Thompson Square Return to Form With Romantic New Single ‘Without You’ [Listen]
Thompson Square have always seemed to instinctively know what their fans are craving when it comes to music, and the country duo are now ready to satisfy that craving with their new single, “Without You.”
Following in the lyrical footsteps of romantic blockbusters including “Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not” and “If I Didn’t Have You,” “Without You” touches on the love one carries for another, no matter the circumstances.
“We heard it, and we were like, ‘This is so us,’” remembers Thompson Square’s Shawna Thompson in a recent interview with Taste of Country. “It almost felt like we were in the room when it was written.”
But surprisingly, the husband-and-wife duo were not in the room. Tim Nichols co-wrote "Without You" with Anthony Olympia and Brent Rupard, and Thompson Square's new label, Quartz Hill Records, sent it to them for consideration.
“Sometimes when you don't write them, you have to make sure that it feels like you did,” says Thompson Square’s Keifer Thompson about the long list of music that they have considered recording through the years. “You want your audience to not know the difference.”
Songwriters at their core, Keifer and Shawna say they were quite impressed with many of the heartfelt lyrics in “Without You.”
“I love intelligent writing,” gushes Keifer. “Intelligent writing that makes a song sing simple is the hardest kind of thing to write. It's nice to be able to locate these songs, and when they're written so well, it’s a pleasure to get our hands on it and record it.”
The catchy melody of the soaring song is what captured Shawna’s initial attention.
“We were just having this conversation the other day about how important melodies are,” explains Shawna, who was forced to take time off from the road last year due to an ongoing back injury. “Immediately, the melody just felt good. The lyrics were just the cherry on top.”
The couple also say they fell in love with the way “Without You” could take on a variety of meanings to a variety of listeners, and not always having to do with romantic love, per se. “Without You” even reminds Thompson Square of their 7-year-old son, Cooper.
And they love when that happens.
“One thing I love about ‘If I Didn't Have You’ was that it transcended in the way that it was actually written about the loss of (Shawna’s) father,” Keifer says of the song that went to No. 1 in 2012. “But then, it became a love song for a lot of people. ‘Without You’ is one of those songs that can transcend from the one single lane that the song was probably written about.”
“Without You” serves as the first piece of a brand-new creative chapter for Thompson Square, who have been hard at work recording music for an upcoming new album.
“We've probably cut, I don't know, 10 songs for this new record,” says Keifer. “It’s going to be good.”