On Debut Album Switchbacks, Hannah Cole Sees Hope In The Light Around The Corner
- Josh Kitchen
- 15 hours ago
- 10 min read
By : Josh Kitchen / September 4, 2026
“In the desert you can catch a big break / I lift a rock and see a rattlesnake,” Hannah Cole sings on the lead single, “MMA,” off her debut full-length album, Switchbacks. It’s a punishing track, recalling the heaviest shoegaze tracks of the ’90s, with Cole using the metaphor of gambling in Las Vegas for the ugly parts of the music industry that can make an artist throw in the towel. It's a visceral idea that is only improved by just how intense the song is. Musically inspired by bands like The Breeders and DIIV, Switchbacks is both dreamy and brutal in its ability to draw you in and rattle your eardrums before setting you down softly. It's that willingness to keep discovering parts of yourself that makes Switchbacks such a fine debut. On the album's penultimate track, "Mosquito Hawk," Cole sings about the beauty in change and evolution, and accepting that neither are avoidable.
The album's title track was inspired by the idea of honking around corners on a literal highway switchback, making your presence known—an intentional act that feels mundane but informs who Cole is, and on Switchbacks, while Cole is never evasive about her own experiences in the music industry, she’s come to understand who she is and assert her place in a world where, so often, female artists are discounted and taken less seriously than their male counterparts. Whether that means refusing to sacrifice her artistic vision, accepting change, or refusing to be labeled as only a muse in an artistic partnership, Switchbacks offers a debut statement from an artist who feels as if she’s opening her eyes for the first time.
You’ve been putting out great music for a few years now, but I feel like with this record, it sounds like someone who’s finally putting out their ethos of who they are musically. I feel like you could hear this and learn so much about you. To me, this feels like an album that sounds like opening your eyes for the first time.
Hannah Cole:
I feel like that is such an interesting statement because I think making Switchbacks was this up-and-down journey. I think in a lot of awesome records, you kind of open your eyes to something or discover something. It’s funny because during the process of making this record, I didn’t feel that way. I felt a little bit stagnant at times, which I think influenced a lot of the writing—stagnant in my career or in my pursuit of success in the entertainment industry.
But I think the closer I got to the end of making this record, I became really aware of my place in the industry. Making a song like “MMA,” which was the first single, helped me understand one of the directions I wanted to go for this record, which is about this pursuit of success and the back and forth, and not knowing if I’m really supposed to be in this career or if I’m really supposed to pursue this—the ugly side of making music.
I feel like the interesting thing about your music and your artistry is that there are a lot of small towns like Covington, Louisiana. There are a lot of people who are listening to you and hearing what you’re putting out and feeling like, “Yeah, that is what I feel like in my life.” That’s the most important thing about making art: meeting the listener where they are and making sense out of these things that we think are normal. That’s why I think this record is so exciting, because there’s a lot of those feelings on it to me, like a song like “Mosquito Hawk” or my favorite track, “Shooting Star.”
I'm so glad. What really inspired Switchbacks was this moment where a couple of my friends and I were playing a string of shows a couple years ago. We were driving back from the East Coast and making our way through the mountains. My friend Billy was driving, and he said, “You know, when you’re on switchbacks and it’s dark, you’re supposed to honk your horn and let people know you’re coming because it’s really windy and kind of scary.”
It was on that drive that I wrote the lyrics for the title track. I quickly jotted them down in my notes app on the way home. I remember writing that song and, at the time, not knowing it was going to be the title of the album. But I think there was something there subconsciously where I knew that I was going to be making something that was about this uphill journey that has a lot of twists and turns and complex feelings and emotions that come with pursuing your passion or pursuing a career in a very volatile, up-and-down industry.
You made this playlist with some songs that inspired the record. I saw DIIV was on there, and I hadn’t listened to the record yet. Then I heard "MMA," and I was like, “Holy shit, this is the best DIIV song I’ve ever heard.”
Hannah Cole:
Yeah, for sure. Thank you so much. First of all, I really appreciate you looking at the inspirations. I love “Shooting Star” too, and I’m a big DIIV fan as well. Actually, Sonny DiPerri, who mixed the record, worked on Deceiver by DIIV. When we were going through options of who to work with on the mixing end, we were like, “Oh, that’s sick! We both love that record.”
I try my best to make songs that I hope will be unique to me, but also make sense to a lot of people. There are two things that I want to say in regards to that. One of them being, I wanted to make a record that, yes, was about my experience personally with the entertainment industry and the weirdness of it, and the complex feelings I have toward pursuing that. But I also wanted people who are not in the entertainment industry to hear these songs and still relate to them in some way.
I think pursuing success and getting really wrapped up in that can feel toxic. It can even feel like a toxic romantic relationship you have with something. When I listen to these songs and this record back, I’m like, “Oh my gosh, yeah, it’s just so clearly about what I’m going through personally,” but I think people could relate to this on a bigger scale.
Another thing I want to say—and this is more general, I guess—is that with this record, I feel like my job as a songwriter is not necessarily to teach people this big lesson. Maybe it is—there are always things you can learn from music, of course, and learn from songwriting. But I think what’s cool for me is just pointing out truths that have always been there.
I think that’s why bringing mundane experiences into songs with more detail helps people realize that we all have this within us. Songwriters or artists just put a spotlight on certain things.
I think what you said—it’s not your job to teach somebody something or be that answer—but the really exciting part is putting stuff out there that people can hear and think about their own journeys with, whether that be a memory or a lyric or feeling seen. I think it’s very exciting that you’re able to realize your place in that and, at the same time, detail your feelings about the industry and the music business in general, because it’s not very sexy to talk about that kind of thing. But it’s necessary. It’s part of your artistic journey and the things you think about when you write.
