Escape Artist, the title of Danielle Durack’s newly announced follow-up to her 2021 No Place LP, takes on multiple meanings as it reinterprets a term generally applied to illusionist feats—not only did the songwriter literally escape the life she’d built for herself in Phoenix to re-establish herself in Nashville since writing the record, but the songwriting itself provided an escape while processing a difficult time in her personal life. “While many of the songs touch on escapism,” she shares, “ultimately the making of this album has been my own escape, my own distraction from reality, to process and reflect on a very turbulent time in my life.”
Before the album lands on February 16, Durack is teasing the project with its lead single “Shirt Song,” its title referring to the symbolic significance of an item of clothing being the only remaining trace of a former partner. The contemplative track is far from yearning, though, instead taking the shape of a soothing ballad with just a bit of local Nashville flavor in its twanging electric guitar. “‘Shirt Song’ serves as a bit of a chronological transition from my last release,” Durack notes of the single. “It’s an upbeat breakup song about feeling just a little bit better.”
Directed by Chase Warren, the visual adds to the metaphor by presenting a static shot of Durack performing the song all the way through on her living room floor as clothes tossed into the frame begin to pile up around her, hinting at the tendency to get lost in memories. Check it out below, and pre-order Escape Artist here.
