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Placeholder

Hand Habits

Placeholder

Second full-length album from the Meg Duffy project produced with Brad Cook

ADM rating[?]

7.6

Label
Saddle Creek
UK Release date
01/03/2019
US Release date
01/03/2019
  1. 9.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    It may be too soon to start pondering year-end lists at this point in time, but you should definitely consider about holding a place for Hand Habits
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  2. 9.0 |   PopMatters

    An album that never gets stuck but also never feels less than thoroughly cohesive
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  3. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Songs feel untethered, then crystallise in Sharon Von Etten-levels of devastation. Print edition only

  4. 8.0 |   Uncut

    These 12 songs have a resonance that's deep and wide, examining intimate/romantic connections and their power to wound and confuse, as well as relationships in the broader contexts of existential identity and being fused to a genealogical history. Print edition only

  5. 8.0 |   Under The Radar

    Unfolds into a mesmeric journey of tedious attention to detail and songwriting.
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  6. 8.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    Subtle additions of resolute musical arrangements elevate the album beyond its alt-folk contemporaries and begins to present the musical nous becoming ever more synonymous with Meg Duffy and Hand Habits
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  7. 8.0 |   The 405

    Listening to Hand Habits’ new record is to wreathe yourself in mental indecision and insecurity, but from the inside of Duffy’s creations the feeling is one of relief; you are imbued with the knowledge that these are universal struggles, and that in itself is beautiful
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  8. 7.7 |   Paste Magazine

    Duffy’s electric guitar shrieks, bare acoustic guitar strums and stately piano give the record a familial countryside backdrop—the perfect light accompaniment to lyrics and vocals that feel like emotional boulders
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  9. 7.3 |   Pitchfork

    Anxiety swirls through these songs about non-normative relationships, the unease countered by a bucolic mix of pleasing melodies, soft guitars, and gentle vocals
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  10. 7.0 |   All Music

    Lyrically, Placeholder explores various relationships - good and bad - which is reflected in a musical demeanor that's both melancholy and sweet
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  11. 6.0 |   Q

    Hand Habits are in a lane of their own. Print edition only

  12. 6.0 |   No Ripcord

    It's not an easy listen — her melancholy is deeply felt, but also suffocating, to the extent that her impenetrable sadness can sometimes feel opaque
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