I am antsy this morning. I have waited for a new single from Nashville-based singer-songwriter Cam for what has seemed like a decade. More accurately, it’s been only two years since her last single. But after a grave oversight, I realize that her new single “Till There’s Nothing Left” dropped yesterday and not today as I had thought. Now I’m itching to write my words down. The new single is an epic, apocalyptic daydream from the back seat of a car. It's a passionate romance told through dramatic sweeps of melody, an anthemic chorus, and Cam’s signature powerhouse vocals. It’s everything I want and here’s why:
We thought we were gearing up for a flood of release announcements from Cam after the release of singles “Diane” and “Road to Happiness” in 2017 and 2018. She had found a spotlight, playing guitar for and penning Sam Smith’s 2018 track “Palace”, and singing with Thomas Wesley on Diplo’s country-electro single “So Long”. But then just like that, silence. I had been on the Cam train since her grammy-nominated single “Burning House” left my jaw on the floor and my heart in my hands. Writing like that doesn’t go unnoticed. With a new label behind her, “Till There’s Nothing Left” is the trigger of the avalanche. An album is coming.
You could call it a comeback, but the truth is Cam’s been here all along. She has made herself present at important conversations in the music industry and beyond. She did a Ted Talk on using music in life’s tough moments paired with a stunning performance. Her constant speaking out against the gross lack of representation in country music and music in general. Her music video for single “Mayday” featured a play on an Amelia Earhart character, pumping female power with a quick and catchy chorus. “Diane” was Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” turned inside out, singing from the perspective of the “other” woman, joining women together in grief rather than painting them as enemies. Now, with an almost two-month-old daughter by her side, Cam is launching herself into this next chapter with flaming energy.
“Till There’s Nothing Left” is not the sappy love story you might expect to hit airwaves on the eve of Valentine’s Day. It’s hot, it’s sexy, it’s depicting the end times. Is there anything more romantic than that? The music video sets itself in Nashville, in a friendly honky-tonk saloon, couples making the most of their final moments. With a lightning fed category 5 twister as their backdrop, people swoon and dance as Cam narrates their emotions and the bartender pops the cap off a bottle of jack. “God don’t save me” she sings, not just yet. That’s how good this feeling is. The single's theme is eerily timely and its tone is wonderfully hopeful. Desperately making out in the backseat has never been written down so well. And just like that, Cam is back.
