Amythyst Kiah- Still + Bright
Label: Rounder
Producer: Butch Walker
“When I was a child, I wanted to play God and destroy the world. Suburban smiles are just a fraud, is it yourself that you serve? Well you taunt us with the crosses you hide behind, I see through them all!” Few modern albums have offered, or will ever offer, as deafening an opening stanza. It’s a earth-shattering battle cry on words alone, and then you factor in Butch Walker’s eruptive folk-rock production and Amythyst Kiah’s emotionally intense and revelatory vocals, and everything just soars into the stratosphere. And things don’t come back to Earth for the entirety of Still + Bright. This record packs the kind of profound human experience that many artists work their entire career to achieve in a single song. It was this kind of musical and emotional tour de force that left us awe-inspired on Kiah’s 2021 predecessor, Wary + Strange, as the artistic and vocal powerhouse guided us through the wreckage of a litany of societal reckonings that have only become more imposing and prevalent in the socially toxic and politically chaotic year of 2024. The sheer power of Kiah’s voice alone nominates her as a glorious beacon to help us traverse these troubled times, and that prominence is only elevated by the additional layers of empathy, wisdom, gravitas, and zero-fucks-given gumption that beat at the heart of her lyrics and performances. Her courage in laying bare her own personal struggles in finding her place as a multi-minority in a culture as divided as it’s been in half a century is nothing short of galvanizing, and those experiences beautifully inform her profound and take-no-prisoners assessments of a world that is increasingly spinning off its axis. Kiah is well-known for her extreme perfectionism; she recorded the entirety of Wary + Strange three different times before settling on its final version. This unwavering passion for quality control similarly pays off on Still + Bright; there is not a word, note, lick, or single breath wasted across this album. She surrounds herself with a bevy of artists equally committed to excellence, from bluegrass virtuoso Billy Strings and roots dark horse S.G. Goodman to Pentatonix alumni Avi Kaplan and producer Walker, who also doubles as a guest vocalist. Together, they bring to life Kiah’s deepest personal scars and grandest world concerns, from the pleading for mental relief in “S P A C E” or the spiritual reinvention of “Empire of Love”, to the aching self-discovery of “Silk and Petals” or the mammoth proportions in considering alternate life-forms in “Never Alone”. Her music is deeply rooted in an ambience most closely associated with Southern Gothic, but she brilliantly subverts the typically fictional fantasy of those trappings with true-life circumstances and social justice issues steeped in the traditions of pure folk music. The fact that the music is also as equally accessible, at moments even catchy, as it is soulfully guttural is another testament to her greatness. And then when she does strip things down, as on “Let’s See Ourselves Out”, she crafts a straight-forward country tearjerker that could double as a break-up anthem for a faltering romance, within its obviously true intent as a consideration of human existence as a whole. That she can make such a grandiose consideration sound so uniquely intimate further speaks to her powers as a singer and storyteller. There seems to be no limits to Amythyst Kiah’s musical powers in general; this album and her gifts as a performer are like a dragon breathing fiery inspiration and musical magic. Still + Bright is an instant classic; it further solidifies Amythyst Kiah as an important voice, not only in terms of the music world, but in society as a whole.
Track Listing:
- “Play God and Destroy the World” (Amythyst Kiah, Sadler Vaden)
- “S P A C E” (Kiah)
- “Empire of Love” (Kiah, Sean McConnell)
- “I Will Not Gow Down” featuring Billy Strings (Kiah, Butch Walker)
- “Silk and Petals” featuring Butch Walker (Kiah)
- “Die Slowly Without Complaint” featuring Avi Kaplan (Kiah, Avi Kaplan, Jeremy Lutito)
- “Gods Under the Mountain” (Kiah, McConnell)
- “Dead Stars” (Kiah)
- “Dark Matter” (Kiah)
- “Let’s See Ourselves Out” (Kiah)
- “Never Alone” (Kiah, Walker)
- “People’s Prayer” (Kiah, Timothy Armstrong)
The 706 
Never heard of her, but I’m intrigued now.