Six years is plenty of time for any artist to explore various “eras” in the modern age of music marketing, though it’s undeniable that such a span of time also presents the human behind the moniker with quite a bit of opportunity for personal growth. Brigitte Naggar recently returned following the release of her last album as Common Holly back in 2019 with news of its follow-up, titled Anything Glass, and although the light indie-folk palette remains in place, there’s a noticeable shift from the playful instrumental whimsy and off-the-cuff lyricism of When I Say to You Black Lightning to this new collection of introspective baroque-pop songwriting. Well, songwriting that at least touches upon baroque-pop convention.
“I think of myself as kind of a colander that lots of different music passes through and then finds its way in the mix,” Naggar shares, rejecting any sort of genre tags for her music. “I listen to baroque on the way to work. I listen to hip-hop on the way home. What’s important to me, though, is that the music I make feels sincere, true to the moment in which it was written, and where possible, it feels personal but also generalizable and relatable.”
Sincerity is at the forefront of her new single “The Wood From the Snail,” a gentle, piano-led ballad that neatly exemplifies the new record’s altered aesthetic. “The intention in this record, more than a thematic one, was about process, sound, and feeling,” she continues, “staying true to warmth, rawness, what sounded live and alive, and what emerged in a shared space between myself and my band. And then when I listened back, the messaging started to feel more clear—the record speaks of the fragility and beauty of life, of our ecosystem, of the way mortality shapes how we live, and it does so purely because these were ideas and feelings I was exploring through the process of writing.”
Ahead of the record’s release tomorrow via Keeled Scales and Paper Bag Records, check out the final pre-album single below. You can also pre-order Anything Glass here.
