Scout LaRue Willis releases her new single “Shouldn’t I Be.” Following the previously released “Love Without Possession,” “Shouldn’t I Be” is another track off of Willis’ forthcoming, not-yet-announced solo debut album, slated for Summer of 2022. An artist who has collaborated with the likes of Nicolas Jaarand Gus Wenner in the past, Willis showcases another side of her sonic palette on “Shouldn’t I Be,” an impeccably produced country-tinged folk song that let’s her gorgeous vocals take center stage.

“To me ‘Shouldn’t I Be’ is a song poised on the knife’s edge between old patterns of self judgement and the joyful clarity of allowing myself to let them all go,” Willis explains. “Lyrically, this song speaks to that near universal pain of not-enoughness, of feeling like we ought to be something different than we are: better, stronger, taller, braver, more beautiful, in the hopes that then we might finally feel complete and whole. Sonically, however, there is also a wildly triumphant quality to this song that says, ‘I am the only version of me that will ever exist on this plant and I am ready to stop watering down the vivid, blazing glory of my unique signature.’ This song is both a call to action and a tender, soothing balm to this specific, oh so human feeling.”

Deeply inspired by Patsy Cline, Scout’s music is unadorned and cinematic. But it’s the modalities of her one-of-a-kind alto and her emotional prowess that give the songs such resonance. It’s those qualities coupled with her confessional lyrics that puts the listener at the center, anyone can imagine themselves as the protagonist in her stories.

Although “Love Without Possession” and “Shouldn’t I Be” come from her first full-length effort as a solo artist recording under her own name, she is no stranger to music and performing. She formed her original band Gus + Scout while still studying at Brown University. Together with childhood friend Gus Wenner, they released their self-titled EP and kicked off music careers while barely of drinking age. Life and adulthood brought a wealth of material to Willis, and after working more deeply on her skills as a guitar player she began to write her solo debut. These single and forthcoming album were co-produced by Scout Willis & Greg Papinia and recorded in Highland Park, CAThe album is a stark look at Willis’ internal life, a life that took years of practice to lay bare.

Photo Courtesy: Alanna Durkee