Not many 23-year-old guitarists can claim to have toured opening for B.B. King—Hamish Anderson has already checked this milestone off the list, having finished a run with the iconic bluesman in October. Hamish made a name for himself in his hometown of Melbourne, Australia, with an impressive live show offering a mix of electric-blues-soaked rave-ups and modern roots-rock, all anchored by top-notch songwriting chops and and an unmistakably expressive voice. Hamish’s self-titled debut EP was released in November 2013, and his second EP, Restless, dropped in October, 2014.
On Restless, Hamish teams up with producer/engineer Krish Sharma (Rolling Stones, Counting Crows, Liz Phair). Recorded in Los Angeles at Henson Studios, the EP is a vehicle for his bluesy rock & roll and evocative lyrical imagery. Single “Burn” is an adrenaline-charged blues explosion with classic guitar riffs and propulsive drumming. The other tracks on Restless (“Shotgun,” “Little Lies,” “Restless” and “Street Lights”) showcase Anderson’s wide-ranging guitar talents along with his distinctive vocals. In addition, Grammy-winning pedal-steel guitarist Greg Leisz (Tom Petty, Wilco, Lucinda Williams) lends his magic to “Shotgun” and “Street Lights.”’
With Valentine’s Day arriving Saturday, Glide is premiering (below) for the non jaded love birds out there the live video for “My Sweetheart You.” Filmed at live at 12th & Porter, Nashville, the song creates the vibrancy of Jonny Lang, where Anderson’s poetic playing slaps his tone of blues with an immediate relevancy.
“”My Sweetheart, You” was written relatively quickly,” says Anderson exclusively to Glide about the track. I was listening to a lot of Roy Orbison and The Drifters at the time, and I wanted to write a ballad in that style. From the beginning, “My Sweetheart, You” had this familiar feeling—it almost felt like the song wrote itself. Listening to all these iconic songs, it struck me how many of them ended with a phrase that repeated—so I wanted to make all the verses end with the line “My Sweetheart, You.” It’s a tribute to that songwriting style. The build of the song was important—it starts out very sparse with just guitar and vocals and then slowly builds to this climactic ending. The guitar really has a chance to speak, too, which I love. I never play it the same way twice, and it’s become one of my favorite songs to play in the set.”
“On my EP Restless last year, we went with the live version of “My Sweetheart, You” instead of the studio version,” adds Anderson. “I felt like it was an opportunity to let people know what the live experience was like—performing this song is always a highlight for me, and hopefully I’ll be playing it for as long as I’m around. Another thing that’s cool about this version of “My Sweetheart, You” is that it’s from Nashville’s 12th & Porter, which was one of my very first shows in America. It was a pretty legendary experience, and I’m still super inspired by it all.”
One Response