During this quarantine, it will be difficult to keep track of time. In the short-term, it might also mean the inadvertent end to relationships that came with the routines we have now abandoned—I’ll personally miss my usual barista and the commuters I see every morning on the train. Half Waif’s new single, “In August,” mourns such unintentional dissolution, making it apt for the times.
The New York-based musician, Half Waif (aka Nandi Rose) will put out a new album on March 27 called The Caretaker, but has had to postpone her national tour that would have followed later in the spring. This includes her Los Angeles date at the Moroccan Lounge on May 21 (soon-to-be rescheduled). Instead, she will be performing via livestream on the record’s release date at 4pm PT (7pm ET). More details on the rescheduled shows and the livestream to come.
“‘In August’ tracks the dissolution of a friendship over the course of a year, throughout every season. There’s a particular kind of sadness to a friendship ending when there’s no one to blame, just as there’s something mournful about the inevitable change of weather. Sometimes it’s not a big fight but a gradual growing apart that marks the end – how do we make sense of our role in that? This song is an attempt to recognize and accept mutual culpability in an effort to move on.” – Nandi Rose
On the new track, Half Waif seems to take influence from Sufjan Stevens’ later years, allowing electronic elements to co-mingle with folk instrumentation. Like the mellow buzzes that can be heard in the background of the new single, the sentiment behind “In August” is delicate. Rose sings about fading friendships with earnest self-reflection, learning—or teaching—that the consequences of passing time are no one’s fault. Deep woodwinds interject sympathetically, guiding us forward, past any guilt or resentment that may have kept us stuck in the past.
Order your copy of The Caretaker today via Bandcamp today (March 20), where for one day only, 100% of proceeds go to the artist. For more info on the livestream or postponed tour dates, follow Half Waif on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Stream: Half Waif “In August”
