New Music: Brittain Ashford – Hand Wringing/In The Wings

With a video partly inspired by the iconic dance scene from Godard’s classic film Bande à part, you can be assured that Brittain Ashford is doing something very different and extraordinary on Hand Wringing/In The Wings.

The song finds Ashford exploring a mystical middle ground between Americana, jazz, and the slightest flavours of Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks. Profoundly moving but never maudlin as it examines choices made and opportunities lost, much in the style of Phoebe Bridgers, Sigur Rós, or Agnes Obel.

Ashford says their upcoming album is centred around “finality and making regrettable decisions,” which may contribute to the somewhat melancholic ambience of the song. But, that certainly does not detract from the beauty to be heard here.

Hand Wringing/In The Wings will feature on Ashford’s Trotter LP which is out on the 19th of May via Pittsburgh’s Misra Records. You can pre-order the album in vinyl and digital formats on Bandcamp.

Find out more about Brittain Ashford and the Trotter album by checking out their Facebook or Instagram pages. Hand Wringing/In The Wings is also streaming on YouTube Music and Apple Music.

The video was made possible by the NYC Women’s Fund grant, New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) and the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME).

Header photo by Jacki Palotella