The journey from childhood to adulthood is rife with external influences that shape us and leave lasting impressions; the adults in every child’s life leave indelible imprints as kids grow up. Exploring this shared human experience, inventive country rock band Hot Mondy turns the spotlight on self-worth with their soul searching, yet jubilant new single, “Tell Me I’m Good.”
“‘Tell Me I’m Good’ is a self-examination of how our upbringing impacts how we see ourselves as adults,” explains the band. “The idea that how we see ourselves reflects the messaging we receive from parents, teachers, coaches as adolescents, for better or worse.”
If you told me I’m good
Maybe I would
Find a way to feel ease in my own skin
Like a kid mastering walking before he can run, “Tell Me I’m Good” transforms from a touching acoustic ballad with sweet fiddle fills to a rollicking two-four shuffle that breaks down to a revival-style, clap-along. It’s an attention-grabbing ride that begins with a grown up’s reflection on what’s missing to the discovery that it’s all gonna be alright, ending with the joyful exclamation of “My time’s here! Let’s dance right through the fear!”
A thread of hope weaves its way through “Tell Me I’m Good,” assuring us that being a little broken can ultimately give way to beauty.
Front to back, I’ve got hairline crack
Holding back the light
But if you knew what could shine through
You’d see I’ll be alright
Troy Arsenault, Matthew Brannon, Matt Budreski, Travis Flint, and Matt Rhind are Hot Mondy’s core five but, supporting this song’s ambitious effort to travel from self-exploration to full-on celebration are three featured artists — Kendel Carson on fiddle, Rob Preuss on keys and Loel Campbell on drums.
“Tell Me I’m Good” is the fourth single to be released in just six months marking another milestone in the momentum-building reveal of Hot Mondy’s upcoming 6-song debut EP, Pale Embers; a new single and video have dropped every six to eight weeks since July 2021.
The song showcases yet another set of colours in this highly creative band’s palette: “Pale Ember”, their dramatic, epic debut single, laments a burned-out romance, preceded their second release, “Desert Moonlight”, a roadhouse rockin’ tale of an all-night bagman.
Then, for their third release, the quintet takes a left turn to Transylvania with the spine-tingling outlaw country of “Vampire”. Now, the one-two velvet punch of sensitive introspection followed by a revved-up kitchen party in their latest release.
The video for “Tell Me I’m Good” was released on New Year’s Day and has already garnered over 55,000 views. Add that to the viewing tallies for Hot Mondy’s first three singles since July 2021 and they’ve now racked up a very impressive 550,000+ views. The latest video takes a flashback, family home video approach, which the band says goes hand in hand with the feeling of the song.
“The song evokes a strong nostalgic feeling. So, using vintage footage to capture the innocence of youth and how, over time, kids are still just kids with the world in front of them seems to tie together very nicely.”
Multi-JUNO winning producer Michael Philip Wojewoda (Barenaked Ladies, Rheostatics, Great Big Sea, The Jerry Cans); partnered up with the quintet to produce the group’s 6-song debut. The band and Wojewoda came together at Toronto’s Revolution Recording in early 2020 to track songs, but that was all they could get done for a while as COVID had other plans. Initial tracking of the songs was completed together but the band and Wojewoda had to work remotely to finish the rest of the process.
“It was both fun and challenging figuring out how to finish the EP during COVID, but it informed many of our choices in a really interesting way.”
