From the first bass note within the driving drum beat you can tell something is different about the new record from Nikki Lane. The backbeat feels like a gutsy strut while the lead guitar feels like a revved up engine shifting gears. “Denim & Diamonds” comes out firing, spit shining the cowboy boots and tossing on a jean jacket.
Produced by Joshua Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), “Denim & Diamonds” has the Highway Queen embracing a more rock-oriented sound while still maintaining the heartfelt outlaw country sound she has developed across her previous three releases. “Denim & Diamonds” still has the fuck-off flare of which Nikki has come to be known. Her stylized, story-telling lyrics are all there as well as her catchy country hooks. The outlaw country sound is now balanced out with a gritty guitar and a machine gun snare that echoes the sound of 70’s rock.
“Denim & Diamonds“. Arriving September 23rd on New West Records, the 10-song project was produced and mixed by Joshua Homme at his Pink Duck Studios in Burbank, CA.
We brought in a diverse range of players thoughtfully tailored by Homme to create a more rock and roll sound. The All-Star band includes Homme, as well as his Queens of the Stone Age collaborators Alain Johannes on guitar, Dean Fertita on organ & Michael Shuman on bass. Additionally, the album features drummers Matt Helders of Arctic Monkeys, Carla Azar of the acclaimed post-punk band Autolux (and frequent Jack White collaborator), and my pedal steel player Matthew Pynn (Dwight Yoakum, Miley Cyrus).
Nikki Lane has made a record that sounds new and old. Familiar and surprising. She embraces where she has come from, (“First High”, “Born Tough”) the lessons learned along the way, (“Good Enough”, “Try Harder”) all while doing things her way, (“Denim & Diamonds”, “Black Widow”).
releases September 23rd, 2022
All songs written by Nikki Lane
The Fat Angel Sings 