Nikki Lane has been keeping busy the last few years with various music collaborations. For the first time in five years, Lane is slated to release what marks her fourth studio album, Denim & Diamonds, which is out Sept. 23. With the announcement, Lane just shared the video for it’s lead single, “First High.”
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The Jocelyn Cooper-directed “First High” video takes us down Lane’s own memory lane, where she indulges in nostalgia for her rebellious upbringing. Lane cries of a youthful freedom of driving fast and smoking with punks: “Take me back to the first show / Right back to the first note / When I knew my heart was pure rock ‘n’ roll / I’m still searching for that first high.”
“This song is about chasing that feeling of the first rollercoaster,” Lane says in a statement, “the first drag of a cigarette, that first kiss. Those moments are harder to come by the older we get, yet only get better each time. The video captures that feeling of being young in a small town on a summer day, and the lack of inhibition that came with it.”
The 10-track Denim & Diamonds will release through New West Records. Lane wrangled an all-star band with the record’s producer and Queens of the Stone Age singer/guitarist Joshua Homme, who mixed the project at his own Pink Duck Studio in California. Hommes tapped guitarist Alain Johannes, organist Dean Fertita, and bassist Michael Shuman to contribute. The album also hears Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders, Carla Azar of the post-punk group Autolux, and Lane’s pedal steel player Matthew Pynn.
“There is a song that didn’t make the album with the lyrics: ‘sometimes you gotta run away to live a life that you can write a song about,” Lane says in a statement. “Prior to this album, I was so focused on writing about life on the road, that I just didn’t have the headspace to write about the road that got me here.”
Since the release of her critically acclaimed 2017 Highway Queen, Lane has collaborated with an impressive string of musicians. She performed backing vocals on the latest Spiritualized record and on Boulevards’ Electric Cowboy: Born in Carolina Mud. She contributed to Lana Del Rey’s Chemtrails Over the Country Club, and in January, Del Rey popped in to Lane’s set in Austin to sing “Prettiest Girl in Country Music” along with Sierra Ferrell.
Lane’s tour supporting Denim & Diamonds kicks off tomorrow (June 3) at Nevada’s Schellraiser Fest. Preceding her supporting gigs for the Dave Matthews Band, Spiritualized, and Midland throughout this year, she’ll perform at the CMA Fest in Nashville on June 9.
Denim & Diamonds Track List
1. First High
2. Denim & Diamonds
3. Faded
4. Born Tough
5. Try Harder
6. Good Enough
7. Live/Love
8. Black Widow
9. Pass It Down
10. Chimayo
Nikki Lane Tour Dates
June 3 – McGill, NV – Schellraiser Fest
June 9 – Nashville, TN – Spotify House at CMA Fest
July 2 – East Troy, MI – Alpine Valley Music Theatre w/ The Dave Matthews Band
July 4 – Dallas, TX – AT&T Discovery District
July 9 – Pasadena, CA – Palomino Festival
July 16 – Segovia, Spain – Huercasa Festival
July 23 – Bloomington, IL – Black Dirt Music Festival
September 2 – Weston, CO – Caveman Festival
September 11 – Pelham, TN – The Caverns w/ Spiritualized
September 30 – La Cygne, KS – Firewater Fest
October 8 – Charleston, SC – Riverfront Park
October 15 – Los Angeles, CA – The Greek w/ Midland
October 28 – Albuquerque, NM – Revel Entertainment Center w/ Midland
October 29 – Mesa, AZ – Mesa Amphitheater w/ Midland
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