Lilly Hiatt releases her fourth record ‘Walking Proof’ tomorrow – a stunning record that any fans of music, generally, will be enthralled by. Here, we review the record and reveal our standout tracks.
Lilly Hiatt’s musical pedigree precedes her, with four albums now under her belt the Americana/southern rock musician exudes confidence and intimacy in equal measure in her new record Walking Proof. It is an incredible musician that can combine the two neatly into one record, Hiatt does just that here, with heavy riffing jams and more personal, stripped back sonic moments both present here. Through the 11 tracks on the record, Hiatt positions Walking Proof as the organic follow-up to Trinity Lane, seeing her delve further into the complex and personal issues that she handled in this third record – the movement forward is in her ability to experiment sonically, melding genres and instrumentation seamlessly, sometimes within one track.
The record opens with slow, sultry track ‘Rae’ before picking up momentum in ‘P-Town.’ Hiatt’s vocal on ‘Rae’ will catch you off guard with its purity and natural ability to express every hue of emotion – this, a track to her sister that is rife with sentiment, ‘need you and I always will,’ before diving straight into bigger track ‘P-Town.’ It seems like Hiatt has taken all the energy of her previous few years, rammed with touring, and crushed them into this song, the after-effects running through to the culmination of the record, replete with huge guitar riffs and bellowing electric organ. Similarly, following track ‘Little Believer’ provides a more anthemic moment in the record that will translate well in its live retelling.
Hiatt’s father joins her on ‘Some Kind of Drug’ – the first time he has joined his daughter on one of her songs – but he is not omnipresent in the track, you have to listen carefully to hear him. The track is one of the most intimate moments on the record, talking all about the struggles with sobriety that Hiatt has experienced, yet driven through by a pacy drum beat.
‘Candy Lunch,’ more than any other track on the record, appears to lean back toward Hiatt’s Americana-country roots. Here, she sings about her pride in her own weirdness, ‘I’ve always done my own weird thing / And sometimes that means I want candy for lunch.’ It’s a perfectly unusual way to sum up the very sentiment it expresses, be your own weird self, and Hiatt invites her listeners to similarly self-reflect, inviting them into her headspace.
The sonic differences between Walking Proof and Trinity Lane become clear on tracks like ‘Brightest Star,’ where Hiatt brings in elements of distorted guitar and merge them seamlessly with quieter slide guitar moments. This track provides an empowering moment on the record in the face of insecurities in relationships, a sentiment carried through into ‘Never Play Guitar’ – one of the strongest moments on the record, in Hiatt’s guitar playing and ability to express herself. Here she sings of needing her space to create, implying that previous relationships have hindered her from doing so.
The record ends with ironically-titled ‘Scream’ that is one of the quieter moments on the album, hitting you with the ever-nuanced nature of Hiatt’s writing. Hiatt as a songwriter should not be forgotten beneath her incredible instrumentation, she is a formidable triple threat – vocalist, instrumentalist and songwriter, and these skills are ever present here.
Walking Proof is the natural follow-up to Trinity Lane that posits Hiatt as a surviver, someone who has come through all life has thrown at her and risen transcendent above it all. The joy of the record is in its weirdness, its quirks and its pride in all of that, Hiatt blends genres, sounds and themes seamlessly in the record – unafraid to be unashamedly herself. It’s the record we all need for now.
Editor’s Picks
Never Play Guitar
Rae
Some Kind of Drug
