Nicole Mish’s Hope Is Restless is a mesmerizing collection of 13 self-written folk-Americana and contemporary folk songs exploring what it means to hope when one’s world feels broken. Through the characters in her songs, Mish defines hope as a restlessness, taking listeners on a journey from a stagnant hope to an adventurous one. Originally this album was ready for final mixing when Mish’s first producer, Aeron Z. Jones, tragically died on Sept 19, 2025. In shock, Nicole reached out to Kris Górski, who had already contributed as a pianist and engineer on several tracks. He graciously stepped in as a co-producer to help finish the album. Besides producing the album with Nicole, Aeron Z Jones and Kris Górski arranged and contributed as instrumentalists, along with Noah Gothelf on banjo, Cooper Lower on guitar, Thomas Vang on bass, Daniel Sobiesiak on cello, and Kenny Blacklock, Katy Bridges and Sylwia Namroży on violin. Most of the album was recorded in Mish’s home studio in the San Francisco Bay Area with later work completed at Gorski’s Studio Audioplanet in Lakie, Poland. (Emily Shirley, Album Cover Design; Stephanie Mohan, Photography)

Nicole Mish's debut album, Whole Damn Sky, includes 14 of Mish’s own compositions.

For the recordings, Mish teamed up with producer, engineer, arranger and musician Aeron Z Jones. While Mish is the sole songwriter, Jones produced, arranged, mixed and was an instrumentalist on all tracks. The two worked mainly from Mish’s home studio in the San Francisco Bay area. Two songs were recorded during production retreats with Talent Is Timeless at Kris Górski’s Studio Audioplanet in Łąkie, Poland. Guest artists include Kris Górski on piano, Filip Wnukowski, Kenneth Blacklock, Katy Bridges and Sylwia Namroży on violin, Daniel Sobiesiak on cello, Łukasz Łapiński on drums and Noah Gothelf on banjo. The cover art is by Mary Commins.

"Unique and special. There’s nothing here that’s overdone or too sentimental. It’s all easygoing and rings true. Everything about the album is conscious and clear, with touches of old timey folk in an original more modern style all her own and Mish’s songs will stick with you." Elise Cody, Americana Highways

In a review for FATEA magazine, Mike Davies the album as "a beguiling concoction of folk-Americana shaded songs touching on themes of relationships and human connection."