New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Nashville-based newcomer Zoë Nutt's How Does It Feel is available everywhere today. Produced by celebrated songwriter Tammi Kidd Hutton (LeAnn Rimes, Rascal Flatts) along with Ben Phillips (Chris Janson) and Greg Magers (Umphrey's McGee, Lupe Fiasco), the music draws from a wide array of influences -- from
Sheryl Crow to Dido -- and the result is a far-reaching and utterly captivating collection all about isolation, belonging, and growth.
Created over a two-year period in the wake of a cochlear implant surgery intended to save her from complete and total deafness, How Does It Feel offers nuanced explorations of life's emotional grey areas as she draws on country, folk, pop and soul to craft a distinctly modern sound staked in unflinching vulnerability.
Zoë uses infectious, gleeful melodies and '90s-era production, juxtaposed against lyrics conveying the torrent emotions that accompany heartache, hardship and artistic resilience. The album features guest vocal appearances by
Brandy Clark and by Jaren Johnston & Neil
Mason of The
Cadillac Three.
Despite the album's sometimes-heavy nature, Zoë "creates a juxtaposition between breathless, Taylor Swift-esque melodies and a much more sobering lyrical message" (No Depression). Zoë brings a "Americana-Folk flair" (American Songwriter) on the album's lead single "Happy," a vibrantly savvy character study about recognizing and cherishing the people and moments that really matter (and Refinery 29 included as one of their songs to inspire). On the playful "Ooo Eee," which locates the silver lining in unrequited love, Zoë delivers a "flirty, bluesy pop" hit (No Depression), but it's the poignant "Like You," that best captures her spirit, as she spins her personal struggles with hearing into a universal meditation on loss.
How Does It Feel Track List:
If That's What It Takes
Happy
Rewind ft. The
Cadillac Three
How Does It Feel
Girl Of My Dreams
Come Over
Too Fast ft.
Brandy Clark
Ooo Eee
East
Houston Street
Like You