· By Mattias Forsgren
Hannah Aldridge new single 'Portrait Of The Artist As A Middle Aged Man' gives Bonnie & Clyde through the lens of Hollywood Noir.
Hannah Aldridge grew up on the muddy banks of Muscle Shoals—her birthright is music and Alabama. A reckoning between her coming-of-age in the South and a lifetime of trying to create an identity outside of it, her songs strike a delicate balance between rebellion and self-discovery. These two themes weave through Aldridge’s gifted storytelling, making for records that soothe like a lullaby and crack like a whip. For those raised in the Bible Belt, Aldridge’s music sounds like the voice of an old friend who understands. For those not in the know, her music is an initiation to the dark side of the South, Christian fundamentalism and the struggle to forge a future in a place haunted by its past.
Now the Nashville-based artist presents her second single ‘Portrait of the Artist as a Middle Aged Man’, from new ful length album 'Dream of America', which is set to be released in June 2023 through Swedish alternative indie label, Icons Creating Evil Art.
Now the Nashville-based artist presents her second single ‘Portrait of the Artist as a Middle Aged Man’, from new ful length album 'Dream of America', which is set to be released in June 2023 through Swedish alternative indie label, Icons Creating Evil Art.
Writing ‘Portrait of the Artist as a Middle Aged Man’ turned out to be a very different process than anything Hannah had previously experienced. The song was originally written by Lachlan Bryan and Damian Cafarella, and was entrusted to Hannah to bend into something new for her upcoming album. “It was the first time I took a fully written song and had the opportunity to reimagine and rewrite it in my voice.“ She tells us.
Hannah found inspiration for a new angle to the song at a trip in 2021, where she got to live out her desert road fantasies travelling by car between Las Vegas and Joshua Tree, CA. She says: “I rented a Black Camaro convertible and drove it across the Mojave desert. It was a trip that felt like I was living a Hunter S. Thompson novel. I pulled a lot from that experience and really immersed myself in the idea of a Bonnie and Clyde storyline seen through a Hollywood noir lens when it came thinking of how approach this song. It ended up being one of my favorite songs I’ve ever recorded.”
The upcoming music video for ‘Portrait of the Artist as a Middle Aged Man’ was recorded in between tour dates while Hannah was touring Scandinavia with 'Dorero', the first single of the album. Directed by Johan Lundsten, who’s previously worked with Hannah on ‘Sinking’, the new video is set in the mysterious and elegant feel of an old Noir film. “Working with Johan is always special, but I think we were both really in our elements on this one.” Hannha tells us, “We really wanted to do a video that was true to the Hollywood Noir storyline and touched on a Quentin Tarantino meets David Lynch aesthetic. It was the first time I had ever shot in black and white and the first time I had ever shot a video with a green screen, which was so interesting because you can only imagine and trust the creative vision of the director."
Hannah Aldridge’s fierce Southern energy reaches through every speaker, whether it’s in a dashboard doing 80 down I-65, a rock club in Amsterdam or a Honky Tonk in her adopted hometown of Nashville. The new album treads a fine line between the genial charm of Americana, and the raw, hypnotic and occasionally electronic stylings of what some might like to call ‘noir indie pop’. It is music for those looking to confront their demons without remaining tethered to them, and this new single is no exception.
‘Portrait of the Artist as a Middle Aged Man’ will be released on all major platforms on April 14, 2023 via Icons Creating Evil Art.
Hannah found inspiration for a new angle to the song at a trip in 2021, where she got to live out her desert road fantasies travelling by car between Las Vegas and Joshua Tree, CA. She says: “I rented a Black Camaro convertible and drove it across the Mojave desert. It was a trip that felt like I was living a Hunter S. Thompson novel. I pulled a lot from that experience and really immersed myself in the idea of a Bonnie and Clyde storyline seen through a Hollywood noir lens when it came thinking of how approach this song. It ended up being one of my favorite songs I’ve ever recorded.”
The upcoming music video for ‘Portrait of the Artist as a Middle Aged Man’ was recorded in between tour dates while Hannah was touring Scandinavia with 'Dorero', the first single of the album. Directed by Johan Lundsten, who’s previously worked with Hannah on ‘Sinking’, the new video is set in the mysterious and elegant feel of an old Noir film. “Working with Johan is always special, but I think we were both really in our elements on this one.” Hannha tells us, “We really wanted to do a video that was true to the Hollywood Noir storyline and touched on a Quentin Tarantino meets David Lynch aesthetic. It was the first time I had ever shot in black and white and the first time I had ever shot a video with a green screen, which was so interesting because you can only imagine and trust the creative vision of the director."
Hannah Aldridge’s fierce Southern energy reaches through every speaker, whether it’s in a dashboard doing 80 down I-65, a rock club in Amsterdam or a Honky Tonk in her adopted hometown of Nashville. The new album treads a fine line between the genial charm of Americana, and the raw, hypnotic and occasionally electronic stylings of what some might like to call ‘noir indie pop’. It is music for those looking to confront their demons without remaining tethered to them, and this new single is no exception.
‘Portrait of the Artist as a Middle Aged Man’ will be released on all major platforms on April 14, 2023 via Icons Creating Evil Art.