Snohomish, Washington-based Americana act Fretland — Hillary Grace Fretland, Jake Haber and Luke Martin — released their self-titled full-length debut to critical praise from Billboard, American Songwriter, The Boot, Gimme Country, Americana Highways and No Depression, who wrote that “this talented Americana band … has a bright future ahead of it.” Their shimmering and aching ballads, which feature elements of alt-country and indie rock have managed to amass over a million streams across the globe.
Much like countless acts across the globe, the rising Pacific Northwest-based trio embarked on a successful West Coast tour in early 2020 but subsequent tours across the US and Europe were put on indefinite hold as a result of the pandemic. However, during that time the band wrote and recorded their highly-anticipated sophomore Nich Wilbur-produced sophomore album Could Have Loved You. Slated for a March 26, 2021 release through Soundly Music, Could Have Loved You reportedly finds the band crafting material that sonically is equal parts Nashville country, Pacific Northwest indie rock and dream pop. Thematically, the nine-song sophomore album finds the band telling stories of lost love and hard-won yet necessary lessons learned.
Could Have Loved You‘s third and latest single “Too Much” is a shimmering honky tonk that’s a proudly defiant yet a bit tongue-in-cheek anthem for those who have honestly stopped giving a damn about what people think — and attempted to just live their own lives. Interestingly, the song is inspired and informed by personal experience:
“There was indeed a wedding in Capitol Hill where I drank too much, danced too much, smoked too much, regretted too much, and punished myself too damn much,” the band’s Hilary Face Fretland explains in press notes. “A trait I am still trying to remedy. The only inconsistency in the song is that sometimes you can be ‘too serious’ or ‘not serious enough.’ That was deliberate. At the end of the day, if you’re feeling too much of anything you’re just being too hard on yourself. And I personally can “feel” too serious and not serious enough in a matter of hours.”
