Kara Cole tries to get it together on her hard-hitting and personal new root-rock single I’m A Mess — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The second preview of the Indianapolis singer-songwriter’s upcoming EP Firefly (due Aug. 30), I’m A Mess couples the emotional toll of a self-destructive on-and-off again relationship with Cole’s transformative path to sobriety. It’s not the only journey associated with the song.
“I had a completely different idea for this song initially,” Cole says. “I wanted it to be a country ballad. And then we came into the studio and ended up making it really heavy, and it just comes in hot. It took me awhile to chew on that, but my producer (Tyler Watkins) insisted it was a good move, and the more I heard it, the more I got on board with it.”
The single wastes no time making its mark, as heavy electric guitars make their presence felt in the opening seconds before things quiet down for Cole’s painstaking vocals to take center stage:
“People talkin’ ‘bout me ‘round town
They been sayin’ I’m going crazy
They can whisper so damn loud
Since the day that you left me, baby
Just like whiskey I put you on the shelf
White powder go and find somebody else
Like a devil in a little black dress
It’s ’cause of you
Honey, I’m a mess.”
Cole wrote I’m A Mess — and the rest of Firefly — in a whirlwind of emotion, unleashing a wave of vulnerability and raw energy that resonates with anyone who’s experienced the psychological stress of a toxic partner, yet struggles to cut the cord. Intertwining themes of heartbreak, addiction, and growth surround the single and EP. Offering strong, haunting undertones within her vocals and affliction in her delivery, this new collection of songs makes listeners believe in her pain.
What’s notably inherent in Cole is her ceaseless passion and love for writing songs, which was the remedy she needed to power through the difficult times in her life. Expressing her deep vulnerabilities with a profound musical ability to match, she hopes to be a beacon to anybody and everybody who may be struggling with something.
Cole grew up with a grandpa who would have country music and bluegrass hootenannies on the weekends, and an uncle who was a master guitarist, instilling in her at a young age her love and admiration of music. And not just that, but she is also a distant relative of the late great Ralph Stanley, who shared a surname with her maternal grandfather.
She started writing songs around age 15 when she got an acoustic guitar for Christmas. Around 20 she began hitting open mics and developing her chops, which didn’t come easy. “I was scared to death,” she says. “And I feel the exact same way today taking the stage as I did that first time. My legs shake, hands shake, I am petrified. It’s a feeling that never goes away, but at the same time, it’s so wonderful.”
Prior to her solo efforts, she was part of the indie folk duo Keller And Cole, mainstays on her local circuit for nearly a decade. After Covid stole their momentum and her grandma took ill, she began writing songs that just didn’t fit in with the duo. She began to pursue a solo career, put out a few songs, and the ball just kept rolling. Her self-titled 2023 debut was cut in Nashville with notable session players who helped her create a flawless set of six original songs, highlighted by the single and ode to her grandma Mary Francis.
Cole has supported Ben Harper, The Oak Ridge Boys, I’m With Her, Arlo McKinley and numerous others, and continues to be one of the city’s hardest-working performers. “Music is my love language,” Cole says. “It’s what cross-pollinates everybody’s world. You can have all these different beliefs, different colors, different sex, different orientations, but music can bridge that gap.”
Check out I’m A Mess above, hear more from Kara Cole below, and find her on her website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok.
