Life, love and relationships are all wrapped up in one wonderful collection.
Kye Alfred Hillig is based in Tacoma, Washington. A singer-songwriter, he has produced an exceptional, heartfelt album. His first recording since the release of the excellent twenty-four track In All Colors Singing Back, which came out in 2022. If you need a reference point for this work, look no further than the second single from the collection, Our Remaining Pig, which explores the nature of a relationship beyond recovery. Hillig states that “Sometimes couples just need to say the honest and painful thing. No one benefits from avoiding the suffering that comes with growth”. This collection explores this theme throughout, offering a thought-provoking set of songs. The penultimate track takes the idea further, ultimately leading to the end. We Were Right (‘Til We Were Wrong) explains how the slow deterioration of a relationship can feel. “And I thought we’d be forever / I guess I’m just that dumb” captures the hurt and loneliness in one single line. The beautiful minor key guitar playing adds to the feeling of desolation now that “the lustre now is gone”.
There are chiming guitars, gorgeous, poignant moments and a host of wonderful hooks throughout. The first single, Ezekiel Bobbing For Apples, starts like a gospel tune but quickly morphs into a laconic offering of emotional exhaustion and disillusion. Joined on vocals by Annie J, it is a call for some kind of positive sign amongst all the disappointments.
Don’t Cancel The Fair paints a landscape of hope dashed, as it seems it the fair will never happen again. There is humour in the images Hillig portrays in the lyrics, particularly the anticipation of “a burger as big as my face”, but behind it all is a yearning for something special that is eagerly anticipated all year. Behind it all we know Hillig isn’t just talking about a fair and it works so well.
The shuffling soul of How Desperate We Are follows Don’t’ Cancel The Fair and may well give you Van Morrison vibes. The song gives Hillig’s voice room to breathe whilst taking your own away. A stunning, lilting guitar solo accompanies the lyrics, which laments “And if you want to know how close to the bottom / Just count the churches, jails, & bars.”
The strident music and guitar hook of Jules Can You See Me? belies the despondency and solitude in the words. Bill Nordwall does a magnificent job on the organ, swaying in and out throughout the three and a half minutes of magic. There is a striking gap between the two lines “And I turned off towards the park, but in a sense you took me with you… Jules, you took my heart”, which is extremely clever and captures the desperate pleading of the situation. Hillig is not without his humour, as the narrator cries out to be seen, waving arms about and flashing his “pearly whites”. It’s a laugh-out-loud moment amongst the despair of unrequited love.
Cut Off All Your Hair completes the suite in fine style with a wonderful indie-rock alt-country track. Hillig delivers this one with an angry quality, at odds with the preceding eleven songs, as if all the effort has led to this final reckoning and he needs somewhere to vent his feelings. The cutting off of all your hair could be a gesture of devotion or a way to let go of the past for a new beginning. It is a powerful and thought-provoking ending.
If we take anything away from this wonderful record, it is not to let your relationships and friendships go through the motions for the sake of it. Holding onto something that is no longer there, that is painful and just too difficult for all concerned. Going through the motions is something this collection certainly doesn’t do.
