...But I'd Rather Be With You＜限定盤/Pink Vinyl＞

The follow-up to the singer/songwriter and virtuosic instrumentalists 2019 full-length debut, When Youre Ready, ...But Id Rather Be with You sees Molly Tuttle deliver a collection of cover songs that showcases both her chops and her eclectic tastes. Produced by Tony Berg (Phoebe Bridgers, Andrew Bird), who places Tuttles expressive voice front and center, the ten-song set is bright and engaging, which is all the more impressive considering it was constructed piecemeal with Tuttle recording all of her parts at home in Nashville and Berg applying contributions from L.A. session musicians, including Matt Chamberlain and Patrick Warren. Commencing with a stirring rendition of the Nationals Fake Empire, Tuttle quickly switches gears and gives the Rolling Stones psych-pop classic Shes a Rainbow a folk-pop makeover, with her deft fingerpicking transforming the songs jaunty piano lines into intricate Doc Watson-worthy runs. She imbues Arthur Russells pained A Little Lost with warmth and a playful gait and treats Harry Styles Sunflower, Vol. 6 like it should have appeared on Taylor Swifts Folklore. Elsewhere, FKA twigs Mirrored Heart becomes a high and lonesome country-folk lament, as does an aching rendition of the Grateful Deads Standing on the Moon, the latter of which is helped along by an empathetic harmony vocal from Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith. Aptly named, ...But Id Rather Be with Yous emotional throughline is loneliness, and Tuttle does the feeling justice on a faithful rendition of Cat Stevens How Can I Tell You, which brings affairs to a close with subtle potency. ~ James Christopher Monger