Nikki Hill – Vocals
Matt Hill – Guitars
Ed Strohsahl – Electric Bass
Joe Meyer – Drums and Percussion
Recorded and mixed by Billy Horton at Fort Horton Studios, Wyldwood, Texas
Mastered by Jim Wilson Mastering in Longmont, Colorado
Special thanks to Matt Farrell for piano on Tracks 1,5,9,10 and 11
Photography by Aubrey Edwards
Package designed by Kerri Mahoney
PRESSING INFORMATION
+ SMOKY RED 12" VINYL
+ EURO TOUR EDITION
+ INCLUDES DOWNLOAD CARD
"Heavy Hearts, Hard Fists' is a simple recount of a bad past relationship", Hill wrote of the title track. "One of those where you know it's no good, but you stay because you don't have the strength to change, although the reasoning never comes out that way when it's happening. The song is me finding that point where I was finally seeing through blind love, realizing that I didn't want to be there, and that I could move on. Musically, I wanted to do something with that storyline, but still with a solid groove. It ends up coming out very danceable. I think it adds a really great contrast, and honestly, it feels like I'm shaking off those bad memories even more when I'm just digging into the beat!"
Nikki’s vocals are stripped down, polished not through studio perfection but through constant touring; that kind of lived-in felt perfection that no quantization or pitch-correction could fake. Nikki Hill’s emotional and powerful voice plays against Matt’s lean riffs nowhere better than on lead single "Struttin’". When the band locks in with an easy and propulsive drive it’s almost impossible not to imagine their live set.
Nikki Hill channels Muscle Shoals-era Rolling Stones on her scorching tune "(Let Me Tell You Bout) LUV". "I did some good
get-it-out-and-let-it-go writing for my second record," she says. "And those came one after the other for some reason. LUV was a deep breath for me after digging into the sadder moments I've had with love. That inspired me to write it with the influence of a pure attitude rock 'n' roll song, because that's how that music makes me feel, alive and just better about everything! The song is still about love, and it's still a bit moody in the message, but it's a bit more of a playful take on how stupid love can make you feel and act, 'if you can stand a little shame'. With serious groove!"
The rollicking rockabilly number "Scratch Back" is filled with spirited, vintage R&B and rock spiked with fiery guitar from husband Matt Hill. When Nikki Hill and gang slow it down on the stunning ballad "Nothing With You", the duo’s songwriting chops are able to truly shine. There’s nothing like a duet between a singer and her sideman about life on the road. Nikki Hill caps it off with an explosive cover of the Sam Cooke classic "Twisting the Night Away". The rhythm section’s lived-in-chemistry anchors the song between tempo and feel changes.
If you haven’t heard of Nikki Hill yet, you soon will, and once you see her perform, you won’t forget her.
Release Date: 04 December 2020
