Walking Proof<\/i><\/a>, with even greater focus on the words sculpted into form by this talented craftswoman. And why wouldn\u2019t there be? Her songs are nothing if not honest and true, managing to be both direct and poetic, not the easiest balance to strike. On occasion the way she shapes a line or an idea reminds you that she\u2019s the daughter of ace songsmith John Hiatt, but the voice in which she writes and sings is pure Lilly.<\/p>\nThe album opens gently and optimistically with a post-lockdown reunion: \u201cMy dad turned on the speakers \/ It was my brother\u2019s birthday \/ I hugged my mom and sister \/ We had so much to say \/ I cannot remember the last time I felt so good \/ Just talking with my family in the neighborhood.\u201d Acoustic guitars and slide slumber along underneath as Hiatt\u2019s voice takes center stage for a narrative rich in both wistful acknowledgement of what\u2019s been lost and hope for the future, ending with this gorgeous couplet: \u201cA sky that opens up like love so vast \/ I take a picture in my mind to make it last.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hiatt\u2019s band\u2014Mike LoPinto (guitar), Robert Hudson (bass), Kate Haldrup (drums), Micah Hulscher (keys) and Steve Hinson (pedal steel)\u2014stays in the background much of the time on these songs, the subtle sonic landscape they cultivate serving each song beautifully. That much is apparent with the downward turn the mood immediately takes with the steady-on, rather haunted \u201cBeen,\u201d full of longing and misaligned stars, capped by this restless pandemic zinger: \u201cNot meant to stay in one place \/ Stillness just steals my grace.\u201d <\/p>\n
A shimmering synth line lights up the title track, cataloguing the agonies and \u201cspun\u201d feelings of a heavy crush whose outcome Hiatt leaves open to interpretation for the half-second it takes for the next track to begin. \u201cStop\u201d reads like a sequel to the same sensation, a tune about losing control and getting lost in the feeling, with an arrangement that\u2019s again simple and subtle but just right for the song.<\/p>\n
The songs unspool from there almost like a movie, each scene crafted from little details and moments that evoke much more than they actually say. \u201cPeach\u201d interweaves a sunset with the denouement of a relationship, the metaphor both obvious and compelling: \u201cOrange sky tonight \/ Creepin\u2019 through the branches, I\u2019ll still fight \/ And you won\u2019t do anything.\u201d\u00a0 Country-tinged stunner \u201cFace\u201d rambles and rumbles along, a compelling portrait of a relationship hitting rough road: \u201cI wish you hadn\u2019t locked it all away \/ Your face is telling me what your words never say.\u201d Trouble is the sum total of \u201cBetter,\u201d a haunting electric number about giving in to a longing that offers nothing but pain in return; then \u201cGem\u201d travels similar territory in even rawer form, just Hiatt\u2019s urgent, delicate vocals over echoey electric guitar. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Last Tear\u201d caps off Lately<\/i> with a blossoming acoustic-then-electric meditation on lingering in the strangely comforting ache of a recent breakup, building an entire story from a single opening image and question: \u201cI read some letters that I shouldn\u2019t have seen \/ I didn\u2019t tell anyone anything \/ Should I just throw \u2018em out or put \u2019em in a drawer? \/ It\u2019s nothing that I haven\u2019t wondered before.\u201d A tremendous tune that underscores the theme here: love is risky business. To paraphrase the Buddha, attachment leads to pain\u2014but for Hiatt and so many of us, disconnection is not an option. You have to take the leap and pay the price, and hope to learn something along the way.<\/p>\n
In the end, the biggest beef I have with this album is its presentation; Lately<\/i> is only available via stream\/download or on cassette (!). I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s a budget thing, pure quirkiness or subtle self-sabotage, but there\u2019s a ton of fans of music like Hiatt\u2019s that still crave physical media that\u2019s larger than a wallet. The only reason you\u2019re reading this review right now is because I got a look at the lyric sheet, which told me this album was not to be missed. Lately<\/i> is the sound of an artist stumbling into the kind of hard-won self-knowledge that has the potential to raise the game of everyone you share it with. So share it, won\u2019t you please?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":34497,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[10564],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-46339","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-lilly-hiatt","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/46339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46339"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/46339\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=46339"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=46339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}