New Music from Amy Cook and Austin’s The Black and White Years

Like an early Christmas gift, two of our favorite Austin musicians are dropping new new on you you today.

Amy Cook Releases “Hotel Lights,” the First Single Off New Album

First up is Austin’s desert song bird Amy Cook.  Last summer, Amy was in the studio recording her new album with Alejandro Escovedo.  Over the last couple of months, she’s been up in the lab finalizing the mix of the album. Well today the world gets to sample the end result with Hotel Lights, the first single off the new album. [Check out our interview with Amy Cook from last August.]

Hotel Lights has been one of my favorite songs from Amy’s live set over the last few months. Something about the tenderness of the song touches something inside me and takes me back to a time before I’d been burned by love.

True to her craft, Amy fills the song with poetry and imagery. For me, the song is painted in pinks, and it feels like you’re experiencing an intimate moment.  Neon lights from the hotel spill across her lover’s naked body. As she reflects on the night, it’s almost like she wonders will this love be fleeting.  And if it is, at least they’ll still have the hotel lights.

Get a free download of Hotel Lights from Amy’s site [Click on "Hotel Lights MP3 Download" on the left side], or purchase it off iTunes. Oh yeah, did we mention that Patty Griffin adds supporting vocals?!

COMMENT: What do you think? What do you see from the song?

We emailed Amy a couple of questions, just to make it fun:

RoA: You made the album with Alejandro Escovedo. Did you learning anything from him in the process?

AC: I could write a dissertation on the things I have learned from Alejandro.

I will list a few things he has told me:

• Look your best.
• Sing like you’re singing to one person.
• Don’t get a drug problem.
• Get to the good part.
• Praise Jah for the many blessings.

RoA: Has a release date been set?

AC: 3-2-10

RoA: How will you be spending the holidays?

AC: Marfa, Texas, baby.

New Video for “Two Reservoirs” from The Black and White Years

Today we also get to see a new video from the Black and White Years for “Two Reservoirs.”  Where Amy’s “Hotel Lights” shares a warm, intimate moment, “Two Reservoirs” feels more a summer love-or is it?

The song’s happy-go-lucky whistling open immediately makes you think it’s a song about a fun fling. When the whistling fades, the singing begins. With David Bowie crooning, we hear “we were too young to be lovers,” but does he believe it?

For me, it’s kinda like when you go on a few really cool dates with a person, maybe have a couple of hot nights-but they seem to pull away. Instead of trying to convince them to just give it time, you try to find all the reasons why it won’t work in order to convince yourself it wasn’t meant to be.

COMMENT: Check out the video for yourself. Let me know what you think. Am I right?! Is he really over it? OR just trying to convince himself?! You can also download “Two Reservoirs” for free from the Black and White Years’s website.

The Black and White Years “Two Reservoirs” from Matthew Hoffman on Vimeo.

INTERVIEW: At Red Bull Locally Grown, we hung out with the Black and White Years. They’ve been working hard in the studio with some new ish coming out soon. We shot Landon a couple of questions for follow-up. Here’s what he said:

RoA: You guys are in the studio. When’s it gonna be ready? What should we expect from the new material?

TBAWY: We actually just finished another batch of 5 songs and we’re looking for a home (a label) for the new LP.  The newest material sounds more polished than the EP.  The writing is more focused and lyrically has everything to do with psychology, sociology, science and the modern age.  The music reflects it too.  Kinda has that lab coat vibe.

RoA: If you had to get one member of the band a white elephant gift, who would get it and what would it be?

TBAWY: I’d gift the whole band a self portrait of me enjoying the gifts I intended to give them but enjoyed myself….i.e. a smoked turkey, bottle of jameson, a “bowl” of Austin’s finest……;)

OH YEAH: Don’t forget to nominate these Austin bands and others for our Austin music awards, the Roaries.

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