Stitched Up Heart

Stitched Up Heart’s goals for their sophomore album were daunting: “For each song we tried to throw paint—musically speaking—in a completely different direction, trying to create something innovative and different without losing our identity,” explains singer Alecia “Mixi” Demner. The end result is Darkness,11 deeply emotional songs, including “Warrior” and “Darkness,” boasting a sonic sheen that’s at once organic, yet intense and electronic. Produced by From First To Last singer/guitarist Matt Good (producer of Asking Alexandria and Hollywood Undead), Stitched Up Heart realized their impressive aural goals, blending, warping and creating their own brand of rock by utilizing “different elements to modernize our music and make it unique and fresh.” Proof is in the intense dynamics of first single, “Lost,” which features forceful guest vocals from Sully Erna of Godsmack. (Stitched Up Heart kicked off the anticipated Darkness touring cycle with Godsmack and Volbeat in April, 2019.)

While the musical growth and creative chances taken by the L.A.-based lineup is evident, fans of the band’s 2016 debut, Never Alone, will recognize the Stitched Up Heart’s signature sound: Demner’s flexible, passionate voice—a bit more airy and breathy and cool on this record—over ultra-melodic but sometimes unsettling heavy, riffing rock with darkly electronic guitar stylings. Of the band’s lauded debut, Shockwave magazine said, "...Never Alone personifies the new hard rock genre to near perfection.” Indeed, Never Alone, released in mid-2016, debuted in the Top 10 of both the Billboard Heatseeker and Hard Rock charts, with SiriusXM’s Octane putting the single “Finally Free” on hyper rotation.

Humbled by the success and attention garnered for Never Alone, Stitched Up Heart are eager to thank their supporters and fans with tons of touring, helping to get Darkness into the light. “While there are a lot of dark parts where I dug really deep on this album, there’s hope as well,” Demner affirms. “If you just hang in though the tough times, there’s still cool stuff that happens in those times… and of course, now that we love our new record and are on tour, everything’s so exciting.” If Darkness is personal, it’s also purposely universal. “I ask the universe to try to come up with the words so that I can reach people as deeply as possible,” says Demner. “My hope is ultimately to really have our music connect intensely with people—guys, girls, young, old—everyone and anyone.”