THE PRESS RELEASE: “Lilly Hiatt felt lost. She’d just returned home from the better part of a year on tour in support of her acclaimed third album, Trinity Lane, and, stripped of the daily rituals and direction of life on the road, she found herself alone with her thoughts for the first time in what felt like ages. So Hiatt did what’s always come most natural to her in times of questioning and uncertainty: she picked up a guitar. Over the course of the ensuing winter, she wrote a mountain of new music that grappled with her sense of self and place in the world, reckoning with issues that had been bubbling beneath the surface of her subconscious in some cases for years. The result is Walking Proof, Hiatt’s fourth and most probing collection to date. Produced by former Cage the Elephant guitarist Lincoln Parish, the record walks the line between Hiatt’s rough, rock and roll exterior and her tender, country roots, exuding a bold vulnerability as she takes a deep and unflinching look in the mirror. What emerges is a newfound maturity in Hiatt’s writing, an abiding sense of calm in the face of chaos as she learns that sometimes, you have to let go in order to get what you want most.”
MY TWO CENTS: Fourth time’s the charm. Not that the first three were so bad. But there’s not doubt that on her latest release Walking Proof, Lilly Hiatt turns in a truly graceful performance. Bouncing between rock, pop, country and roots, the singer-songwriter deftly balances revealingly personal lyrics with catchy hooks and strong choruses. If that reminds you of her beloved father John Hiatt, well, at least she comes by it honestly. But even if she’s a chip off the old block, she’s also her own woman with her own voice, style and approach. Here’s all the proof you need.
