When it came time to make a sonic change, Bloomington, Illinois based singer/songwriter Dan Hubbard swapped out the rock n’ roll backing of a band he’d played with for over a decade for two major league producers, who encouraged him that the way to go big was to strip things down.

Gearing up for his self-titled solo debut, set for a February 5^th release, Ryan Ulyate, a producer and sound engineer who has spent his illustrious career working with Tom Petty and ELO, encouraged Hubbard to work on his storytelling, and look outside of himself for inspiration. Duly inspired, Hubbard got to work, and made his way down to Nashville, where he hit the studio with producer Ken Coomer, the original drummer for Wilco, who helped him set this new sound to record.

Today, Hubbard is premiering “Straw Hat,” a track from his upcoming album.

From the start, the track feels intimate and confessional, like the “cool breeze passing through” he depicts in his lyrics. The instrumentation rolls lazily like a summer stream, as Hubbard gently intones, “How does it feel, to not be real?” The track is relaxed but wistful, as Hubbard muses over the strange feelings of losing someone you once cared for. The track pays homage to Coomer’s roots with Wilco, echoing of the same ethereal remoteness, with jangling keys and bells winding in and out behind Hubbard’s voice and buzzing harmonies.

Give “Straw Hat” a listen below, and pick up a copy of Dan Hubbard this Friday, February 5^th.