PREMIERE: Kara Cole Likens Ending A Toxic Relationship To Putting Down The Bottle On Painstaking New Single ‘I’m A Mess’

Putting pain into poetry has long inspired engaging lyricism and its musical counterparts, but there are some artists who can let their soul speak clearly and move listeners right along with them.

For Indianapolis-born and based Americana singer-songwriter Kara Cole, her vulnerability concerning one of life’s most gripping tribulations has stirred her new tug-and-pull alt-country single, “I’m a Mess,” set to appear on her upcoming four-song EP, Firefly, releasing August 30th, 2024.

A beacon for those facing similar trials and tribulations, Cole touches with clever symbolism in “I’m a Mess,” interweaving the back-and-forth feelings of heartbreak and the valleys and peaks that come with fighting drug and alcohol addiction. With a plowing, deep guitar kick-off, the song maintains a waving roll as it sees intensity and grace flood the timbre simultaneously. 

Under Cole’s unique Americana vocals that meet the highs and lows so gracefully, one can’t help but be moved.

A cinematic artwork of its own, the upcoming “I’m a Mess” music video (out July 30th) brings this already striking tune into a tale of its own. Directed by Cole and Austin Webster, the visual interpretation of “I’m A Mess” resembles something out of Noah Baumbach’s 2019 film A Marriage Story. Cole and Ahna Lipchik’s embodying choreography, along with the film-like foreground-background playfulness, create imagery and rawness that is only visible to one’s deepest emotion. 

A distant relative of the late acclaimed Ralph Stanley, Cole grew up steeped in bluegrass and country music. Though she was grabbing open mic slots and developing her chops in early age, the debut of indie folk duo Keller and Cole marked her as a household name in the regional Indy circuit for almost ten years. As Covid wreaked havoc on the music industry, the duo took a hit, but she took off running guitar in hand, sonically encapsulating her environments and hasn’t slowed yet. 

Releasing her second solo EP, Firefly, Cole shows a testament to her unwavering musical authenticity, as the collection came to be when she sat down and wrote the entire work of songs back to back. Produced by Tyler Watkins, each melody dances with similar themes of toxic relationships and habits but leaves listeners with a different perspective, portraying the multi-faceted nature of grappling with any of life’s adversities. The new track follows her EP’s lead single, “Burn,” which was released in June.

Nearing an inspirational seven years sober, Cole says she “gives credit to the music for saving her life,” and her passionate lyricism paired with her unmatched vocal control lets her exude true personhood without limitations. “Music is my love language. 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,” she states.

Bridge that gap she does, and her ability to resonate personal experiences with an equal radian to every viewpoint and interpretation marks Kara Cole as a harbor for many.