Across the space of a decade – or a little more, even – Hand Habits has carved a niche as a by-word in powerful, emotional songwriting. A vessel for Meg Duffy’s most precious observations, albums like 2021 release ‘Fun House’ stand out on their own.
An artist whose reach is imposing, Meg Duffy continues to push ahead. Recent EP ‘Sugar The Bruise’ stood apart from Hand Habits’ catalogue, a project with a distinct identity.
Working with Stolen Sessions, Hand Habits opted to record a performance clip of a true ‘Sugar The Bruise’ highlight. Filmed and directed by Natalia Pages and Tom Palliser, ‘Something Wrong’ takes on renewed intensity, the stripped back arrangement ringing out with truth.
Watch it now, then check out a quick Q&A with Hand Habits after the jump.
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‘Sugar The Bruise’ is out now – how do you relate to those songs now you’ve had time to live with them?
It’s always strange for me to relate to songs once they’re released. ‘Sugar The Bruise’ was the most experimental in terms of writing and production for me – when I play the songs, the spirit of curiosity is strong.
You compared the release to a novella – how so? What makes that comparison apt?
All of my other releases were more diaristic – when I started writing songs it was almost by force of the psyche. I used songwriting as a way to understand my own feelings. For STB, I was curious about writing from a different perspective, and telling stories about others. It was a challenge and a new way of writing for me, especially on ‘Andy In Stereo’ , ‘Gift Of The Human Curse’ and ‘Nefertiti’.
They felt like short stories to me. Vignettes might have been a more apt word.
Have you written fiction / creative writing on the side? Is a love of literature part of your creative practise?
Only personal essays and poetry. I don’t have the grace to write fiction. I try to read as much literature as I can.
The release is short but very eclectic – from indie rock to Americana to disco, even. Did you seek that eclecticism from the outset? What pushed the songs down this path?
Yes absolutely. My goal for this record was to be experimental, quite literally. I wanted to push myself to write differently, and almost all of the songs except for ‘Private Life’ were finished in the studio with the musicians I brought in. I chose to work with Luke Temple and Jeremy Harris again because after working together on the ‘Motherless’ EP – I felt they both interpreted my songs in a completely new and fresh way. It allowed me to stretch out some of the more story based songs with long improvised sections and the compositions are allowed to have a life within the more traditional song forms I used to gravitate towards as a writer.
The prompt for making this record for myself was – what if I didn’t have to walk through the fire of the past and just allowed myself to have a little bit of fun? I typically write the song alone, and then live it with for a long time, demo it out, and am certain about how it should be presented (even if it changes in the studio) but with STB, especially after releasing ‘Fun House’ which is heavily about my mother passing away and family addiction, I needed a break from my own narrative. I don’t think it’s possible to escape that narrative, since I’m still the one writing and singing the songs, but I do think making and releasing Sugar the Bruise was good for my creativity – and has opened up a lot of possibilities for me in terms of production and approach to writing. I like to always be pushing myself creatively and I feel this record really helped me break out of some of my more “indie” or “folk” associations and stretch out a little musically.
What’s coming up next for Hand Habits?
Writing more music.
Do you have a New Year’s resolution for 2024?
To be less available digitally, to notice when I’m making decisions out of self imposed scarcity, to trust myself more.
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‘Sugar The Bruise’ is out now.
Photo Credit: Otium
