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Solely

by Natalie Jane Hill

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    pressed/packaged by Softwax in Philadelphia, PA

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    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    pressed/packaged by Softwax in Philadelphia, PA

    Includes unlimited streaming of Solely via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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1.
Euphoria 03:41
Remember when you’d drive to distract a nervous mind? Avoiding the street home till the low fuel light glows And you’d find an empty lot, park the car, sit with your thoughts Underneath the magnolia, sweet in euphoria Where’s my euphoria? Sometimes you think as if you’re lost in that dream The one with the meadow and the twin oak trees As he waves from the porch, wrapped around a little white house And the closer you get, it drags farther south And you don’t know if you’re meant to follow And if you do go, is it just for a while? Now back on the road, taking the long way home It is late in the night, with the crooked street lights Illuminating pine, as you are feeling alone You pull into the drive and he still hasn’t shown Just the scent of gardenia, floating in the air And all of nostalgia, just lingering there Where’s my euphoria?
2.
Little Teeth 03:29
The pearly white buds Are falling from the sky Shaped like little teeth In the water floating by Don’t know who you are But you’re there inside my mind On a clear day I seek them Careful not to miss my eye I took a photo of The bank that we stood on Looking out over the river As we talked about our lives It was then that I saw you In such a different view Thinking maybe this time I would stay to see it through The little teeth buds Are falling once again From a tree just above It’s where they start It’s where they end
3.
If I were a willow, I would sway with every breeze Keep you shaded from the heat Let you rest below my leaves And if I were a songbird, I’d be perched up on that tree I’d be singing to you darling Always crooning, always calling to thee If I were a flower in a field of honey bees I’d keep my pollen up my sleeves For only you could have my sweets And if I were a river, so calm and moved with ease Let you glide in past the knees Cool your skin within my stream If I were a morning, I’d be quiet, soft and still Lift the fog and early chill Let you wake at your own will And if I were an evening, filled with wine and company Or solitude and tea Would you like to stay with me?
4.
If I sit so still Rid everything around me I fall out of this body And I stare right her But she pays no mind Not existing in this time I am wandering around your block again Yet still wondering if it’s just a thought I’m in And if it be so, I hope you know Because it’s funny but strange How easily we make a memory Seem better from far away And if it be so, I’d want you to know I keep the book you gave me On my bedside table And I flip through colored paper Of all the plants and all the flowers That do not grow here
5.
What does it mean to feel alone? With the subtle squeak of a loose floor board The hum of the fridge turning on The chimes in the wind, a distant song The drip of the faucet, one by one The creek that is moving over stone The fire that crackles in the stove And out in the garden, a rooster crows
6.
Solely 03:35 video
Would you close the door behind me? I never thought I’d say it so kindly I hope you find good company I’ll be thinking of you softly And it’s okay to feel lonely It’s true that I know it well But if you seek from that solely It’s gonna hurt like hell Could it be now that I am on the right road? Even if I don’t know where it goes? I used to think the directionless in me Was the same thing as being free But it’s okay to want something That gives you endless joy But if you thrive from that only You might forget how to find it on your own I think I am still learning slow How to be alright on my own It’ll take some time to feel at ease To trust in knowing I am right where I should be And it’s okay to feel lonely It’s true that I know it well But if you seek from that solely It’s gonna hurt like hell
7.
Pretty View 02:49
Stuck on a ledge, facing your death With miles ahead, is a world only you’ve dreamt Something unknown and cold to the bone When light hits the edge, it takes you home Changing through time, convincing it’s fine To step a little over the line To step a little over the line What a pretty view On the other end from you Such a view On the other end you knew
8.
I know of a comfort in the delicate threads Entangled in limbs, just over my head I see her, an orb weaver Hanging on a dew covered web Mighty and small, she spins her bed And the strands they shimmer with wind And I feel better, more than I ever did Then I think on the time when it wasn’t just I But two strangers side by side In the weeds, reaching high With the water moccasins Peaking their heads out from under the crevices of stone Along a creek that I’m just getting to know As you give light and make a joke And all my fear subsides and clears like smoke Now all is lost in the thickness Of the briar and the privet I am waste deep and hidden To further myself in it Means letting go of the comfort I know
9.
Listen to me tomorrow If it means you’ll hear it stronger Than you would right now When you’re way up in this cloud And the view from below Won’t clear up on its own Listen to me tomorrow Follow these thoughts that wander Around your head That you still haven’t let in And the older you get These words are left unsaid Because you are so much more Than what you might have ever been before And you are capable and worthy of all love that might be at your door So don’t you count on the past to distract or bypass Your chance for growth - if it be fast, if it be slow To become and to change, to finally arrange yourself In a way that helps to find yourself Listen to me tomorrow I think you’ll hear it stronger
10.
Better Now 03:41
There is a time, there is a place I am sure of this I can count and I can trace Every line I made upon your face What if I had left before it got bad What if I had kept you closer than the sad That followed me In your little house That followed me All around your town Confide in me I won’t let you down Can’t you see I am better now

about

'Solely,' the sophomore effort by folk guitarist/singer-songwriter Natalie Jane Hill, is a record of transition. While the Central Texas native’s stunning debut “Azalea” grew from years spent developing a textural narrative voice and idiosyncratic guitar style in the vibrant Blue Ridge Mountains, “Solely” represents a period of inward growth, and an outward push into an expanded sonic palette.

Following a move back to the Austin area in the fall of 2019, just months ahead of the pandemic, Natalie began an intensive period of
reflection, and expanded her song-craft’s foundations from the broader themes of nature into the vulnerable intricacies of self-discovery. Along with this process came an openness to external creative input.

Recorded between October 2020-March 2021 to Tascam 8 track in the Lockhart Texas home of producer Jason Chronis (Voxtrot, Tele Novella), these recordings represent Hill’s first incorporation of other musicians into her arrangements, featuring performances by Mat Davidson (Twain) among several other trusted friends. There is a liberating and careful grace in these collaborations, providing strength andcolor to the upper branches of each song while preserving space for the health of the roots.

'Solely' is a celebration of knowing ourselves well enough to be able to accept the darkest paths of introspection, which can allow us to combine our creative influence with others to construct the experiences we want to have. Like lived experience itself, this music breathes and inhabits the space you allow for it, constantly revealing new qualities and inviting repeated reflection.

credits

released October 29, 2021

Recorded to tape at Tele-Chron Recording Co. October 2020 through March 2021 in Lockhart, Texas
All songs written by Natalie Jane Hill
Produced by Jason Chronis
Mixed by Max Lorenzen
Mastered by M Deetz

Natalie Jane Hill - Vocals, Guitar
Mat Davidson - Pedal Steel, Fiddle, Wurlitzer, Casio
Jason Chronis - Vibraphone, Autoharp, Bass, Percussion
Tony Rogers - Cello
Bob Hoffnar - Pedal Steel
Sadie Wolfe - Cello
Jared Van Fleet - Piano
Matt Simon - Percussion

Photography by Julian Neel
Layout by Michael Cormier

A forever thank you to Jason and everyone who contributed their magic to help make this record what it is.

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