AfterEllen Premieres Paula Cole’s Track Hope Is Everywhere Ahead of the September 13th Release of Her Forthcoming Album Revolution. photo: Tim Llewellyn Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Paula Cole is making a huge comeback on the music scene with her new album Revolution which will drop September 13th via 675 Records. Today AfterEllen is proud to exclusively premiere her track “Hope is Everywhere” which is intended to speak to the lesbian and gay community specifically, and is featured as a bonus track on the vinyl edition of Revolution.
Cole first won us over with her sophomore album This Fire (released in 1996), which went double platinum due to hit singles “I Don’t Want to Wait” and “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone.” She went on to win the 1998 Best New Artist Grammy, and of course, many women will remember her powerful presence at Lilith Fair. Cole has since recorded multiple jazz standards, and is now making a bigger comeback with the much-anticipated Revolution. She shares insight on the premiere track.
‘Hope Is Everywhere’ was a totally unplanned stream-of-consciousness creation,” explains Cole. “It begins as a slow R&B groove that explodes into a dance groove that can only be described as what I’m calling ‘prog-disco.’ It is funky and makes you want to dance! Lyrically it is a message to those who are experiencing undue discrimination, intimidation and legal abuse in our current political climate. Specifically the LGBTQ community. I want people to know that I am right here loving and supporting them. And if we get depressed and don’t act or vote, the intimidators win. ‘Hope Is Everywhere’ is a call to arms and it is ebullient! I hope it will be played in clubs and homes and kitchens and halls, inspiring dance, togetherness, empowerment and joy!” LISTEN to HOPE IS EVERYWHERE
The forthcoming Revolution will be Paula Cole’s tenth full-length album and features contributions from a number of acclaimed artists, including Ndegeocello, vocalists Nona Hendryx (Labelle) and Darcel Wilson and jazz pianist and singer Bob Thompson. The title track “Revolution (Is a State of Mind)” excerpts Martin Luther King’s speech “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence,” delivered at New York’s Riverside Church on April 4, 1967. This new album largely speaks about race in America and women’s rights – issues Cole is very passionate about – while still embodying the autobiographical elements that have allowed us to follow her life’s journey through the years.
“All of the albums are stepping stones to this one, and it’s all a map to me. A map to myself. To my story. Revolution is mostly about inner revolution, breaking silence and finding a way through these times with love in our hearts.”
Revolution is a continuum in that it shares another piece of her story, which is today much different from her early music and the rebellious, more turbulent years that sparked This Fire in the 90s. At age 51, Cole is poised, quietly self-assured, with a regal air that draws you in, and makes you want to listen. And therein lies the true power in Cole’s voice – when she sings for those who may not have one, we will all listen.
The forthcoming Revolution will be Paula Cole’s tenth full-length album and features contributions from a number of acclaimed artists, including Ndegeocello, vocalists Nona Hendryx (Labelle) and Darcel Wilson and jazz pianist and singer Bob Thompson. The title track “Revolution (Is a State of Mind)” excerpts Martin Luther King’s speech “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence,” delivered at New York’s Riverside Church on April 4, 1967. This new album largely speaks about race in America and women’s rights – issues Cole is very passionate about – while still embodying the autobiographical elements that have allowed us to follow her life’s journey through the years.
“All of the albums are stepping stones to this one, and it’s all a map to me. A map to myself. To my story. Revolution is mostly about inner revolution, breaking silence and finding a way through these times with love in our hearts.”
Revolution is a continuum in that it shares another piece of her story, which is today much different from her early music and the rebellious, more turbulent years that sparked This Fire in the 90s. At age 51, Cole is poised, quietly self-assured, with a regal air that draws you in, and makes you want to listen. And therein lies the true power in Cole’s voice – when she sings for those who may not have one, we will all listen.
