For Heavy Makeup, Edie Brickell and Trevor Hagen create a sound that feels refreshingly off-the-cuff, rooted in improvisation, and captures a raw, spontaneous energy rarely found in studio albums today. As Brickell explains to Kyle Meredith, “We didn’t come into this with any preconceived ideas. Trevor just started playing a beat, and I followed the music.” Their second album, Here It Comes, arrived with surprising speed, building on the momentum of their debut just last year.
The recording process itself feels as fluid as the songs, with Brickell leaning into her ability to conjure lyrics and melodies in real-time. “It’s like going to try a new restaurant,” she says. “You don’t know what’s on the menu, but that’s the fun.” Trevor Hagen elaborates on this, describing how the trio—including bandmate CJ Camerieri—spends hours jamming, pulling threads of ideas into fully formed tracks. “We improvise actual songs with parts and sections. It’s a bit different than a typical songwriting session.”
Standout tracks like Let Them Lie and Enough Runnin' Around exemplify this approach. Let Them Lie, a total improvisation, features what Brickell calls “internal dialogue,” while Trevor adds, “We recorded it in one take and had this buzz on Edie’s vocal mic, but we filtered it out, and it gave the song a haunting, moody feel.” Brickell agrees, calling it her favorite on the record, “It was meant to be.”
Hagen’s trumpet work shines on Enough Runnin' Around, a track that features layers of distortion and improvisation that evoke an otherworldly sound. “We’re always playing with CJ’s horn,” Trevor says, highlighting the experimentation that happens in the studio.
Unlike most bands, Heavy Makeup doesn’t meticulously rework their songs post-recording. Brickell’s spontaneous vocal delivery and the band’s free-flowing musicality give the album an almost live-in-the-studio feel. “It’s real,” Brickell says. “The songs come from the music itself, not from some pre-written idea. That’s what I love about it.”
In a musical landscape often driven by over-polished production, Heavy Makeup’s willingness to embrace the imperfections and spontaneity of the moment makes Here It Comes feel like a breath of fresh air.
Watch the interview above and then check out the video below.
