The song is the second from The Hill
Aaron Lewis has dropped “Made in China,” the second track from his forthcoming country project, The Hill, due on March 29th via The Valory Music Co.
“The best songs come from a place of authenticity,” explains Lewis. “This one started as a conversation with friends as we picked up items around the room with ‘Made in China’ stamped on the bottom. And we put pen to paper.”
Less tongue-in-cheek and more on-the-nose, “Made In China,” written by Lewis and Bobby Pinson, offers the loud-and-proud declaration that some things (like Lewis) are still made in the USA. With a dusky dose of down-tuned acoustic balladry, Lewis tributes a brash sense of patriotic pride, built to last and not ashamed to say so.
Featuring ten tracks penned solo or with a tight circle of collaborators/confidants, The Hill speaks to a time of upheaval – both in the wider world and within. Pledging to shoot his fans straight, Lewis offers up a 50-50 mix of riding out the winds of change and driving another mineshaft deep into his soul. Like his 2022 collection Frayed at Both Ends, Lewis delivers The Hill as an acoustic record, maximizing the potential for lyrical impact. Produced by Lewis alongside Ira Dean, it’s raw in the purest sense of the country-rock term – often backing his jagged-edge vocal with just a guitar, dobro and mandolin.
The Vermont-born powerhouse first found success with Staind – the 2000s-era hard rockers who injected meditative muscle into an era better known for mindless aggression. But while that band is still very much alive, it was never enough to satisfy Lewis’ creative drive. Embracing his roots to earn a rare second round of success, a series of solo country projects have led to two No. 1 Billboard Country Album debuts – 2011’s Town Line and 2016’s Sinner – plus a platinum collab with heroes George Jones and Charlie Daniels (“Country Boy”), and a gold-certified Billboard No. 1 with “Am I The Only One” in 2021. Lewis’ 2022 solo album followed suit, with Frayed at Both Ends emerging as the best-selling country album in America, but he never wrote songs for the stats. No matter the sonic setting, Lewis writes and sings to get his truth out and The Hil is no different.
“Somebody’s got to live this shit, and these songs, they’re me,” he says. “I really don’t feel like I’m alone in my feelings – I’m just more willing to open up my mouth.”
