Song Previews Upcoming EP The Siege
“Louis Emory has the melody, the words, and is now! I believe he is one of the most promising unsigned artists of our time.”
– Shelly Yakus
Americana rockers Louis Emory and The Reckless Few have released an anthemic new single, “Do What I Want to Do.” Co-produced and mixed by renowned studio veteran Shelly Yakus (John Lennon, The Band, Tom Petty), the song takes aim at tribalism, pairing a plea for tolerance with the grit of Beatles-like slide guitars, soulful backing vocals, and heartland-style Hammond organ.
“What’s with these days? / We’re so quick to cast a stone / But slow to turn the other cheek and head back home,” belts Emory, the band’s singer-songwriter. “It’s a sign of the times / Gotta read between the lines / If I’m not part of your tribe, must I be crucified?” Then, on the chorus, he plants a flag: “I wanna do what I wanna do / I wanna say what I wanna say.”
Emory, based in Troy, New York, says the song is a “commentary on the state of our country” and a response to “cancel culture.” These themes, he says, should offer “common ground” to those on both sides of the political aisle: “I was just trying to give voice to the people who feel like they can’t speak up in a free country. If we’re the beacon of light, we deserve better.” “Do What I Want to Do” is the first sample of Emory’s upcoming EP The Siege, which will be formally announced in the coming weeks.
Like the EP itself, “Do What I Want to Do” was recorded with Emory’s two regular studio bandmates, multi-instrumentalists and producers Bob Boyer and Tim Lynch (The Recording Company studio). The track’s video is a low-key family affair, filmed during a vacation to Italy with Emory’s wife, Raeanne Wright-Emory (who directed and edited the clip), and their 5-year-old son.
“Everything is changing so rapidly in our lifetime,” Emory says of the visual. “Everything is AI or fake. We just want to be who we are. Do we do this big production for a video? No. I’ll just go to Italy and try to turn some people on to traveling or enlightening themselves. This is my family. This is where I’m at.”
The Siege follows Emory’s 2022 EP, Love Italy, also co-produced by Yakus, which earned critical acclaim from both The New York Times (who included the single “Roma” in The Morning’s Spring 2023 Spotify playlist) and former Rolling Stone editor Ben Fong-Torres (who played it on his Moonalice Radio show).