New Music: Sid Hillman – Even Things

Sid Hillman is usually found fronting his eponymous quartet, but Even Things – and his new album Oxygen – finds him going solo.

Hillman did work with Mike Taklender – the Quartet’s drummer – on the LP, and on Even Things, his soft brushstrokes add a jazz-like rhythm to a song steeped in Americana.

Hillman’s voice has a lot of 70s Neil Young circa Harvest about it, strangely beautiful in its stark simplicity. It’s a quality that resonates through the arrangement, yet leaves the listener welling up to the brim with emotion. Hillman has described himself as “still working and evolving as a singer/songwriter”, so it’ll be interesting to see if he can better something as perfect as Even Things.

Says Hillman, “This is a song about letting go, not trying so hard to control things, manage things, and seeing that there’s a beauty in taking a step back to allow things to move of their own accord.”

Oxygen is out now, and is available on vinyl via Rare Bird. Sid Hillman isn’t on social media, so follow him on Spotify or sign up for the mailer on his website for music updates.