A new (ish) MarthaGunn tune came out into the world yesterday and I have to say I'm very pleased to have it back! This has long been a live favourite of mine, and I've actually got it on a Communion 7" from a few years back. The track is Honest and it's been given a freshen up, and is more brilliant than ever. I hope the release means that we're stepping ever closer to an album announcement from the band, but singles will do for now... honestly.
The lyric video for the track reflects that it is in part an ode to singer Abi's mum - in a post online she shared that "she is a strong and loving woman. Her strength has pulled me through so many times and I have her to thank for everything. This is why I chose to make the video all about her. Footage shot by my dad in the 90s and edited by me a few days ago."
On the track, Abi explains: "Back in 2016 I did a meditation with my mum. I remember asking in my meditation what I needed to do to get better at writing songs. I was shown a piano. I bought a piano a few weeks later and this was the first song I wrote on it. I didn't really feel like I wrote it. It was one of those songs that just wrote itself. For me 'Honest' is about a few things. It's the death of the person you were before a trauma. The grief you feel, knowing that person will never exist again and that you will always see life through new eyes due to experiencing something major. It's also about the fear of failure and the shame associated with that. The fear of not living up to your own or peoples expectations of you."
"The lyric 'Bereavement of a friend, a version of yourself naturally came to the end' is about breaking the shell for painful growth that is necessary to keep going. The only way to move through a painful time is to grow from it. I find that if you don't choose to grow and keep moving, things become stagnant and you will become depressed. Lastly, it's an ode to my mum. That woman means everything to me."
