The album encapsulates the story of a man who rebuilds his life through the twangy contemporary Americana pop rock and outlaw country sounds.

Reed Mitchell never gave music a chance. In fact, right after college, he married his girlfriend and started a family soon after. But about a month before lockdown, he went through a divorce and due to forced loneliness during quarantine had no choice but to really examine what he wanted in life. He emerged with his debut album ‘Hot & Cold’, singing about falling in love with someone at the wrong time and speaks on the entirety of the ill-fated arc.

The 12-track collection of twangy pop-rock was produced by Neilson Hubbard who previously produced Sam Baker, Kim Richey, Glen Phillips, and Mary Gauthier’s Grammy-nominated album, Rifles & Rosary Beads. Reed looked to Nashville for a producer who understood his hard luck Americana. He found that in Neilson Hubbard, and journeyed to Music City to record the album with a cadre of ace musicians. Reed’s songcraft fit country music’s storyteller heritage, and Neilson and his stable of musicians helped him realize an aesthetic that encompasses singer-songwriter intimacy, pop-rock hooks, and vibey gothic country. It’s reminiscent of Johnny Cash and Steve Earle.

A prolonged and painful on-and-off romance inspired the songs of ‘Hot & Cold’, and Reed retreated into the safe space of music to heal his heartbreak. Many of the songs on the album were written during this post-divorce dramatic time. Reed had been playing guitar since he was a kid, and he always struggled with writing lyrics, but the breakup proved to be a dark catalyst. “I finally had something I wanted to share emotionally—I had purpose—it sucked to go through what I went through, but it gave me these songs”, he says. Poetic, poignant, and pointed lyrics furiously poured out of him. It was a seismic artistic onslaught, and while mired in the middle of it, he vowed to finally pursue his lifelong love of music.

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