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 third single ‘Psycho Killer‘, a cover of the Talking Heads hit from 77 in a new eerie Dark Americana setting. The single is featured on the upcoming full-length album ‘Dream of America‘, which is set to be released in June 2023 through Swedish alternative indie label, Icons Creating Evil Art.
Hannah tells us: “We chose to cover ‘Psycho Killer’ because we wanted to do something fitting for the landscape of the record but also not obvious. Most of the songs on the record are about the underbelly of America and the lyrics to ‘Psycho Killer’ fit in with that theme perfectly. We wanted to to make sure we represented the song in a way that felt like my music but also didn’t take away from the original song.“
While researching previous portraits of the widely interpreted song, Hannah found that the plethora of covers lacked a version which approached the song from a beautiful Noir angle. “I had to really sing this song a lot of times to figure out how I wanted to deliver it and how to keep it consistent with the other songs on the record.” Hannah explains and goes on; “In the end I decided to sing it like I was almost talking to myself under my breath and doing a call and response with the voices in my head. I felt like that approach made it even more unsettling when you lay the lyrics on top of this laid back beautiful music.“
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.
‘Psycho Killer‘ will be released on all major platforms on May 19, 2023 via Icons Creating Evil Art.
