SONG PREMIERE: Rob Williams "Don't Want To Love You"

Credit: Vivian Wang

​Richmond, VA-based Rob Williams will release his new album, An Hour Before Daylight on October 27th. Full of turns and twists through a warm soundscape of folk, roots rock, and Americana twang, Williams songs address issues from loneliness and love to the plight of miners over a century ago. Williams, who has a doctoral in educational leadership, works to make a difference in song, to "seek truth in the marriage of lyric and melody."

Today, TDC is extremely proud to premiere one of the album's tracks, the instantly memorable "Don't Want To Love You." Williams relates the story behind the sadly optimistic tune,
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“I had the idea of building a story around a wedding dress, and having the dress re-appear in verses throughout the song.  I got so fixed on that structure that I couldn’t actually make progress on the song.  By the time I finally abandoned that approach, I had a couple of verses and saw a storyline evolving.  I just followed the path of the story from there.  To me, this song carries a certain degree of hopefulness about it.  Despite the appearance that things didn’t go the way the narrator wanted with the girl, he has emerged as the stronger of the two and moved on.”  Further adding, “There’s hopefulness in this song.  It may not sound like it initially, but that’s the underlying message.”

The song, a light on its feet, jaunty shuffler led by Williams warm, gentle vocals, has that inherent hopefulness he speaks of even as it focuses on an ex who is causing quite a bit of emotional distress for the narrator. Williams says he enjoys that particular dichotomy noting,

“I like contrast.  I like it visually and lyrically.  On the surface, this song is a little sad.  The narrator pines for a girl who marries someone else.  He’s kicking himself and wondering what might have been.  But really, it’s a song about courage and confidence.  In the end, when she wants him back, he’s strong enough to say no.  Musically, the song is fairly light and bouncy.  The chord arrangement is familiar, but the vocal delivery is choppy at times and maybe even a little awkward.  I like that contrast as well.  It feels natural to me.”

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Credit: Vivian Wang

With his previous records Williams didn’t share his new songs until right before each session, but with this one, he wanted a little more control, so he rehearsed in advance, and then went to Great North Sound Society, a studio in an old house in the foothills of southern Maine. For eight days, amidst trees and open spaces, they got inside each song, found its heart and brought it to life. Williams says of recording the track,

“We went into the studio with the attitude that “less is more.”  I didn’t want to over-do anything on this album, either performance-wise or production-wise.  I think we accomplished that overall, and particularly with this song.  There are places where more instruments might have accentuated verses or choruses, or where a guitar or piano solo might have fit in, but we stuck to the plan and let the songs speak for themselves without cluttering them up.”

In addition to “Don’t Want To Love You,” the stories on An Hour Before Daylight lead listeners to places that are autobiographical (“The Old North State”), hopeful (“Icarus Dreamt”), and lonesome (“Broken”), while some travel to the past (“Butte, Montana, 1885,” “Lucy, You’re Lovely”). Williams says his songwriting process, “has traditionally been music first, but recently I’ve been forcing myself to try it the other way around.  When I first started out, I played guitar in a band but didn’t sing.  I wasn’t writing words, so chords and music were my focus.  As I’ve adapted to the singer/songwriter role, lyrics have naturally become more important and I’m finding that focusing on them independent of the music has been beneficial for my overall writing process.”

Rob Williams An Hour Before Daylight releases October 27th. Pre-order the album HERE.
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For more information visit his official website
Find him on Twitter and Instagram

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