Molly Tuttle Announces Covers Album & Shares The National’s ‘Fake Empire’

Molly Tuttle announced a covers album, …But I’d Rather Be With You, due out on August 28 via Compass Records. The singer-songwriter and guitarist also shared a cover of The National’s “Fake Empire.”

Tuttle’s inspiration for …But I’d Rather Be With You came out of the isolation following the onset of the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak as well as the devastation of the tornado that hit Molly’s adopted home of Nashville at around the same time. Tuttle penned a letter detailing the covers album and posted it to her website.

Read Molly’s letter below:

In March, with COVID-19 devastating communities across the world, a tornado destroying much of my beloved hometown, Nashville, all concerts canceled for every musician I know and the specter of hunger and joblessness looming around the globe, I found myself creatively, mentally and physically drained. I was fortunate to find ways to livestream concerts at home to raise funds for nonprofits that were working hard to rebuild Nashville and address the tragedy of widespread hunger, but because I have been on tour almost my whole adult life, sheltering at home without knowing when or even if my life as a musician could resume was a shock to my system.

Without being able to play shows for people and play music with my friends in person, I really struggled to find any inspiration to pick up my guitar. So, I started going back to songs that have meant a lot to me in my life in an attempt to remind myself why I love music. Tony Berg and I had the idea to record these songs remotely during quarantine and share them with the world. I downloaded Pro Tools, borrowed some recording gear, and started sending him tracks of me in my home. Tony sent the recordings I made to some amazing musicians in Los Angeles who added parts in their respective home studios. He kept saying, “This is how the astronauts do it!” as we sent files back and forth.

I have been working on writing another album of all original songs 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. I remember playing “Olympia, WA” with my middle school rock band, listening to “How Can I Tell You” over and over after my dog died while I was away at college, and playing “Standing on the Moon” with my brother Sullivan and lifelong friend AJ Lee at my San Francisco album release show, and feeling all of the hometown love in the room. There is no real theme to the songs I have chosen, but they all bring me back to vivid moments in time — highs and lows. This album is also meant to be a timestamp, capturing this unique moment in the world when all of us have had to find ways to keep going in the face of this terrible pandemic. I never would have thought I’d be spending 2020 in my room learning Pro Tools and recording a covers album, but I’m grateful that I have a home I can shelter in, and that I had time to record for you these special songs that have meant a lot to me during my life.

The musicians Tuttle speaks of include renowned session drummer Matt Chamberlain as well as Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes, as per Rolling Stone. Along with Tony Berg, the musicians helped Molly create …But I’d Rather Be With You, which also contains takes on songs by The Rolling Stones, Grateful Dead, Cat Stevens, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and more.

Tuttle previewed the covers album with The National’s “Fake Empire,” which arrived with an accompanying music video. Watch it below:

…But I’d Rather Be With You Tracklist:

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)