On the heels of a two-week tour supporting Gary Clark Jr. in Australia (where he joined Gary nightly for his encore), Hamish Anderson returns to the US to celebrate the release of his sophomore album, Out of My Head, produced by Jim Scott (Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Wilco). Anderson’s musical chops go deep with this record. Rock and Blues Muse has also said of Anderson’s new release, “There are a lot of impressive young guitarists out there these days, but very few of them can match their physical dexterity with this much vulnerability and lyrical prowess.“
Hamish might not easily fit into a genre or a box, but he sets himself apart from the pack by exploring areas and combining genres that most do not. And that’s just the way he likes it.
About Hamish Anderson’s Out of My Head:
After two years supporting Trouble, Hamish began writing his sophomore album Out of My Head with a sense of confidence that only comes around after all that goes into a debut album. For his second album, Hamish wanted to make it even more song oriented -- exploring melodies, hooks and choruses without committing to one specific genre. “I wanted to let the songs dictate what they wanted to be, so the record goes everywhere from blues rockers, soul ballads to more aggressive fuzzy rock and roll.” Americana, soul, pop, roots, blues, rock; that’s a lot of ground to cover, but Hamish does it with a natural ease that’s far beyond his years. The mellow (“What You Do To Me,” “Damaged Goods”) and the upbeat (“No Good,” “You Give Me Something”) tracks on this record sit comfortably next to each other; all buoyed by a knack for clever, hook-driven songwriting and a clear, burning passion that drives the music from the first strum to the last.
Throughout the album, Hamish explores themes of alienation, defiance, unabashed love and observations on what's happening in the world -- themes that he hadn’t really explored in his writing before. Hamish shared “I took a long time with the writing process, really trying to make something that to me feels like a complete piece. I still love the art of an album to give the full story.”
The result of that was a cohesive album which really shows that he took his time with the writing and didn’t rush the process. “Some songs were written just after the release of my debut album, but the majority of writing was done over the holiday break at the end of 2017. I went back home to Australia after a really busy year touring the US and suddenly when everything stopped for a minute, I just locked myself away and wrote.”
Hamish and producer Jim Scott worked in tandem on the arrangements of songs -- even more so than he previously had. Although some things stayed the same, for instance he still recorded live on the floor with the band playing; however, this time once they had the take, he and Jim would spend time exploring harmonies, sounds and textures that they hadn’t used before.
Throughout Out of My Head, the bass and drums are very prominent. Of course, there is still a lot of guitar, but this time around he wanted the rhythm section to be right up front -- even on ballads -- so everything has a really solid groove. Hamish was joined in the studio by drummer Johnny Radelat (Gary Clark Jr), bassists Chris Bruce (Doyle Bramhall II) and Aaron Stern (Curtis Harding), and keyboardist Jerry Borgé (Jonathan Wilson).
Ironically, despite the languid timeline for the writing and pre-production, the whole album came together quickly -- ten songs were completed in ten days which is a true testament to the union that Jim Scott and Hamish have built over these years.
The last track to be included is “Damaged Goods”, co-written with Rune Westberg (Beth Hart) who also produced the track. It provides yet another new poignant, stripped back, gospel- like sonic note for the album.
He has clearly set his sights on perfecting the song, and the larger vision of a cohesive album that is bound to take the listener on a soul-freeing experience.
Out of My Head released May 2019 on all formats.
HAMISH ANDERSON ON TOUR
USA
1 June - Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up *support
6 July - Los Angeles, CA @ Redondo Beach Music Series
CANADA
12 - 13 July - Mont Tremblant, Canada @ Mont Tremblant Blues Fest
EUROPE
27 September - Einsiedein, Switzerland @ Mauz
28 September Oberentfelden, Switzerand @ Borom Pom Pom
2 October - Twist, Germany @ Heimathaus
3 October - Zaandam, Netherlands @ Flux
4 October - Dordrecht, Netherlands @ Bibelot
5 October - Drachten, Netherlands @ Iduna
6 October - Weert, Netherlands @ De Bosuil
8 October - Hagan, Germany @ Gaststatte Stock
9 October - Dusseldorf, Germany @ Pitcher
10 October- Norderstedt @ Music Star
11 October- Coppenbrugge, Germany @ Woodstore
12 October - Wredenhagan, Germany @ Cafe Scheune
13 October- Kristianstad, Sweden @ Kompakt Disk
14 October- Copenhagen, Denmark @ Mojo
16 October- Bratislavia, Slovakia Museum @ Obchodu
17 October- Chiemgau, Germany @ Blues Club Chiemgau
18 October- Ebensee, Austria @ Kino Ebensee
19 October- Schwabish Hall, Germany @ Anlagencafe
20 October- Schwabish Gemund, Germany @ Kkf
22 October- Vienna, Austria @ Rockhouse Bar
All tour info and up to date news at hamishandersonmusic.com
