Celebrated country singer-songwriter, returns with new music for fans with the release of his new EP, Wild Flowers.
The four-song EP runs a short 14 minutes, but packs in a variety of sounds and styles, all backed up with the kind of open, honest, vulnerable lyrical content that we're used to from the Nickel City Kid.
Because Wild Flowers is a short offering, we're going track-by-track with thoughts about the songs in the New Music Spotlight style (with minimal listens, these are pretty immediate reactions) and we've got YouTube videos ready for you to hit play and give them a listen as you go.
Enjoy.
Andrew Hyatt - Wild Flowers
Roaches has strong, immediate, and extremely welcome Tom Petty/Neil Young rock and roll vibes. I'm all in, right away on the first listen I was all in, and I have a feeling that this one is going to grow with and on people as they get to hear it and we get to experience it live.
Yes, it feels like we're listening to a message that's meant for someone specific, and thinking about it too much can be a little uncomfortable... but it's also right there in your face, begging you to let it in and let your feelings about whoever gets to you this way out.
"And I can't keep on biting my tongue 'cause I'm tired of the taste of blood..."Andrew Hyatt - Roaches
When I listen to Ravens I think of now and the COVID-era and the hard times that a lot of people have gone through with their mental health and wellbeing. And in Hyatt's circle of musician friends, the hits have come fast and hard and often - so Ravens makes sense.
Note: Ravens is also the first song I can remember from Andrew Hyatt that comes with an 'E' for explicit designation thanks to a well-placed f-bomb. Earmuffs for the kids.
We've said it before, we'll say it again, songs that get to the real feels, the hard stuff, even if it's a situation that most of us will never be in specifically (like being a working singer-songwriter), are the ones that find a way to land and connect. And Ravens gets it.
"'Cause you're black as night, always flyin' high and your happy sounds like breakin', come on home boy, you're a raven."Andrew Hyatt - Ravens
The powerful optimism in Wild Flowers makes me happy for a lot of reasons. I love the imagery of a flower growing where it wasn't intended, but persevering and being beautiful is strong. The song is also the kind of aspirational that we should all probably be focused on (and maybe are, even if we aren't thinking about it) - this is about getting through like those wildflowers. Surviving and thriving day in and day out.
And whether it's a pandemic or a breakup or a layoff or a different bump in the road or rut in the path, it feels like Wild Flowers is a good song to listen to and remember the goal of getting through it, surviving, and then thriving again.
This is another one that could end up being really powerful live.
"I wanna live like the wildflowers day in and day out, pushing up through the cracks in the concrete, out standin' my ground"Andrew Hyatt - Wild Flowers
Look, I'll be honest I was ready for Jesus and the Whiskey to wreck me from the moment I read the title. I had an idea in my head of a tempo and a tone and I feel like I was prepared going in. And still...
Where do you turn when the thing you've held onto your whole life as a way to keep moving forward and forgive yourself and try to be a better man doesn't feel like it's working - and the thing you reach for when you need the numbness or distraction or quiet (even though you know...) lets you down too? It's hard, and I know it's hard because I've lived it in my own small doses and I'm hearing Andrew Hyatt sing about it in this song.
And I wish I had an answer for you other than to say, hold on, keep going, remember the wildflower in the cracks of the concrete and embrace your strength and beauty.
It's been said (by us) that Andrew Hyatt is at his real best when his heart is on his sleeve and he is fully vulnerable and telling his truth in song. And he's reminded us of that here on Jesus and the Whiskey and I'm glad for it.
I can't wait to hear it in an acoustic set and let it hit me - and then get all sweaty and happy in a rockin', plugged in set the next night!
"And all the hallelujah, all of the amens will save me from myself in the end. I'm tired of the drinkin', my faith is wearin' out. 'cause Jesus and whiskey always let me down."Andrew Hyatt - Jesus and the Whiskey
Now, hit play on the stream to listen to the Wild Flowers EP in full, and leave a comment or go and tell the world what you think of Andrew Hyatt's newest release.
Andrew Hyatt, Wild Flowers Tracklist
