Today I’m thrilled to share with everyone a new acoustic video performance from Frank Viele called “Mountains We Can Climb.” On this heartfelt song, Frank Viele channels the best parts of rustic Americana music with veteran ease. Viele is currently on tour in support of the single, and the dates are below. I was also able to catch up with this talented songwriter for a brief interview below.
Your new single “Mountains We Can Climb” has a distinctly jovial and romantic tone, referencing the journey that love can take two people on — what inspired you to write a track with such an overt message?
This track is inspired by the realization that lives throughout my upcoming album. A realization that there’s something magical about meeting somebody special after you’ve fought so many of life’s challenges on your own. You think you’ve found your limitations, and then all of the sudden somebody else comes into your life and makes you realize that the heights that seemed impossible to you before now feel attainable. It’s this understanding of how two imperfect people can create a perfect world in each other’s eyes. It’s honestly, just coming to terms with what love really is. It’s not perfect, it’s not what the movies I grew up watching told me it was; it’s two people that see each other’s flaws in plain sight and say, “That’s okay, I love you and together we can go on some incredible adventures. And when times get tough, cause they always do, you’ll never have to face the world alone.” Really, in all sincerity, since I wrote the songs that became my Time Is A Thief EP back in 2021, I’ve been on this journey to understand life, purpose, humanity, and my place inside of it all. And I think “Mountains We Can Climb” is a song that speaks to the importance and power of love inside of all of that.
How does this new track introduce what’s to come in 2024 for you in a musical sense? Is there anything you can indulge about the future?
This track is the 5th song that I’m releasing off my upcoming album. I’ve been releasing the songs one at a time starting a year ago with “Hearts We Left Behind.” The album will eventually come out in full form this year, but I felt that releasing many of these songs individually would allow listeners to truly absorb the songs in their entirety as they have a lot of layers to them lyrically and sonically. That said, “Mountains We Can Climb” may be my favorite song on the record. It represents where my writing has gone since my time in Muscle Shoals, and feels like one of those tracks that epitomizes the sound, essentially a modern approach to Heartland Rock, that I’ve been searching for the last few years.
Additionally, you’re heading out on tour this month. What tracks of yours are you most excited to take on the road?
I grew up following bands like The Dave Matthews Band on tour and I always tried my best to emulate that “no two shows are alike” mentality. But as 2023 closed out for me, I looked back on over 120 shows played that year and spent some time staring at my song catalog feeling as though writing and beginning to release this new record was somehow also breathing new life into my older songs. I’ve had new fans that discovered me last year touring with John Waite or Jeffrey Gaines and are now reaching out to me requesting I play B-sides off my first album at an upcoming show. Meanwhile, I’m saying to myself, “I’m not even sure if I remember how to play that tune.” But that’s the funny part about this journey, every show you play opens another door within the creative process. So to answer your question, I’m excited to play “Mountains We Can Climb” on this tour because I feel like it’s one that people are going to be able to sing along to. I also have some surprises up my sleeve for this run where I’ll be reaching back to a few of my earlier tunes as they’ve been speaking to me differently lately.
