Sawyer Hill has some things to say. As he gears up for the release of his forthcoming EP, Heartbreak Hysteria, the rising indie rock star exclusively premiered its latest track with American Songwriter.
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A blistering, punk rock anthem with indie undertones, “Aiming At My Head” features poignant lyrics sung in Hill’s commanding voice. The track takes listeners inside Hill’s recent estrangement from his former bandmate, whom he previously considered one of his best friends.
“It was really hard to deal with that. Being in a band is so much like being in a relationship, but there’s no songs for this sort of friend breakup,” Hill said, adding that the track explores the emotions that occur when you discover someone that you love, platonically or otherwise, is two-faced.
“In the song it says, ‘You’re staring at your feet / Aiming at my head.’ They’re just staring at their feet. They’re not willing to discuss it. They’re not willing to try to figure it out,” he explained. “It’s all about trying to hurt you, but they don’t even have… the balls to say it to your face.”
In listening to the song, Hill wants to offer “some sort of emotional catharsis” to people who “have a friend who is doing them dirty.”
What To Expect From Sawyer Hill’s EP
The release is in line with Hill’s style. In his music, Hill “toes the line anywhere from hard rock to alt-indie rock” as he tries “to make music that is somewhat emotionally significant for people.”
When Heartbreak Hysteria comes out on April 18, Hill hopes the EP “means something to [listeners], whether it’s one song or two songs or the whole thing.”
Above all, he wants the EP to leave people feeling “like it’s not like all the other stuff that they’ve heard.” That’s a common goal for Hill. In fact, he said he’s made “a very conscious decision” not to emulate other artists in his music.
Sawyer Hill’s Big Break
That was certainly evident on his breakout hit, “Look At the Time,” which went viral last year.
“It was a very crazy moment. I always kind of shoot for the stars, but that was super unexpected and out of left field,” Hill said of the song’s success. “… It was a nice little moment of recognition. But, at the end of the day, it doesn’t really change a whole lot. One song is f**king one song and one TikTok moment is insignificant. I don’t take it for granted, but I can’t rest on that.”
The success of the song allowed Hill to gain a massive social media following. However, the fact that Hill now has more than 300,000 people following him on TikTok and 780,000 on Instagram “hasn’t changed the thought process behind making the art.”
The Fayetteville, Arkansas-based singer spent the last decade making music in a garage. During that time, he gigged at local bars and clubs, sometimes playing shows four hours away for just ten people.
Though he’s about to embark on his first-ever headline tour, where he’ll play for much larger crowds than that, Hill said he does music not for recognition, but “for the love of the game.”
“When I was growing up, I went to all these basement shows. There was this huge DIY scene here Fayetteville, Arkansas… It was really cool. I saw all of these great shows,” Hill said. “… That’s kind of the spirit that I wanna bring to everywhere around the country. That same intimate rock show energy that I feel like is kind of missing from rock as a genre these days.”
Photo by Natalie Zeta // @shotbyzeta
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