Meg Duffy is preparing to release their third album as Hand Habits, which was produced with SASAMI and engineered by King Tuff’s Kyle Thomas. It’s called Fun House, and we’ve already got to hear the crushing, wondrous single “Aquamarine.” Today, we get its follow-up titled “No Difference,” which takes a turn from the former’s tinkering propulsion. Instead, “No Difference” finds a vulnerable warmth between Neil Young guitars and Beach Boy backing vocals. Turns out, some of those backing vocals are actually Perfume Genius’ Mike Hadreas.
Duffy’s voice is gentle in a stark revelation on the opening verse: “There is no difference between the two / Between losing and finding you.” There’s a deep bruise of acceptance that one can’t keep drowning from repeated mistakes. “I had spent so much of my life in scarcity and longing for scarcity, feeling like there’s not really a difference between having it all and having nothing,” they said in a new interview. “We always want to be seen and heard and understood. But me fixating on not being seen is actually blocking my view from seeing that person, too.
“In the past, songwriting was a way to victimize myself and justify my anger,” Duffy added while speaking about the album. “But [Fun House] allowed me to shine a light upon certain memories that have informed the narrative of who I am with a more compassionate frame, and understanding that I’m not terminally unique.”
Watch the video for “No Difference” below.
