not be okay. It’s important to appreciate the small things that make us happy as much as the big ones. Uncertainty is certain. Feelings usually pass, fade, grow and change. Love yourself and make time for yourself. Make time for the ones you love. Trust the mystery.”
The new forthcoming album was produced by Drew Vandenberg (Futurebirds, Bambara, Faye Webster), the 10-song set follows the band’s magnetkingmagnetqueen LP, which released on New West Records in 2016.
New Madrid (the band) originally formed across state lines before Tennessee transplants Alex Woolley (drums), Ben Hackett (bass), and Graham Powers (guitar) joined Phil McGill in Athens, Georgia.
This elongated process broke the band’s previous stride of releasing an LP every two years (with 2014’s Sunswimmer and 2012’s Yardboat preceding 2016’s magnetkingmagnetqueen), but the time spent has delivered a collection that Hackett describes as “all the things we liked about our previous albums with new stuff put on top of it.” The early demo sessions were driven by Hackett’s growing studio skills at Athens’ renowned Chase Park Transduction, as well as each band member coming into their own as songwriters, but the final piece of the puzzle was bringing in Vandenberg to produce and engineer the project.
“Do you only ask the question for the answers,” McGill sings across the chorus of album standout “Q & A.” It’s a statement of purpose, in the form of a question, for how the band approached the album as a whole. Being able to flesh out the songs over years of writing and playing live prior to the pandemic allowed them to look at the questions as art in themselves without needing answers.
Songs like the raucous “I Tried to Wait” actually grew harder as it was more and more road-tested, even gaining a studio saxophone part inspired by improvisational playing from guest musicians while on the road. While “Are You the Wind” utilizes a mixture of live and electronic drums to sandwich a variant middle section with a different vibe from the rest of the song. The drums gradually speed up to create a chaotic build that drops out and reconvenes with the previously abandoned opening rhythm.
In a year where we have spent a lot of time inside, New Madrid is an album, and a band, that engenders some inward reflections to bring us back out of ourselves – leaving behind the questions that don’t need any answers.
