After releasing an album over ten years ago, songwriter Thad Cockrell threw his hands up and headed for the hills, anywhere he could escape music. He was exhausted and music had left a bitter taste in his mouth- luckily it was only temporary.
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During this hiatus Cockrell headed home to North Carolina where he began searching for work in anything, as long as it wasn’t related to music. Ironically it was this time that Cockrell found his spark for songwriting again. He soon used this rebirth of inspiration to found the Nashville rock group Leagues. During the ride, and recording of the band’s 2016 album Alone Together, the songwriter felt a need to write more, this time for himself. He began crafting the concept for In Case You Feel The Same, a solo album rallied by his single “Swingin.”
“‘Swingin”’ is a song about ‘what if,’” Cockrell told American Songwriter. “All the best stories start with the premise of ‘what if.’ Some might hear it as a song of failure, but it strikes me as a song of resilience and just maybe something great can happen in what looks to be possible defeat or failure.”
The pop-ballad single bursts out anthem-like lyrics that are empowering and impactful. The chorus says it all: ‘If I’m gonna go down/I wanna go down swingin/I wanna go down hard/ with all of my heart.’ The words also suggest a kind of stubbornness that fuels the song’s notion. And you can definitely see a parallel between the single and all the adversities Cockrell has experienced with his music and career. It’s good to see he did not give up and stuck around to give other musicians and listeners a fight song with “Swingin”.
“If In Case You Feel The Same is an album that is for the listener as much as it is written for me,” said Cockrell. “I want these songs to be shared experiences that connect us. The overarching theme is resilience.”
Cockrell’s album is out June 26 and was propelled by Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard who came into Cockrell’s life through mutual friend Becca Mancari. After hearing Cockrell’s demos on Mancari’s phone during a late-night hangout, Howard immediately contacted Cockrell to confess her abundant love for his music. Not a half-hour later, the duo walked through Cockrell’s door ready for mezcal margarita filled adventures and conversations that led Howard to pass Cockrell’s music onto John Salter at ATO Records.
