Lilly Hiatt – Forever (New West)
Lilly Hiatt’s new song “Ghost Ship” confesses her longing for stability and “something to sink my teeth into.” Whether she successfully found something with staying power in life is left to the imagination, but she certainly was generous enough to give us something that will last in her upcoming album – quite appropriately named – Forever.
“Ghost Ship” – a mesmerizing, hypnotic, cigarette-dangling, fast-car-driving, blurry-warm-summer-night, convertible-rock anthem – is only one standout tale within a standout nine-track album. Produced by Hiatt’s husband Coley Hinson, Forever is an intimate and close, yet exciting and ambitious friends and family affair – Hiatt graciously gives thanks in the credits to her “family, friends, neighbors, and pets.”
Celebrating the beautiful confusion of self-reflection, Hiatt creates a nostalgic, hazy world, like a spiritual and mystical friend of long ago inviting you to step in, stay awhile, and reminisce with her. Forever gracefully weaves together the sophisticated, targeted angst of ‘90s rock with dreamy 1960s cadence and vocals mirroring The Angels. Hiatt’s voice – hauntingly beautiful – seems to fill the entire night sky, reverberating to the exosphere and back down to the grass underfoot.
Sensitive yet soulful, this album is a poetic unravelling of secrets and personal discoveries. “Evelyn’s House” embraces the simplicity of everyday life; Hiatt reminds us it may burden us to overthink, but there is nothing wrong with over-feeling. “We make good music here / And our problems, they disappear.”
The charming marriage between the cosmic mistiness of Chappell Roan and the Microsoft-era suburban garage sound makes for a distinctive and irreplicable style unique to Lilly in this new era of her musical journey.
A recurring theme is the conflicting realization that Hiatt “Shouldn’t Be” feeling how she does. The listener – on the other hand – certainly feels welcomed, in the right place, and comfortable entering into the world Lilly Hiatt has built within Forever.
Getting lost in forgotten memories, Hiatt revisits the “scars on my hands to prove I was there.” This record serves as our proof: you will certainly know she was here, and you’ll want to be here with her. Check out Forever, available everywhere on January 31st.
Musicians on the album include Steven Hinson on pedal steel, a voicemail from Lilly’s father John Hiatt on “Thoughts,” Bear Mitchell on bass, Scot Sax on guitar and drums, and Rachel Mitchell on accompanying vocals.
Forever was produced by Coley Hinson; engineered by Coley Hinson at The Mole Hill in Nashville; mixed by Paul Q. Kolderie (with “Hidden Day” mixed by Jonathan DeBaun); and mastered by John Golden in at Golden Mastering in Ventura, CA.
Find the music on streaming sites everywhere, at New West or here on BandCamp: https://lillyhiatt.bandcamp.com/album/forever
Enjoy our previous interview here: Interview: Lilly Hiatt and Her Old Friend Music
Fuck yeah! She’s always made great songs. Love her.