Hannah Cole:
A lot of this record, like you said in the very beginning about opening my eyes to this thing, is taking off the rose-colored glasses and seeing the industry for what it is, seeing the world for what it is, and understanding that the industry itself is kind of just a microcosm of the world as a whole. We are kind of designed to be competitive and insecure and vulnerable so that really powerful people can watch from the outside and control what a lot of people are doing.
The way you talk about the industry is very refreshing because, again, no one has it all figured out. But the fact that you can take that in and decide, “I’m out. I’m going to stop. I’ll figure something else out.” But you decided to let it strengthen your art, your music and your writing. I think that is the key to making good art and good music like you're doing here.
Hannah Cole:
Thank you. That means a lot. That’s all you can really do, use your life experience to make people feel seen and heard. I think it’s so important to have that outlet for people, and that’s why music is so important. It’s that outlet for people who feel the same way as you to come together and not feel so alone in that thought.
I think a lot of us feel so overwhelmed by the pressure of having to be successful, having to have everything all together. I’m the kind of person where, if I see this huge idea in front of me, sometimes I just stop. People talk about fight, flight or freeze, and I can freeze for sure.
"I just hope that people listen to the record and, like you said, feel some sense of togetherness through it and mutual understanding."
There are so many artists who have that mask they put on when they go into artist mode. I think what’s refreshing about you is you’re very much who you are. When people see you and hear you, they get that, and I think it adds to the authenticity and relatability of what you do.
Hannah Cole:
Thank you. I really appreciate that. I feel like all you can really do is be yourself and be authentic. I’m really not the type of person who’s going to feel more important than anyone else. Maybe I’m lucky, like I said, growing up in a really small town where people thought it was cool that I did music or whatever. But also living in a music city where everyone kind of does it and does the same thing, everyone seems like they’re on a level playing field.
I also always want people to feel comfortable. Tying that back to the record, and like you said with the mask that a lot of artists can put on, I think I’ve been very pressured to come across that way. I think it’s different when I’m talking about my music versus either making the music or even playing live. I have friends who tell me, “Hannah, you almost kind of put on this alter ego thing,” which is funny. I think for me, I just get really into the music, so that feels natural.
It’s like an instrument. It’s another extension of the music and the artistry.
Hannah Cole:
Absolutely. But I think when I talk about the music, I’m pulled out of that realm and I can just talk freely and be myself. Not that I’m not myself when I’m doing the music; it’s just another extension of me. On the record, I wrote about that feeling of having to pretend like you have it all together in order to be successful. I just talked about this in another interview I did, where we talked about the idea that a brand around an artist is actually really helpful.
I think two things can be true, where you can establish this brand or this visual world around your music, which is really cool. When an artist does that and ties in visuals with the music and creates their own personal brand and aesthetic, I think that’s actually really helpful to the music. It boosts the music up if it’s done well. But I think people mistake that with their real persona and the way that they talk to people and treat people. I never want to be so wrapped up in the brand that I lose sight of who I am. I think that’s really easy to do, especially because I haven’t reached that huge mainstream success thing. I’m sure there are things that come—
You have a lot of time to become an asshole.
Hannah Cole:
Right. When we go back in 10 years, you never know. I might be completely different.
What’s a song or two that you are so excited for people to hear that they haven’t?
I really love “Give.” It’s still like an indie classic song, but I think there’s a twanginess to it that is really interesting and very purposeful because that song is supposed to be my entertainer song. I didn’t want it to be so gimmicky where it was so different from the rest of the songs, but there is a sense of, “Look, I’m doing this dance for you.”
I’m excited for people to hear that. I think that’s my “Drivin’ on 9” by the Breeders or my “Runner” Alex G song. I think that’s kind of what I was trying to do with that song on the record. “100 Bucks” is so crazy.
I love “Mosquito Hawk.” There's a sound there that sounds to me almost like a low harmonica, but I think it’s a synth or a sample, right?
Hannah Cole:
Yeah, we added some random synth sounds in there. There’s also a lot of reverse tape machine stuff in that song, which was also very purposeful. Everything—so many details. I think that’s what I’m really excited for people to hear on this record, the amount of strange little details that we put into the production of these songs.
This was my first time—I mean, I’ve always written my songs, but in the past, there have been a lot of instances where my producer and my partner, Jos, we’ve worked together forever, and there have been times when he’s made an entire track and just sent it to me and been like, “Hey, you should topline over this,” and I’m like, “Sure, sounds good.” I think I lacked a lot of—not that he ever did not make me feel confident; he was always so encouraging—but I think I lacked a lot of confidence in that realm, in the production realm. With my first record, I really wanted to be really heavy-handed—with that producer role.
With producing, you can get your hands dirty.
Hannah Cole:
Yes, totally. Something I realized was, a lot of producers get songwriting credit on songs, and I don’t see the same for artists who come in, write a song and help bring a song to life with a producer. Why are those artists not getting production credit, but producers that barely create or write the song get writing credit? Those artists who are in the room, putting out all the ideas—why is that not considered a producer?
I think that’s interesting because it ties into how we started this conversation, talking about how when I hear it, I hear an artist who’s seeing their place in their artistry and really fully realizing that. Even when it comes down to what you’re saying about production, those little things are what also make this record so exciting to listen to again and again.
Hannah Cole:
Thank you so much. No, that is so encouraging. I need it. I actually need it. I’m not lying. With this record, I was like, “I am going to be kind of a control freak and really make sure my ideas that I have about these songs are in these songs.” To bring it all together, I think that is why this album sounds like me and is a reflection of me and the core of me, because I wanted to be as involved as possible. I’m excited for people to hear those little details and weird little instruments and different effects and everything.
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