Molly Tuttle Covers The National, The Rolling Stones, Cat Stevens, And More with '...but I'd rather be with you'

Songwriter-guitarist Molly Tuttle has announced a new album for the end of August, and it's one that she's been recording in quarantine, called …but i’d rather be with you.

The album will feature 10 songs, the first of which is The National's song "Fake Empire", which has also been released as a video.

Tuttle says about the song and video that have been released:

“I am a huge fan of The National. THE BOXER is probably my favorite album by them. This song has a super cool four-over-three polyrhythm throughout. The piano part is super fun on guitar if you can train your thumb to play in three and your index and middle fingers to play in four!

We created the Fake Empire video by projecting footage of activism in mid 20th century America onto me while I played the song. We contrasted that footage with forest fires, stars and dreamlike images. We wanted to leave the meaning of the video somewhat up to interpretation, just like the lyrics of the song.

Matt Berninger commented that the song is about ‘where you can’t deal with the reality of what’s really going on, so let’s just pretend that the world’s full of bluebirds and ice skating.’ Right now a lot of people in our country are waking up to the realities of police brutality, racism, and bigotry all around us. I hope that people, like myself, who have the privilege to turn a blind eye to these injustices, can maintain this awareness and action to create a better society.”

Tuttle experienced the devastating tornado that struck much of East Nashville in March 2020, followed by the global pandemic. While sheltering at home, she revisited her favorite songs, which generated the idea for the covers album. The new collection takes in the music of iconic artists from The Rolling Stones to FKA Twigs, to Cat Stevens, Rancid, and Karen Dalton.

Tuttle adds:

“I have been working on writing for another original album and am still planning to record that this year, but in the meantime I wanted to share these covers that have lifted my spirits, in hopes that you’ll find some much-needed joy as well.”

Track listing for the new album:

1.Fake Empire (The National)

2.She’s A Rainbow (The Rolling Stones)

3.A Little Lost (Arthur Russell)

4.Something On Your Mind (Karen Dalton)

5.Mirrored Heart (FKA Twigs)

6.Olympia, WA (Rancid)

7.Standing On The Moon (Grateful Dead)

8.Zero (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)

9.Sunflower, Vol. 6 (Harry Styles)

10.How Can I Tell You (Cat Stevens)