Lilly Hiatt
When it comes to writing a damn good song, longtime Nashvillian Lilly Hiatt is going to do it every single time. The Scene caught up with the singer-songwriter and rocker amid preparations to hit the road in the wake of Forever. It’s her sixth solo LP and first since 2021’s Lately, which was followed in 2023 by the self-titled debut from Domestic Bliss, her duo with husband Coley Hinson. Forever is dripping with sweet sentiment for the raw human condition, but maintains all the alt-rock swagger we’ve grown to love from Hiatt. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Let me just fan out for a second and tell you how much I fucking adore Forever. This album is jam-packed with so much relatable emotion, and none of it is compromised by how easy it is to listen to.
Aw, thank you so much! Truly. We had fun making it, and it is upbeat, but overall the tone is laid-back. I think a lot of that is probably because I am older now, so I feel a little more chill. And we made it at home, and the people I made it with are pretty chill too. Nobody was overly precious about the process of it. But also, we were doing this in our pajamas sometimes and stuff, so it’s hard not to be a little more lighthearted. I always have fun recording, and this one was a track at a time as opposed to “making a record.” So each song could be our little world for a few weeks since we had the luxury of stretching it out in our space.
It’s cliché to call an album “mature,” but I would be remiss to not acknowledge that there seems to be a certain sense of resolve and self-reflection. Forever doesn’t give off the impression that you’ve got it all figured out, but more that you feel a little more at ease with what you have figured out. Also, there are things you may never know, and that’s cool too.
Haha! I’m glad you think it’s mature! Sometimes I feel childlike, so that is nice to hear. I do my best to be a grownup. And a hard lesson I’ve learned in the past three years is that shit that used to make people well up with sympathy for me just doesn’t anymore. Like whining and playing a victim to life. It just doesn’t look so cute on me these days. Not that it was my M.O. before, but the brooding has lifted just a little, because it’s time! It’s time to laugh and enjoy my life. I am healthy and have a great deal of love around, so trying to just soak that in while I can. Granted, there are esoteric meltdowns that occur, and things about the world that trouble me. … But overall, things feel stable on a personal level.
Lilly Hiatt
Forever was produced by Coley Hinson, an incredible musician who is also your husband. I think I hear him singing backing vocals on a track or two. Care to speak to the intersection of your personal and professional relationships?
Coley is my best bud, and he is a muse. He has been from the get-go, and working with him is easy. It really is. He can play everything, and his ear is awesome. He comes from generations of musicians, so it is just inside of him. And he doesn’t like to dwell on things in the studio, which thrills me. I get so frustrated doing take after take, and he only wants to do a few anyway. So it just works out. He is a great harmonizer and loves to sing. Personally, I have always had a major twinkle in my eye for him, and it inspires all I do.
I love the track “Kwik-E-Mart” and the colorful and nostalgic-feeling music video by Joshua Shoemaker. In a town like Nashville where whole- and health-food stores are popping up left and right — which is good, but complicated — it’s cool to see an ode to old-school neighborhood convenience stores.
The gas station can be a sanctuary. And who doesn’t love a little treat or some gum on their way home? Also, lovely conversations with strangers tend to happen at those spots. There isn’t a pretentious air about it. It’s come-as-you-are.
How has the experience of sharing these songs with an audience been in the run-up to releasing the album?
It’s been awesome! It’s always exciting to play new songs, because it is scary too. And that makes the show more fun to me. And then I am not burnt out on them yet, so it’s a breath of air in the set and a sliver of a different mood. I have a new band for this tour, and that’s keeping me on my toes too. I like playing the drop-D stuff … “Kwik-E-Mart,” “Ghost Ship” and “Somewhere.” The audience is sweet and likes to hear new stuff usually.
As we kick off a new year, what are you looking forward to, and what are you dreading?
I’m excited about all the music that’s gonna come out this year. I am dreading the end of winter. Hoping people start listening to each other and trying to find some common ground. Also, I want people to think for themselves. It’s easy to get carried away with messages we see every day, and be connected to opinions. But there is an inner knowing, and I hope somehow we learn to trust and tap into that.
