Los Angeles-based musician Meg Duffy aka Hand Habits has a busy year. They released their very cool dirt EP (“4th of July” is one of our favourite tracks of the year) back in February, collaborated with Joel Ford on new instrumental project yes/and, and released another double single, motherless, at the dawn of summer. Where a lot of people would enjoy take a rest, Duffy is already teasing their next project, a full length-record produced by SASAMI and titled Fun House. This third album also features contributions from King Tuff’s Kyle Thomas and Perfume Genius.

As heard on dance-y lead single “aquamarine,” Fun House seems to introduce a new experimental edge.

“What originally started as a minimally arranged acoustic ballad, ‘Aquamarine’ evolved into the story of certain events in life, what informs my identity, the silence in the questions left unanswered that become the shape of understanding who I am,” Duffy stated. “It was my goal to cloak some of the perils of mortality (lyrically) in a musical landscape that didn’t require the listener for a large amount of patience, to bring grief into the metaphorical club. We filmed this video in my aunt’s bar and club in upstate New York, linking the origin and lineage themes in the song with the visuals of changing identities and characters in a space I used to wander as a teen.”

Watch the video, courtesy of director V Haddad, and pre-order the record via Bandcamp.

yes/and‘s self-titled debut album is out July 20 via Driftless Recordings.

Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Meg Duffy (aka Hand Habits) and Joel Ford (Ford & Lopatin, Young Ejecta…) have formed a new band, yes/and, and their first album is out this Summer. Coming with the announcement, they also shared two tracks, “Ugly Orange” and “Centered Shell,” where guitars intertwine with ambient and synth layers. Listen and pre-order the album via Bandcamp below.

Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Meg Duffy is a serial member of everyone’s favorite bands. To name a few, they’ve lent a hand as a studio musician on records by Weyes Blood, The War On Drugs, and Kevin Morby. However, since 2013, Duffy has stepped out of the backing band and struck out on their own under the moniker Hand Habits. Though Hand Habits is often recognized as the side project of a seasoned studio musician, tracks like recent release “4th of july” prove that Duffy‘s talent is strong enough to be lauded on its own merit.

On “4th of july,” the latest track released in advance of their upcoming EP dirt, Duffy cements their reputation as an incredible storyteller. The track begins with the lyrical equivalent of an establishing shot, as they sing, “There was an earthquake on the Fourth of July / Something inside you was shaken by that / Fireworks display over the mountainside / You couldn’t get those swinging lights out of your mind.” Later, they continue the narrative, “Well, I heard they tore that factory down / Only thing that big you felt safe around, the / beauty in all that machinery / Pumping in all its autonomy / It calmed your mind / It showed you time.” Duffy directly touches on emotional and physical placelessness, creating the feeling of being in a liminal space. Duffy‘s ability to evoke such indescribable emotions is a true testament to their superlative songwriting.

Just as the story progresses, the instrumentals naturally build upon one another. The track begins with lo-fi guitar. Duffy sings gruffly with a raw vulnerability, allowing for only small embellishments to shine through the darkness. As the second chorus sets off, euphoric drum beats, distant screams, and layered vocals drive “4th of july” forward. While the song begins somber, it climaxes on a celebratory note. The track has the rhythm of a fireworks show—there’s a slowness as the flames are lit, a feeling of anticipation as the lights start to go off, a moment of wild abandon as the show reaches its peak, and then a calmness as the sky returns to normal.

In the accompanying video directed by V Haddad and released by label Saddle Creek, the opening shot shows the artist digging a hole underneath an electric wire-filled sky. As the chorus comes to a screaming start, the singer-songwriter dances alone, clutching the air as if holding a long-gone lover. Rain falls as Duffy drops their shovel and begins to dig with their hands. The music crescendos as the action does, with Hand Habits repeatedly singing, “Both hands in the dirt / So you might as well try.” It is ultimately unclear why Duffy is digging, but they nevertheless awake anew, lying in the hole they dug themselves and staring at the sun of a new day as the track comes to a close.

Duffy provided further insight on their Instagram, explaining that the track was inspired by a drive into their hometown in Amsterdam, New York when they realized that a factory they frequented in their youth had been demolished. They write, “The feeling was a new kind of grief, mourning a set of memories, but also hopefulness because a field of grass was now in its place, a new foundation. Rebuilding *emotionally* can be a massive feat when you’re starting from the ground up… But it’s possible to change, it’s possible to find your way out of the memory maze. Sometimes you just gotta get dirty.” If all that’s not enough, Florist‘s Emily Sprague makes a surprise feature on the track. Dig into “4th of july” below.

After her ode to melancholy “Being Sad Is Not A Crime,” Soko returns with a new song taken from her upcoming third album. On “Are You A Magician?,” the French singer-songwriter is surrounded by an impressive team of musicians: the track was indeed produced by Beach Fossils‘s Dustin Payseur and also features DIIV‘s Colin Caulfield (drums, keys), Hand Habits (guitar), as well as Day Wave (additional engineer).

