Hit the Road

Jamin Ellis to release new album Hit the Road, out July 28th

Lead single: Back Roads, out March 10th

Follow-up single: Ol’ Jalopy, out April 14th

Penultimate single: Highway Hypnosis, out May 19th

Final single: Hell to Pay, out June 23rd

Singer/Songwriter Jamin Ellis, founding member, singer, and guitarist of the bands Me-Shaped Hole and Immortal Parrot, announces the release of his second full-length solo album, Hit the Road, which will release on July 28th, preceded by four singles to release over the summer road trip season.  The nine-song collection explores the double meaning of the term “hit the road”, featuring songs about the nostalgia of American car and driving culture, and songs that explore the end of relationships- where in either case, one might feel compelled to “hit the road”.  

The album will feel familiar to fans of classic rock, featuring all the components you expect: guitars, bass, drums, and a variety of keys, as well as solid vocal melodies and beautiful harmonies. The songs explore real-world topics such as love, happiness, pain, existential angst, and the meaning of life.

Tracks

Back Roads, the album’s first single, is a fun, bluesy ride through the highways and scenic routes of America.  Taking the back road may be slower, but there’s a lot more to see and do, and it can make your life a lot more fulfilling when you take the time to smell the roses, so to speak.

Ol’ Jalopy, the album’s second single, is simple and groovy.  With the bass driving the song, it feels like a lazy Sunday drive where the journey is the destination: nowhere in particular to go, but having a good time getting there.  The vehicle doesn’t have to be a pristine classic to enjoy cruising around with the windows down and this song on the stereo.

Boxcar is the story of coming across a seemingly out-of-place relic on the side of the road and the rumination on life, self-worth, and place in the world that a long trip can bring about.  This American Folk style song features acoustic guitar.

Driving Blind, a hard driving guitar rock number, starts with the idea that no one can know the future, and takes the listener on a journey through classic works such as Robert Burns’ To a Mouse, Wilson Pickett’s Mustang Sally, and Prince’s Little Red Corvette.

Terra Cotta Warrior, an acoustic-guitar-driven ballad, puts you on a road trip with a couple who is trying to work out their relationship troubles by taking this trip together.  It explores how hurt, longing, love, and childhood trauma all play into relationship dynamics.

Final Goodbye digs deeper into relationship woes with an exploration of guilt and pleasure in a relationship based on cheating on another partner.  Bass, haunting synth, and finger picked guitar are featured on this track.

Hell to Pay, the album’s fourth single, gets to the hassle and pain of officially ending a relationship.  This classic rock number asks whether it’s better to face the troubles of mending a damaged relationship or to face the troubles of officially ending it.  It features a classic rock-style guitar outro.

Highway Hypnosis, the album’s third single, is a driving rock number that considers the danger of feeling like a road trip, or life, is monotonous, and letting boredom allow one to lose focus on the direction one is heading.

Long Gray Ribbon rounds out the album in a psychedelic-rock ride to the end of the road.  Where will the road take you? What’s at the end of the road?  What is there between here and there?  Follow it all the way and you might see for yourself.

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