Amanda Shires released her new song “Empty Cups” featuring Maren Morris and guitarist Jason Isbell earlier today. It is the third new track to be featured on Shires’ upcoming album Take It Like A Man which is scheduled to release on July 29.
“Empty Cups” captures the vulnerability and sudden clarity that comes from a lost love. The chorus repeats, “And my hands are two empty cups/ Maybe I was asking for a little too much.”
The lyrics discuss the common questions one asks themselves when their love has gone away. It deals with second-guessing, reminiscing and the heart-wrenching “what ifs?”
Shires and Morris are in front of the accompaniment singing side by side while Isbell maintains a low-profile playing guitar in the background wearing dark sunglasses. Shires has an osculating sound with a twangy vibrato while Morris maintains a lighter sound that seems to easily float through notes. Shires performs the verses solo and Morris chimes in with a higher harmony in the choruses that blend together seamlessly. The instrumentals are not overbearing while still creating a powerful statement. The song begins with a piercing piano solo and later introduces steady drums and a variety of strings.
In an interview with Consequence Sound, Shires explains that she recorded “Empty Cups” after everyone had left because she didn’t want to accidentally cry or get a shaky voice in front of her friends. When asked why she chose Morris for the track she responded, “I asked Maren to sing on this one because our voices blend like sisters and because I knew that wherever my voice wavered, she’d be steady.”
Leave a Comment