After arguably hitting a certain nadir with his track-for-track cover of 1989, Ryan Adams swore off cover albums a couple of months ago. The way back has been slow but steady for the artist, who previously got things going by releasing the completely original song “Do You Still Love Me?” off his upcoming album Prisoner. Now, Adams has released the effort’s second single, “To Be Without You,” and if you over-read between the lines, he may not be handling life without covers as well as he’s been pretending to. “It’s so hard to be without you,” Adams sings, sharing that without “you,” “I only feel humble.” Aw, losing the safety net of well-tread territory will do that to you, Ry! He continues, “Nothing left to say or even wonder,” the writer’s block clearly eating away at his covers-deprived soul. The song may end with Adams still down in the dumps, despondently crooning, “Nothing really matters anymore,” but we still have hope for him yet. After all, “To Be Without You” finds Adams singing to covers, not singing covers, and we call that conjunction progress. Listen below.
