Amythyst Kiah

Still + Bright Album Release Tour

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Amythyst Kiah

Produced by Butch Walker (Taylor Swift, Green Day, Weezer) and recorded at his Nashville studio, Amythyst Kiah’s new album Still + Bright explores the vast expanse of her inner world: her deep-rooted affinity for Eastern philosophies and spiritual traditions, a near-mystical connection with the natural world, the life lessons learned in her formative years as a self-described “anime-nerd mall goth.”

In dreaming up the backdrop to her revelatory storytelling, Kiah and Walker arrived at a darkly cinematic and exhilarating twist on the rootsy alt-rock of her 2021 breakthrough album Wary + Strange—an LP that landed on Rolling Stone’s list of the 25 Best Country and Americana Albums of 2021 and drew acclaim from major outlets like Pitchfork. With its sonic palette encompassing everything from fuzzed-out guitars and industrial-leaning beats to gilded pedal steel and Kiah’s exquisitely graceful banjo work, Still + Bright fully affirms her as an artist of both daring originality and uncompromising depth.

On Wary + Strange, Kiah offered up a collection of spellbinding songs detailing her experience with grief and trauma and alienation, each illuminating the extraordinary impact of her songwriting. An electrifying showcase for her singular musicality and soul-stirring voice, Kiah’s Rounder Records debut soon found many leading critics hailing her as a formidable new talent, adding to a list of accolades that includes earning a Grammy nomination for her powerhouse anthem “Black Myself.” But when it came time to create her follow-up, the Tennessee-born singer/songwriter felt compelled toward a profound shift in her artistry. “On the last record it felt so cathartic to write about all the pain I was dealing with, but this time the songs came from a place of finding joy in the music,” says Kiah. “In the past I felt so mired down with anxiety that I sometimes held back from what I really wanted to write about; I felt like I needed to play it safe and keep certain thoughts to myself. But now I’m at a point where I’m confident in what I value and love, and because of that I’ve made the album I’ve always wanted to make.”

All throughout Still + Bright, Kiah reveals her rare ability to spin her fascinations into songs uncovering essential truths about human nature. For Kiah, the making of Still + Bright involved a careful transformation of the songwriting process she adopted after composing her first song on a Fender acoustic at age 13. The latest turn in a dynamic career that’s included joining Our Native Daughters (an all-women-of-color supergroup also featuring Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell), the album marks her first time opening up her approach and working with co-writers, including punk legend Tim Armstrong, Sadler Vaden (a guitarist/vocalist for Jason Isbell’s 400 Unit), former Pentatonix member Avi Kaplan, and Sean McConnell (a singer/songwriter who’s also written with Brittney Spencer and Bethany Cosentino). “In a way I almost felt like I had to relearn how to write songs, because the experience had changed so much for me after taking better care of my mental and physical wellbeing over the past few years,” she says. “It felt completely different to write from a place of fulfillment and wanting to have fun with what I was creating.”

While Still + Bright undoubtedly finds Kiah pushing into new emotional and musical terrain, the album also makes for a vital new addition to a body of work largely dedicated to exploring the struggle and joy of true self-discovery. “With all of my music, I’d love to leave people with the feeling that it’s okay to go off the beaten path and to structure your life in a way that feels right to you,” says Kiah. “And just like with the last record, I hope that these songs can help people out if they’re going through a difficult time. That’s what I always hope for more than anything: for my music to continue to be a part of the healing process for anyone who might need it.”