Sophie Gault, Tennessee’s resident Americana rocker, has released her high-octane album, UNHINGED. The record perfectly captures defiant, whiskey-soaked midnight expeditions and wild-child confessions, painting a picture of well-traveled roads in the dead of night. Produced with Americana’s heart beating through each track’s waking fiber, Gault’s album breathes with experience and adamant rebellion. Sophie Gault’s long-awaited record, UNHINGED, is now available on all major digital streaming platforms.
“Merlot Dodge Dart” is an early favorite from Gault’s recently released UNHINGED LP, and captures the transportive nature of the artist’s vivid storytelling. This is a no-bells-or-whistles type of Americana, the kind of minimalism that still weighs on your soul with heavy emotions but also provides levity for those same complex feelings. “Merlot Dodge Dart” features haunting guitar riffs that twang in the distance, underscoring the menacing character of the lyrics. The star of “Merlot Dodge Dart” is a heartbroken character in disarray, in search of a way to remedy the scars of past love. The subtly violent nature of the lyrics graphically depicts the wide-ranging emotions that come with a breakup, while the simple arrangement serves as a cathartic release from it all. Gault has released a statement piece of an album with UNHINGED, and “Merlot Dodge Dart” is a shining testament to the artist’s poetic prowess.
“Justin Townes Earle had that song called ‘Champagne Corolla,’ and that’s what made me think of the title. It’s about keying a dark red ’76 Dodge Dart in the middle of the night after drinking a lot of wine,” explains Gault. “It’s not advisable to do something like that, but I tried to lace the words with some sly humor, and I think hopefully you’re rooting for this character at the end of the song. This was a last-minute addition to the album because we had just enough extra studio time. It’s one of my favorites on the album.”
