Memphis-based, singer songwriter Cory Branan spent the pandemic forced time-off working on a new album and signing a record deal with Indie boutique label, Blue Élan Records. When I Go I Ghost, Branan’s sixth LP, was recorded and produced by Grammy-Award winning engineer, Jeremy Ferguson in Nashville and will be released on October 14th. The album features an all-star cast of friends, including Jason Isbell, Garrison Starr, and The Gaslight Anthem’s Brian Fallon among others.
The music of Cory Branan is like a magazine anthology that rivets you; you’re always thrilled to get to the next story because it will be different, unexpected, and galvanic. “Why limit myself to a certain genre? My style is limited by liking to tell stories. But whatever the song wants to wear is fine with me. Over the years, if I had done one thing, I’d have more than a modest career now. But if I had to stand there and play acoustic singer songwriter music all the time, I’d be bored out of my mind. I love all these different styles and sounds, I’m restless like that.”
Today Glide is excited to premiere the standout tune “When In Rome, When In Memphis,” which finds tapping into his swaggering Southern rocker side with the help of Dr. Dog drummer Eric Slick. With its references to Memphis and Asbury Park, New Jersey, the song finds Branan bridging the gap between country-rock troubadour and the piano-drenched barroom sound of the E Street Band. Though many associate Branan with singer-songwriter material that veers into roots, folk and Americana, “When In Rome, When In Memphis” is a tried and true rock and roll anthem that feels like a supercharged blast through America. Of course, Branan is always a little obsessive when it comes to lyrics, and the tune finds him having a hell of a good time connecting two places that hold an esteemed place in the lore of American music.
Branan describes the inspiration behind the tune:
Relatively simple tune where character boasts of being home anywhere “once it gets dark”. The hitch (most of my songs have hitches) is he’s fooling himself and proceeds to detail the “glow in the dark” memory of someone he can’t leave behind or feel home without.
LISTEN:
