Hand Habits, the project of singer/songwriter Meg Duffy, has announced a new EP titled dirt, out on Feb. 19 via Saddle Creek. Duffy has also shared its first single, “4th of july,” alongside its accompanying V Haddad-directed video, which stars Duffy and includes a brief appearance from Florist’s Emily Sprague. The song was co-produced by Duffy and Sasami Ashworth. Hand Habits’ last full-length arrived in 2019 with placeholder, and last year, they collaborated with Jess Williamson on “Pictures of Flowers,” Quarter-Life Crisis on “Comfortable” and Gregory Uhlmann on “Santa Fe.”
“4th of july” is a plucky acoustic track advocating for persistence, particularly in situations when a change of perspective is needed. “But don’t cry, demolition baby / always blowing it up / getting so stuck / both hands in the dirt,” Duffy sings, alluding to the constant of adversity, and how our minds often turn challenges into insurmountable forces, rather than trying to rationalize them and find a different approach. The joyfully untethered, shared vocals that characterize the song’s heady payoff (which arises just before the two-minute mark) seem to represent this mental breakthrough Duffy is—literally and figuratively—digging for, and it sounds glorious.
Duffy says of the new song and video:
“4th of july” feels like trying again, rolling around in the wreckage of the past and finding new ways out of the maze of memory. For the video, I went to V and Adam and said I wanted to “just dig a hole” and they turned that idea into a cinematic version of what it looks like to try and get to the bottom of a feeling.
Watch the video for “4th of july” below, and preorder dirt here. Scroll down for the EP artwork and tracklist.
dirt EP Artwork:
dirt EP Tracklist:
01. 4th of july
02. i believe in you
03. what’s the use (katie dey remix) [digital only bonus track]
