Cory Branan Recruits Jason Isbell for ‘You Make Me’ — Song Premiere
A country boy with a punk-rock heart, Cory Branan fires twin barrels of barroom boogie woogie and honky-tonk twang on “You Make Me,” the kickoff track from his upcoming release, The No-Hit Wonder.
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Like most of his music, “You Make Me” is a left-of-center tune regardless of where you’re standing. It’s too rockin’ for country and too drawling for rock & roll, shot through with a guitar riff stolen from Ron Wood’s mid-Seventies wheelhouse and a piano solo steeped in the Old West vibe of a border town saloon. In other words, the song is thoroughly Cory Branan, a rootsy rave-up tailored to the shape of someone who’s made a habit of shrugging off most normal outfits. To sweeten the deal, Jason Isbell stops by for a cameo, harmonizing with Branan’s boozy baritone during each refrain.
“‘You Make Me'” is just a little ditty about how rad my wife is,” Branan tells Rolling Stone Country. “The possibly cryptic third verse is about our wedding by the crossroads in Clarksdale, Mississippi, at a place called the Shack Up Inn. Was stoked and lucky to have my buddy Jason Isbell lend his honeyed Alabama blend to a couple tunes. Plus, if you’re singing ‘Gon’ cakewalk on thru it to the jubilee,’ it probably best be a fellow southerner harmonizing.”
The No-Hit Wonder, Branan’s second release for the country-punk label Bloodshot Records, hits stores on August 19th. Two weeks later, the no-hit wonder himself will kick off his fall tour in Little Rock, Arkansas, remaining on the road through mid-October.