Half Waif simply doesn’t slow down. It’s a good thing, too. Especially in this darkest timeline-esque time of COVID isolation, the nurturing, endlessly giving nature of her music is absolutely essential. The Caretaker stands as one of 2020’s most open, intimate (and underrated) albums, and it seems Nandi Rose didn’t take a day off following its release.
She has announced that she will be releasing a new 7″ on February 24, and has today shared the A-side. “Orange Blossoms” was written soon after that album’s completion, and serves as something of a continuation of its themes. Rose shares openly as to its genesis, stating:
“In the fall of 2019, I found myself taking care of someone close to me who was struggling with addiction, and as a caretaker often does, I internalized that immense pain and took it on as my own. It’s paralyzing, to feel so powerless when trying to help someone you love. The song came out like an incantation, a desperate plea to be rescued from wrestling with everything. But it unfolded into something more resolute as I refocused on the task of taking responsibility for myself and my own life.“
Inhabiting that space of nursing, deep empathy and human struggle, “Orange Blossoms” shows Half Waif in all her multi-faceted grace. The struggle is real in her voice and the weighty, atmospheric instrumentation, but so is her need to help, which gives “Orange Blossoms” its profound depth.
Half Waif sums up its power best herself: “[It] touches on a phrase that kept coming back to me at that time, which was: ‘no one’s going to do it for you.’ You can help and be helped, you can love and be loved, but salvation is your own to seek and claim.”
You can pre-order Half Waif’s new 7″ single “Orange Blossoms” b/w “Party Over” comes out on February 24 through ANTI- (pre-order). You can find her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
