The new film Texas Cotton was a hit when it premiered at this year’s Austin Film Festival, generating buzz both for the quality of the film itself and for the infamous earlier roles of its stars George Hardy (Troll 2) and Juliette Danielle (The Room). Directed by Austin filmmaker Tyler Russell, the new flick tells of the unusual trials of one small-town Texas sheriff, punctuating his story with a killer soundtrack.
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Ahead of the soundtrack’s release this Friday, the Texas Cotton folks have shared one of the album’s tracks, Mike and the Moonpies’ “Can’t Run Out On Me.” Russell and the film’s music supervisor Beau Smith approached the Austin band to write a tune for Texas Cotton, tapping Adam Odor as producer. Moonpies principal Mike Harmeier built the track off an existing melody he’d been kicking around, with Odor and the band rounding it out after watching the film. The finished song is a timeless dancehall number that showcases the band’s pristine chops and penchant for a clever lyric.
“The collaboration muscle in songwriting is one we never get to stretch as often as we would like to, so when Tyler and Beau approached us about writing a song for the movie, we were both honored and excited to add our bit of style to Tyler’s overall vision,” Harmeier says. “Sitting down with our producer Adam and the band to watch a rough cut of the scene we would be a part of, I immediately knew this melody I’ve been toying around with for a few months would be the perfect foundation to build this song on. A little morning coffee on the back porch of Yellow Dog Studios and by early that afternoon ‘Can’t Run Out On Me’ was written, recorded, and ready to hit the big screen.”
Other artists on the Texas Cotton soundtrack include Colter Wall and Charlie Crockett. Mike and the Moonpies’ latest release is this year’s Steak Night At The Prairie Rose.
Listen to “Can’t Run Out On Me” below.
