Amythyst Kiah’s Liberation: Still + Bright Available Everywhere Now

The Butch Walker-produced album explores the struggle and joy of true self-discovery, features collaborations with Billy Strings, S.G. Goodman + more

Still + Bright "exudes the confidence of an artist who has unlocked a new door and jumped through it headlong” - Garden & Gun

Kiah will support Larkin Poe for select dates of their just-announced ‘Bloom Tour’ – full dates below

Today (10.25), GRAMMY-nominated singer-songwriter Amythyst Kiah shares her new album, Still + Bright via Rounder Records. Produced by Butch Walker (Taylor Swift, Green Day and Weezer) and recorded at his Nashville studio, the 12-track album is a vital new addition to Kiah’s body of work, one largely dedicated to exploring the struggle and joy of true self-discovery. While her 2021 Wary + Strange details her grief, anger, and abandonment, Still + Bright is her liberation from the events of her earlier life, examining the vast expanse of her inner world, passions, self-exploration and realization, with a darkly cinematic twist. 

The project – which Rolling Stone hailed is “poised to be a major moment for the east Tennessee-raised singer-songwriter” – expands upon the wild definitions of Americana music. From gothic love songs with haunting vocals (“Silk and Petals feat. Butch Walker”) to a furiously stomping fantasy-inspired folk epic (“I Will Not Go Down” feat.Billy Strings"), or an ode to meditation laced with lush mandolin lines and lovely fiddle melodies (“S P A C E”), the album affirms her as an artist of both daring originality and uncompromising depth. The album is a collision of her love of indie rock, garage guitars and symphonic metal, flawlessly melded with the visceral lyricism and songwriting she’s renowned for in the roots community.

Listen to Still + Bright here

The project – which features collaborations with S.G. Goodman, Billy Strings and Avi Kaplan (Pentatonix) – also marks a complete transformation in Kiah’s songwriting process: her first time opening up her approach and working with co-writers on an album. The album features co-writes with punk legend Tim Armstrong, Sadler Vaden (guitarist/vocalist for Jason Isbell’s 400 Unit) and Sean McConnell (Brittney Spencer, Bethany Cosentino). 

Also out today is the official video for “Empire of Love.” Directed by Curtis Wayne Millard, the video brings to life Kiah’s journey as a spiritual seeker, with vivid imagery as she visits a mountain, a cathedral, a Baptist church, a Buddhist temple and a mosque. Inspired by her ever-deepening connection to the Appalachian landscape – and by her interest in Western humanities and Eastern religions – “Empire of Love” finds Kiah constructing her own belief system firmly rooted in compassion and curiosity, gorgeously wrought in brooding guitar riffs and fiercely delivered poetry. Garden & Gun premiered the video along with an album feature yesterday praising, “​​‘Still + Bright’ exudes the confidence of an artist who has unlocked a new door and jumped through it headlong” –read more here. 

Watch the “Empire of Love” official video above and here 

Kiah is currently on the road on her Still + Bright Tour, plus she recently was announced as direct support for select dates of Larkin Poe’s The Bloom Tour. See her full upcoming tour dates below. 

Still + Bright Track List:

1. Play God and Destroy the World (feat. S.G. Goodman) (Amythyst Kiah, Sadler Vaden)

2. S P A C E (Kiah)

3. Empire of Love (Kiah, Sean McConnell)

4. I Will Not Go Down (feat. Billy Strings) (Kiah, Butch Walker)

5. Silk and Petals (feat. Butch Walker) (Kiah)

6. Die Slowly Without Complaint (feat. Avi Kaplan) (Kiah, Jeremy Lutito, Avi Kaplan)

7. Gods Under the Mountain (Kiah, McConnell)

8. Dead Stars (Kiah)

9. Dark Matter (Kiah)

10. Let’s See Ourselves Out (Kiah)

11. Never Alone (Kiah, Walker)

12. People’s Prayer (Kiah, Tim Armstrong)