Lilly Hiatt is currently on tour for her latest album that dropped in late August called Trinity Lane. You can catch her at The Southgate House Revival on Friday, October 6th! With this record she got personal, she got rock n roll, and all behind her country voice shining through on each song. This is country brought up close and personal. With this record she’s staking her claim and throwing her name in the hat with the current flock of songwriter’s taking over.
Trinity Lane is steeped in the 90’s era guitar crunch that some of Lilly’s influences made famous. Yet, at the same time she asked her roots to come along with her and join in the sound that makes Trinity Lane a great country-ish record. Michael Trent of Shovels and Rope was enlisted to produce the record and joined in on a few tracks along with his wife Carry Anne Hearst. Lilly’s is that the forefront driving the album from the opening track to the last. Her voice that expresses the words that encapsulate her songwriting and the words are honest. “I wanna Go Home” is a track that expresses as much. Along with the one after that, and the one after that, and the four before that as well, with “The Night David Bowie Died” being one of them. Where it was late when he passed and she didn’t have anybody to call so recorded a song instead. One of those moments in time where it’s not simple, but the simplicity of just picking up a guitar and hitting record because there was nobody around to talk to, and there goes that muse poking her / his head in and saying, “hello.”
Lilly Hiatt with this record keeps things simple like this, and the rawness she expresses is a rare combination to find within the country / Americana scene these days. She is merely stamping her name on the page and saying, “hey everyone, I’m right here time to take notice” and they have. She will be touring with Old 97’s during the fall, and stopping by Northern Kentucky for a night. Trinity Lane was part of NPR’s first listen, along with a showcase at the 18th Annual AmericanFest. Lilly has been busy for years, and putting in some hard work, and it looks as if it is finally paying off for her. There’s something in the gene’s with these Hiatt’s, and Lilly has it. Trinity Lane is definitely worth buying, and listening to it over and over again. I could give in any of the normal ways to end this, but courtesy of her record label: New West Records I will use a quote from her, and hope that you enjoy her tunes.
Here’s Lilly: "Love will take you to the darkest places but also the most honest places if you let it. Learning how to love myself is something I’ve always been lousy with, and I spent some time on that. I thought about my sobriety, what that means to me, the struggles I’d had throughout the years, since I was a 27-year-old and hung up my toxic drinking habit. I thought about my mother, who took her own life when I was a baby, not far from my age at 30 years old, and I related to her more than ever. As you can see, there was plenty of time spent on my own. I didn’t talk to that many folks, albeit a few close friends, and leaned into my family. I stayed away from men, and danced alone in the evenings, looking out my window observing my humble and lively neighborhood. I found power in being by myself. I found peace in the people I was surrounded with - we didn’t really know one another, but we smiled when passed on the street. One time I almost rear-ended an older woman in her car backing out of my driveway and I said, ‘Oh man, I’m just not used to any cars coming around this bend. She replied, ‘This is our little hideout, baby,’ And it really was." She continues, "After a while, I had all these songs to play, and wanted to share them. I wanted to get out of town to get some distance from everything, so after an ongoing conversation with Michael Trent, I took my band to Johns Island, SC and we holed up for a few weeks. I poured my heart out, and trusted them with it, and these guys gave it right back. I think we all understood what it’s like to question home, intention, demons, love...I think most people understand that."
