Walking Proof isn’t Lilly Hiatt’s first album. She released Royal Blue in 2015, followed by 2017’s Trinity Lane, a G&G favorite. Since then, she’s toured with the likes of John Prine and Margo Price. But if you haven’t yet heard the Nashville-based singer-songwriter’s music, her outstanding forthcoming album, Walking Proof, makes a perfect introduction. Equal parts country and rock, introspective and observant, energetic and laid-back, the eleven-song album features guest vocals from Amanda Shires and Aaron Lee Tasjan, as well as an appearance from Hiatt’s father, the country-soul songwriter John Hiatt—the first time the two have recorded together for one of her records.
The album ranges from hard-rocking highs to softer, ambling tracks and steel-guitar-laden jams. The relaxed “Candy Lunch,” which Garden & Gun is proud to premiere today, is rife with juicy guitar licks and lighthearted introspection. “I wrote it on a rainy evening after going to see my dad play,” Hiatt says of the song. “I had just been on a trip to the Smoky Mountains, came back to the city, and was feeling pensive.” A rumination on letting your guard down, the song floats through lyrics about letting go and embracing your quirks: “Why does every boy I meet / try to tell me how to live, or what to eat,” she sings. “I’ve always had a grip on it / I’ve always done my own weird thing / And sometimes that means I want candy for my lunch.”
Tear open a chocolate bar and dig into “Candy Lunch” below. Walking Proof is set for release on March 27, and is available for pre-order now.