In the playful and comforting visuals, courtesy of director Gia Coppola, the Los Angeles-based artist performs some magic tricks in a very special dollhouse and hugs a giant teddy bear. Even if the track deals with breakup and loneliness, this is the kindness we need to make the world a better place.

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Like every December, we close a year of music with our traditional lists. After the Best Albums and Best EPs and Mixtapes, we’re happy to unveil the songs that made 2019 according to our team. Are these the best releases of the year ? Maybe yes, maybe no. But for sure, they represent what we have loved over the 12 months.

2019 is also the end of a decade and, even if the blog did not exist 10 years ago, we will try to share our favourite tracks of this era during the first quarter of 2020.

Finally, I’d like to mention that HighClouds would not be the same without its team of dedicated writers. People don’t always realize it but running a blog and contributing, even only from time to time, requires a lot of energy on top of your full-time job. So thank you to each of you for this.

And now, here are the 100 tracks of 2019, as well as a huge Spotify playlist to go through our selection and discover some other amazing tracks that almost made the cut this year. Thank you for reading us and see you next decade!

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100. 0171 – “1000 Words”

99. Modern Feelings – “Culture”

98. STAINWASHER – “Joy For Me”

97. Alina Bea – “King of Nothing”

96. Lowly – “baglaens”

95. Yot Club – “no way !”

94. Helado Negro – “Running”

93. BEA1991 – “Did You Feel Me Slip Away?”

92. Deaton Chris Anthony, Clairo, Coco & Clair Clair – “RACECAR”

91. Sandy – “Signals”

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90. Common Holly – “You Dance”

89. Teen Body – “Validation”

88. SOPHIE, Doss – “Whole New World (Sophie and Doss remix)”

87. Emily Reo – “Ghosting”

86. Barrie – “Darjeeling”

85. Caroline Polachek – “Pang”

84. 박혜진 Park Hye Jin – “I DON’T CARE”

83. Kraków Loves Adana – “Follow The Voice”

82. Jessica Pratt – “Aeroplane”

81. Ariel – “Dream Team”

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80. Spellling – “Under The Sun”

79. MUNYA – “It’s All About You”

78. Von – “Dealer’s Gone”

77. Makthaverskan – “Demands”

76. SASSY 009 – “Maybe in the Summer”

75. Jessie Ware – “Adore You”

74. PAT – “Love Will Find a Way Home”

73. XUXA SANTAMARIA – “Rudos Del Mar”

72. Ascendant Vierge – “Influenceur”

71. Thom Yorke – “Dawn Chorus”

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70. Nilüfer Yanya – “Baby Blu”

69. Saeyers – “Cruise”

68. Quinn Christopher – “Erase Me”

67. The Dawdler – “Sylvie”

66. TR/ST – “Iris”

65. Jai Paul – “He”

64. Maria Somerville – “Brighter Days”

63. Morabeza Tobacco – “Orinoco”

62. Eartheater – “Fontanel”

61. Otha – “Tired and Sick”

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60. Eugenia Post Meridiem – “Anjos”

59. Vagabon – “Water Me Down”

58. Lala Lala, WHY? – “Siren 042”

57. Jackie Mendoza – “De Lejos”

56. Dorian Electra – “Flamboyant”

55. Crack Cloud – “The Next Fix”

54. Chromatics – “You’re No Good”

53. Hana Vu – “Order”

52. Magdalena Bay – “Only If You Want It”

51. Ebhoni – “TGM”

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50. Cherushii, Maria Minerva – “A Day Without You”

49. Maluca – “NYC Baby”

48. Tyler, The Creator – “EARFQUAKE”

47. JPEGMAFIA, Helena Deland – “Free The Frail”

46. Blue Hawaii – “Still I Miss U”

45. Oklou – “Forever”

44. Crumb – “Ghostride”

43. Ariana Grande – “NASA”

42. Weyes Blood – “Movies”

41. Pure Bathing Culture – “All Night”

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40. Beauty Queen – “The Only One”

39. Couch Prints – “Tell U”

38. 070 Shake – “Morrow”

37. JORDANN – “Café Speed”

36. Lizzo – “Juice”

35. 100 gecs – “Money Machine”

34. Hand Habits – “can’t calm down”

33. Jenny Hval – “Ashes to Ashes”

32. (Sandy) Alex G – “Gretel”

31. Arlo Parks – “Super Sad Generation”

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30. Grace Ives – “Anything”

29. Burial – “Claustro”

28. Sharon Van Etten – “Seventeen”

27. pronoun – “stay”

26. Requin Chagrin – “Sémaphore”

25. BEA1991 – “My Own Heaven”

24. Billie Eilish – “bad guy”

23. Sorry Girls – “One That You Want”

22. Japan, Man – “Stop Staring”

21. Drauve – “Haunted”

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20. Big Thief – “UFOF”

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19. MUNA – “Number One Fan”

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18. Claud – “Easy”

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17. Danny Brown – “Dirty Laundry”

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16. Angel Olsen – “Lark”

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15. Carly Rae Jepsen – “Want You In My Room”

