New Wax Wednesday

Witt and wisdom are forever intertwined. And no, that’s not a typo, because in this case, “Witt” very much refers to Nashville-based singer/songwriter Alicia Witt, who will be releasing her latest 2LP set, Between Heaven and Earth, on August 28, 2026, via Thirty Tigers. Recorded in January 2026 in New York City with acclaimed musician and producer Joe Henry (Bonnie Raitt, Rhiannon Giddens) behind the board, Witt confirms that the balance of the 13 songs comprising BHAE were inspired by the perpetual influence of filmmaker and acclaimed director David Lynch, Witt’s longtime collaborator, mentor, and lifelong friend.

Witt, an acclaimed actress in her own right, was but a teenager when she initially appeared as Gersten Hayward on a handful of episodes of Lynch’s groundbreaking 1990–91 and 2017 TV series Twin Peaks. If you know the show at all (it’s one of my personal favorites, btw), there are a few instances in it that find the classically trained Witt playing piano. One of her readings was of Mendelssohn’s “Rondo Capriccioso, Opus 14,” and she also played the 1930s chestnut “Pine Top Boogie” over the end credits of Season 2, Episode 1 (where it was alternately known as “Hayward Boogie” and “Boogie Woogie”).

Now, let’s get back to the present day! Direct your attention, if you will, toward Between Heaven and Earth by checking out the official videoclip below for Witt’s philosophical, silver-screen-backdropped ruminations on connectivity (or lack thereof) that comprise “Freeze Frame” (replete with introductory surface noise, no less).

Just yesterday (i.e., July 14, 2026), I conducted an extensive Zoom interview with Witt for a more detailed feature Q&A that will appear over on our sister site Sound & Vision closer to the 2LP set’s late-August release date. For further context, Witt and I sat down together in Los Angeles 15 years ago for the cover story that adorned S&V’s September 2011 print issue, so now seemed as good a time as any to assess those then-and-now connections.

Naturally, I asked Witt if she knew, even back then in 2011 with just a digital-disc EP to her credit, that she’d be making albums full of original material all these years later. “That’s a really good question. I have to think about that one,” Alica replied. “I guess there was a part of me that knew making music was part of what I’m here in this life to do. I also suppose a part of me — especially when I was a little girl — had every confidence that I would do everything a person with a recording career would do, including have vinyl releases. I know that I visualized myself playing in front of people with a band playing my own songs — but back then, I just didn’t have any songs,” she concluded with a laugh. But now, here in 2026, Witt has plenty of original material to her credit on wax — BHAE is her fourth album to make it to vinyl — and there will be more on the way.

During our 90-minute chat on Tuesday, Witt also told me she personally witnessed the vinyl pressing of BHAE at Nashville’s United Record Pressing (a.k.a. URP), and that she had a hand in selecting its custom-made color, which is officially known as sea glass turquoise swirl. “If we get to a second pressing, we’ll have to come up with another color because that one’s unique to the first pressing,” she added.

Witt recently shared some photos of her onsite URP visit in her own socials, and she was gracious enough to text me those photos directly (along with one of the reels) for use in this story (and in our own socials).

Some other vital stats now. Alicia Witt’s Between Heaven and Earth 2LP set has an SRP of $34.98, and it can be preordered here. (The CD goes for $14.99.)

Witt also personally QC’ed five BHAE test pressings to ensure each side met her, and producer Henry’s, exacting standards. “This is my fourth vinyl, so I have gone through this process before,” she noted, “so you’re listening for a place where it constantly either distorts, or if there’s a pronounced series of clicks or pops. No two products are going to be the same, but if you’re listening to one of the test pressings, you might find a place with an odd click in one moment. But if you put on the next test pressing and you hear it again on that one, then you know it’s an issue with the main mother, and something that may have come from the stamper itself. But if you don’t hear it, then it’s just an anomaly on that particular vinyl.” Bottom line: Witt and Henry ultimately liked what they heard on their test pressings, and they gave the BHAE LPs the a-ok.

“We went all-in on the mixing process,” she continued. “Joe Henry and I were so locked in to getting just the right sound on this album because we recorded pretty much everything live. I would say 95% of what you hear was recorded live, including my vocals.” (Much more of our vinyl-oriented discussion to come on Sound & Vision later next month.)

Having heard the entirety of all 13 cuts on Between Heaven and Earth digitally, I can unequivocally say that Witt’s expressive songwriting, singing, and piano playing, coupled with Henry’s widescreen production choices and their collective agreement about the scope and panorama of each song’s respective arrangement and mix, already brings the Music up to an immediate 9 — and it may likely go higher once the vinyl is in hand and on my table for further repeat listens. Given URP’s pedigree, I expect the 2LP pressing to be at a comparable grading level once the time comes to give it a Sound rating. (I’ll letcha know once we get there.)

One more BHAE clip for you to check out now — and that’s the one for “Thank You,” which features Witt in a duet of sorts with John Paul White (of The Civil Wars) that examines the concept of how love endures beyond loss — one of the central ideas behind the entire album.

More BHAE background now regarding the album’s main inspiration. Following David Lynch's passing in January 2025, Witt found herself reflecting on the profound impact he had on her life and career. Between Heaven and Earth emerged from those reflections, drawing on the lessons Witt said she learned through their four-decade relationship and exploring themes of unconditional love, human connection, and transcendence.

I can add that if the album’s final track on its fourth side, “The Director,” doesn’t touch the core of your innermost feelings, your lifeforce needs immediate checking. “It’s the crux of why the record is,” Witt affirmed to me, “and it explains the influence that was in my head and my heart as these songs came to be — as the songs that were chosen for the album came to be, and as the bandmembers who were picked by Joe were right there in the room every day of recording. That is what was in our hearts and our heads, and the very reason why the album exists. So, it makes sense that the final song would be just as personal and as quiet as it is. That’s the essence of what was behind all of it.”

Between Heaven and Earth is but the latest chapter for a singer/songwriter in the midst of ascending to the next rung of her creative powers, and I look forward to whatever Alicia Witt does next.

ALICIA WITT
BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH
2LP (Thirty Tigers)

LP1, Side 1
1. Lover Anyway
2. Between Heaven And Earth
3. Artifacts

LP1, Side 2
1. Kindred
2. Test Drive
3. You Just Do

LP2, Side 1
1. Freeze Frame
2. Blue Moon
3. Build Me A Dream

LP2, Side 2
1. Thank You (Feat. John Paul White)
2. Undivided
3. More
4. The Director