South Carolinian-born Hannah Wicklund will release her third album “Hannah Wicklund & The Steppin’ Stones” on Strawberry Moon Records in the UK on Friday 13th September. The album was produced by Sadler Vaden, guitarist for Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit and received rave review when it was released in the US last year. The album dovetails her nationwide UK Roadstars tour with Piston and Gorilla Riot in October.
The 10-track self-released album was recorded in Nashville, TN and is a fresh take on Wicklund’s musical influences drawn from ’60s, ’70s and ’80s guitar-driven rock. “Once we started writing some songs, I saw that she had a real, raw talent,” says Producer Vaden. “I was inspired to work with her by her love of classic rock music and blues. I wanted to honour that in making this album, but also add a little modern edge to it.”
On her latest self-titled album, Wicklund taps into the fury of loneliness (Ghost). She resurrects spectres of Hendrix and Joplin (Looking Glass) as well as power ballad intensity (Strawberry Moon). Then, just as she’s supercharged you with about as much raw energy as you can channel, she lets you down gently with the acoustic intimacy of Shadow Boxes, but even here, her singing achieves an intensity that most artists can only dream of matching. Her music stands on a bedrock of razor-edged, old-school rock ’n’ roll reanimated by a new generation’s urgency.
That impression is doubly emphasised in the video for the album’s first single, Bomb Through The Breeze (playlisted on Planet Rock) It’s a hurricane of swirling colour interspersed with spare shots of Wicklund and her band in action, with black bunnies and slithering snakes adding an eerie visual complement.
The video for the latest single Shadowbowboxes and Porcelain Faces showcases the emotional toll the darkness of our digital lives takes. Says Hannah: “The lyrics can be interpreted in many ways, but for me it was meant to show how consumed by technology you can feel sometimes.” She continues: “Growing up in this day and age, there has been a screen in front of me constantly—especially during my last three years touring in the United States.” The footage used in the video are from Cuba, where she spent a week was completely detached from her phone. “It was very refreshing to detox and I came back feeling a lot more refreshed and a big reason was because of the lack of a screen constantly in my face,” she explains.
ROADSTARS – OCTOBER 2019 UK DATES:
Roadstars tour will feature Hannah Wicklund & The Steppin’ Stones, Gorilla Riot and Piston
Thursday 3 October – Chester, Live Rooms
Friday 4 October – Manchester, Rebellion
Saturday 5 October – Birmingham, Flapper
- Sunday 6 October – Norwich, Waterfront Studio
Tuesday 8 October – Newcastle, The Cluny
Wednesday 9 October – Leeds, Lending Room
Thursday 10 October – Bristol, Exchange
Friday 11 October – London, O2 Islington Academy 2
For more information or to book visit www.planetrocktickets.co.uk / www.thegigcartel.com or call the 24-Hour Box Office on 0844 478 0898.
