On his first solo record in over a decade, Thad Cockrell builds from the alt country of his early career and power pop of recent project Leagues to create the genre-bending If In Case You Feel The Same. For Cockrell, this new step in his career is a combination of his past work and inspiration from the music that has surrounded him his whole life.
“When people fall in love with you where you start, they kinda want you to stay. But it wasn’t for me,” says Cockrell. “I just wanted to embrace everything that informed my love for music.”
The song “Swingin’,” is proof of his ability to change courses and still stay on track. After releasing music under several different names for over twenty years, Cockrell found himself producing music that was much more personal.
“My career has been a career most fueled by just perseverance,” says Cockrell. “It feels like a song of defiance, and it’s not a song of defeat, it’s a song of, ‘what if?’”
As he was working on the album, he was introduced to Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard through a mutual musician friend, Becca Mancari. Her involvement helped him to get signed to ATO Records, and she also contributed vocals on “Higher,” a song that shows gratitude for the lowest points in life.
“If you would have told me that when I was writing that song that Brittany Howard was going to sing on it, I might not have finished it,” says Cockrell.
If In Case You Feel The Same is out now on ATO Records.
