Nicole Hale pleads for us to recognize love’s capricious nature on “Give It Time”

Nicole Hale‘s latest album, Some Kind of Longing, is out now, and it finds the Austin musician digging into the roots of her folk and chamber music influences. Produced by Hale and Britton Beisenherz at Ramble Creek recording studio, it channels the spectral folk atmospheres of Will Oldham and Dawn McCarthy, and the heart-on-sleeve plaintiveness of Judee Still. The record is full of collaborations with artists such as Lindsey Verrill and Jeff Johnston (the duo behind Little Mazarn) and Thor Harris (Shearwater, Swans, Thor & Friends). The music feels familial but not bound by blood or communal history — she speaks in universal sentiment but digs down into the marrow to explore a definitive emotional individuality.

Recent single “Give It Time” is a plea to surrender to the unpredictable nature of affection and the winding ways it has of bringing two people together. Sitting somewhere between the earnest narratives of Victoria Williams and the rural story-songs of Lucinda Williams, the track is a gorgeous request to allow room for love’s capricious movements in our livers; sometimes it doesn’t appear exactly when we want it to (or need it to). We can only embrace its wild temperament and let it fill our hearts when the opportunity presents itself. Her voice is worn, weathered, and filled with the weight of countless emotional attachments. Guitar float above a shuffling percussive rumble as she offers advice while roaming through calming Americana terrain. It’s a joy to witness the song’s subtle motions, and I can’t wait to dig into the rest of the album.

Listen to “Give It Time” below.

Some Kind of Longing is out now. You can purchase a copy of the album here. Follow Nicole Hale on Facebook and Instagram.