More About Nic Hessler:
Around this time, Hessler was struck with an ailment that kept him sidelined for quite sometime, Guillain-Barre Syndrome. A rare autoimmune disorder at times mistaken for Multiple Sclerosis, Guillian-Barre proved to be no walk in the park for Hessler, preventing him from playing guitar and leaving him partially paralyzed for the bulk of this lost period. While this was detrimental for Hessler and Catwalk, strangely, it may have helped the musician Nic Hessler’s career.
Now ditching the moniker of a hypothetical band, Hessler re-emerges in 2015, healthy and reinvigorated, with a more fully-formed and ambitious sound: the sound of Soft Connections, his debut LP years in the making though he’s just 23. While it’s leaps and bounds away from Catwalk in terms of fidelity and depth, the melodic and harmonic quality of Catwalk remains deeply rooted in time-honored songwriting structures. Soft Connections bridges the songwriting influences of the vintage American power-pop of Emmit Rhodes and Alex Chilton with UK giants like The Kinks and XTC. Tracks like “Hearts, Repeating” and “I Feel Again” – two classic singles in the radio sense of the word – show the maturity in craftsmanship Hessler has been honing these past four years.
The making of Soft Connections has been a lengthy process that took place during a crucial period of musical growth and self-exploration. It’s an optimistic and introspective record about being in-and-out of feeling – on the brink of a personal breakthrough, yet still seeking direction, purpose, truth and permanence. Anchored by the Catwalk favorite “(Please) Don’t Break Me,” a song that at one point could very well have launched Hessler into indie celebdom four years ago, this debut is now a send off to that period for him. Sounding better than ever and ready to soundtrack your road trip or failed crush, Soft Connections will be the first record in what we all hope to be a lengthy string of great albums.