Hunter Metts - “Nothing To Lose”

Franklin, Tennessee-based Hunter Metts began recording songs in a spare room as a means of escaping the mundane. And from this spare room comes his latest single, “Nothing To Lose.”

Metts caught our attention by listing Gregory Alan Isakov, The Paper Kites and Novo Amor among his influences– three of our favorite indie folksters. By doing so, he raised the bar quite high for himself, but we’re here to tell you that his music delivers. As soon as “Nothing To Lose” begins, we are immediately jealous that our spare room does not allow us to create such masterful recordings. The acoustic guitar, with all of its nuances, has been captured completely and honestly– not the easiest thing to accomplish, but the vocals are sublime as well. Metts has a firm grasp on his control and he sings in a way that causes you to believe every word, which, to us, is absolutely necessary for this genre.

The subject matter here is one that might be familiar to many: being in love, but afraid of messing it up by loving too much. The lyrics speak of wanting everything, but overthinking it, every step of the way, needing someone like water, yet doing anything and everything to keep it all inside. “Nothing To Lose” is quite sparse, with primarily just the acoustic and vocal for the first half, but then opening and expanding with the addition of a few more elements, like strings, bass, and carefully placed vocal harmonies. It finally lifts with some dreamy falsettos that dance around the production and remain until Metts gives us the last, heartfelt line of lyrics: “I’ll hold you like there is nothing to lose.” You cannot afford to miss this one, people.

-TM