Splendid Torch – “You Can’t Hate Me For That”
Americana Highways is hosting this premiere of Splendid Torch (formerly known as Mamma’s Marmalade)’s song “You Can’t Hate Me For That” from their forthcoming album ICON, which is due to be released on May 2. ICON was co-produced by Karl Helander and Daniel Cardinal, and engineered, mixed and mastered by Daniel as well.
Musicians on “You Can’t Hate Me For That” are Lily Sexton (songwriter) on vocals and fiddle; Sean Davis on acoustic guitar; Josh Ballard on bass; Karl Helander on drums; Mitch Bordage on mandolin; and Alex Formento on pedal steel.
Rich and vibrant with strings and a jaunty rhythm keeps things sweet and true and steers clear of drama: “hey my darlin’ can I stay a little longer, layin’ here in the canyon of your arms / there’s no place I’d rather be.” It’s so refreshing when a sentiment is expressed purely like this.
This track is a sort of homage to the classic country heroes that inspired the sound of Mamma’s Marmalade (our project prior to Splendid Torch). Of course, Tammy Wynette, Patsy Cline, and Wanda Jackson inspire our new work as well.
I wrote this song in about an hour, it was all just… right there! It was a lot of fun to record this; our engineer Dan Cardinal had us all together in the live room, with Karl beside us in the booth. So many classic records that inspired us were recorded just like this, and I had a sense that we belonged to that lineage at that moment. Later on, we added my fiddle parts (which were inspired by Kenny Baker’s twin fiddle records with Bobby Hicks and Blaine Sprouse), had our pal Alex Formento come in and play some pedal steel, and added the overdubbed harmonies; “Emmylou Harris harmonies” is what our producer started referring to them as. This one was an absolute joy to write and record. -Lily Sexton
Find the music here: https://linktr.ee/splendidtorch
Enjoy our previous coverage here: Video Premiere: Mamma’s Marmalade “Louisiana”