Last June’s Anything Glass LP marked Brigitte Naggar’s first new Common Holly material in five years, with any questions about the gap in her musical resume likely being answered by the brooding lyrics and more effortlessly expressive compositions. It’s no wonder that the turnaround time for her new EP They Will Draw Halos Around Our Heads was much quicker: Anything Glass seemed to reset Naggar’s expectations for the songwriting process, simplifying her gentle indie-folk tunes to the bare essentials without sacrificing their emotional impact. “On the EP you’ll hear a continuation of many of the existential themes from the record and continued musings on the music industry, but more importantly I think the EP story is about process,” she explains. “It felt important to find a more organic and less torturous way of writing and recording, one which is less depleting, less focused on perfection and more on expressing and sharing with the folks that resonate. Doing things this way has meant the possibility of being able to write and release more music in the future.”
With the EP out today, Naggar is sharing a visual for its center piece and title track, a nearly ambient acoustic number built upon a lyrics-first approach. “This song started as a freeform poem and gave me the opportunity to write music with only words as their guiding form,” the songwriter shares of “They Will Draw Halos,” a track that feels almost entirely formless in its opening seconds before Naggar’s voice guides it into a sense of building momentum. “I feel it as an example of songwriting that is unblocked, doesn’t need to fit into a shape, but that hopefully still evokes an essential feeling and a relatable message. I hope to be able to write more in this way, with openness and intuition.”
Naggar notes that the track contrasts in tone from the EP’s more upbeat lead single and closing song, “Dyson,” despite their mutual ramshackle forms. “I think that Common Holly has always been a project that makes space for both light and dark—even the name ‘Common Holly,’ which by now has aged like a semi-embarrassing tattoo, connotes a pretty berry shrouded by dark sharp leaves. This project is very personal to me, and so by necessity I feel it has to capture how I operate in the world, and that is with (possibly equal parts) humor and preoccupation.”
Check out the track’s visualizer below, which looks exactly how the song feels: curled up with a cat, otherwise alone in your dark apartment while municipal dramas outside illuminate the posters on your walls (shout out Chad VanGaalen, shout out Cedric Noel). Check out the clip below, and stream the EP here.
