EP Editorial
By Glitch&Gold
March 2026
The music of Al Nicol sounds like late autumn. The moment the evenings grow longer, the air turns colder and you find yourself sitting inside a little more often. Guitar in the corner. Lights low.
Based in East Nashville, Nicol writes the kind of songs that feel older than the moment they appear in. Just voice and acoustic guitar. Nothing forced. Nothing dressed up.
And yet the influences quietly sit there.
You hear a little Neil Young. Especially that gentle warmth of Harvest Moon. There’s something of James Taylor in the softness of the delivery. And in moments his high voice drifts somewhere toward Art Garfunkel or even the melodic calm of The Mamas & The Papas.
But none of it feels like imitation.
It simply feels like someone who grew up with the right records.
On Only Hoping, Nicol keeps things simple. The guitar moves patiently while the song slowly opens itself. It almost feels like listening to someone think out loud.
The lyrics carry that same honesty.
I was only hoping for your love
I was only searching for my turtle dove
Tea and biscuits. Wine in the evening. Small images. Everyday things. The kind of details that make a song feel human.
And somewhere inside the song a quiet realisation appears.
Love, Nicol suggests, is not something you go out and find. It’s something you recognise when it’s already there.
Love is not a thing to find.
It’s something that you feel.