The word plateau can be thought of as reaching the highest point possible, stopping progress but it can also be viewed as getting somewhere safe to pause and look around at how far you’ve gotten.
“Totally and that’s hard to remember to do that,” agrees Nashville based artist Lilly Hiatt when discussing her latest album Forever. Lilly Hiatt will perform with opener Lonesome Heroes at The Continental Club on Tuesday, April 8.
Forever is a beautiful and dreamy rock album, far from the immediate thoughts that the words singer songwriter conjure up. Hiatt melted together her natural ability to write the most poetic of lyrics flanked by heavily fuzzed out, grunge playing.
Hiatt agrees that some people are surprised by how hard she rocks on stage with her band, breaking with their preconceived notions of her as an artist and daughter to well known songwriter John Hiatt.
“I think some are and then some people kind of know what I do,” she says. “Surprising people is good, it’s fun. I like being caught off guard so if that’s the case, that’s cool with me.”
Forever is Hiatt’s second time collaborating with her husband Coley Hinson. The pair, who married three years ago, previously released their self-titled album as a duo Domestic Bliss.
Hiatt describes how the pair had a great experience with Domestic Bliss and Hinson encouraged her to get to work on her own songs with him. The beauty in that rare kind of support that her multi instrumentalist husband has provided is not lost on Hiatt as she describes her deep appreciation for him and their partnership.
Forever is a reflection of her creative and personal stage of stability, embracing her marriage, family and love and combining that with her musical influences and desire to make big, layered sounds.
“I think that’s the plateau I’ve arrived at. Who knows where it’ll go from there but I thought it’d be cool to encapsulate that we made that after we kind of had to overcome some hurdles as individuals and come together,” says Hiatt describing how she and Hinson worked through things as a couple.
“I think that as we were recording, we were feeling relieved that we were on some steady ground after some kind of bizarre years in general so we were feeling happier. We got a house together and just starting our lives, a new part of life. We worked through some depression and things like that and wanted to celebrate it a little bit.”
The sense of celebration comes through in her songs and general vibe on Forever where Hiatt, despite playing guitar aggressively, comes across as a genuinely content soul inspired by her own experiences.
“Most of my writing is very personal if I’m being honest. It’s the way that I sift through life and I think it’s the way that I know how to relate to people best because I’m kind of a bit misunderstood in conversation sometimes, like many people are, and songs seem to be an easier way to talk.”
In her track “Kiwk-E-Mart” Hiatt bathes herself in the love and joy that comes from palling around with someone special, making every little thing seem so fun and light. She describes coming home from seeing Liz Phair with Hinson to write that song.
Forever definitely sees Hiatt pushing more sonically into her grunge influences like Veruca Salt, Liz Phair and Garbage. “Well I think well we tried to unabashedly go there this time as opposed to dancing around it,” she says, describing how she and Hinson both enjoy that era of music and decided to make what they listen to.
The warmth of Forever as an album is most likely further embedded into the tracks with their ability to make the album mostly in their home, providing an intimate and relaxed setting for the creative pair.
“It’s just kind of a grassroots thing,” says Hiatt. “I didn’t have a record deal or anything when I was making it. I didn’t have any management, we just wanted to make something and do something with it so we started by just making and then trying to get people involved and on board with putting it out there.”
One perfect person for this project that Hiatt got on board was Paul Q. Kolderie who engineered the album. Kolderie previously lent his talents to bands like Radiohead, The Pixies and Dinosaur Jr.
Forever wraps up with “Thoughts” a reflective song that evokes the depth and mystery of where we are all headed in life. “That was the last one written for Forever and it was right before we went on tour last year so I was feeling very empty like always and kinda drifting psychically to other places, using the song as an anchor for something.”
The track ends with a fuzzy voicemail from her famous father sending his love to “Elvis’ mom,” Haitt’s well loved dog. The words from her dad come through as a mysterious and affectionate message for the listener who is left wondering who this person is and where did they go.
When asked about sharing the family business of writing great and having such a well known father, Hiatt is honest in her response. “It’s definitely got its pros, it’s mostly been a beautiful thing. There have been hard parts of it but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m really honored to share that with him and it’s cool, I feel lucky we get to share that. Ultimately, we are different but we are a lot alike too.”
The desire and strong ability to make good music runs in her veins and keeps Hiatt going. “It’s just been a thing that’s got me out of depression, made me feel like I’m a part of things, helped me communicate with other people and led me to friendships so it’s huge. It’s kind of everything to me. Other than family, that’s it.”
Lilly Hiatt will perform with Lonesome Heroes on Tuesday, April 8 at The Continental Club, 3700 Main, 8 p.m., $23-33.