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14. Caroline Polachek – “Door”

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13. Boy Harsher – “LA”

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12. Magdalena Bay – “Venice”

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11. Erika de Casier – “Do My thing”

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10. Men I Trust – “Numb”

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9. Charlotte Adigéry – “Paténipat”

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8. Σtella – “Samba”

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7. GEORGIA – “About Work The Dancefloor”

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6. Lana Del Rey – “hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have”

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5. Aldous Harding – “The Barrel”

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4. Big Thief – “Not”

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3. Charli XCX, Christine and the Queens – “Gone”

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2. FKA twigs – “Cellophane”

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1. Clairo – “Bags”

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Before your well-deserved holiday break, we come up with a playlist loaded with good music only. We are aware that it’s not always easy to keep up with all the daily releases and posts. Therefore our team made everything easier just for you. Enjoy our 50 favourite songs of 2019 so far and don’t forget to follow our Spotify playlist to check future additions.

1 GEORGIA – “About Work The Dancefloor”

2 BIG THIEF – “UFOF”

3 ARLO PARKS – “Super Sad Generation”

4 CRUMB – “Part III”

5 REQUIN CHAGRIN – “Sémaphore”

6 YOT CLUB – “No Way !”

7 CARLY RAE JEPSEN – “Julien”

8 070 SHAKE – “Morrow”

9 MEN I TRUST – “Numb”

10 TEEN BODY – “Validation”

11 HAND HABITS – Can’t Calm Down”

12 MARIA SOMERVILLE – “Brighter Days”

13 ERIKA DE CASIER – “Do My Thing”

14 SHARON VAN ETTEN – “Seventeen”

15 BEAUTY QUEEN – “The Only One”

16 MORABEZA TOBACCO – “Ally McBeal”

17 GRACE IVES – “Mirror”

18 BARRIE – “Darjeeling”

19 KEVIN ABSTRACT – “Georgia”

20 ALDOUS HARDING – “The Barrel”

21 EMILY REO – “Ghosting”

22 BOY HARSHER – “LA”

23 AUGUSTINE – “A Scent Of Lily”

24 PURE BATHING CULTURE – “All Night”

25 ΣTELLA – “Samba”

26 CELESTE – “Father’s Son”

27 CHARLOTTE ADIGERY – “High Lights”

28 LALA LALA, WHY? – “Siren 042”

29 PRONOUN – “Stay”

30 STAINWASHER – “Joy For Me”

31 LANA DEL REY – “hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have…”

32 JACKIE MENDOZA – “Mucho Más”

33 BASEBALL GREGG, PECAS, WILLIAM CORDUROY – “The Movies”

34 BEA1991 – “My Own Heaven”

35 GRACIE GRAY – “Morphine”

36 ROSALÍA, J BALVIN – “Con Altura”

37 WEYES BLOOD – “Movies”

38 HATCHIE – “Without A Blush”

39 PECAS – “T-Shirt”

40 FKA TWIGS – “Cellophane”

41 OMAR APPOLO – “Ashamed”

42 MAKTHAVERSKAN – “Demands”

43 SANDY (ALEX G) – “Gretel”

44 CLAUD – “Easy”

45 JAI PAUL – “He”

46 JAPAN, MAN – “Stop Staring”

47 THE DAWDLER – “Sylvie”

48 ARIEL – “Dream Team”

49 EUGENIA POST MERIDIEM – “Blue Noon”

50 0171 – “1000 Words”

Ray Newlan, Noah Salem – Dreaming – 00:00

Maria Somerville – All My People – 03:18

Dwen – Tr Pp N – 09:05

Kip Nelson – Laced Up – 12:50

Deep Sea Peach Tree – Xanzibar – 15:27

Arlo Parks – Super Sad Generation – 17:45

Bathe – Kimmi – 20:26

Virgin Pool – The Wanderer – 24:45

Hand Habits – Can’t Calm Down – 28:14

Mini Dresses – Rank and File – 31:36

Melby – VCR – 34:05

Jessica Pratt – Aeroplane – 37:53

Jackie Mendoza – De Lejos – 41:13

UTO – Synthetise – 43:47

Konradsen – Baby Hallelujah – 47:08

Pecas – Tshirt – 49:58

0171 – 1000 Words – 53:02

Emmett Kai – Taste The Sunset – 57:00

A few weeks before the release of their sophomore album, Meg Duffy, also known as Hand Habits, shares a brand new track from the 12-track project. Released on Valentine’s Day, the tender “what lovers do” compares desire to fire and seems to mark the end to some intimacy struggles as they sing “halfway with my hands into the fire of my desire” and “now I know what lovers do.”

The follow up to the excellent “can’t calm down” also comes with an Alexa Viscius-directed video which features Griffin Goldsmith of Dawes. About this new release, Duffy explained to The Fader:

[su_quote]Hesitation, revelation, and repetition-aspects of the story you can identify easily, and must be the witness and the participant. When the shame baton gets passed back and forth between parties, who is the fool? I could never claim to have a complete understanding.[/su_quote]

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