The Vermont-based musician Hannah Frances is back with a new single “Falling From And Further," her first new music since 2024's excellent Keeper Of The Shepherd. The new single announces her next musical chapter, showcasing poetic vulnerability and an experimental song structure.
“Falling From And Further” starts at a leisurely pace with unhurried pedal steel and soft acoustic guitar. "Sandcastles every day/ Built again then washed away/ When all came and passed through/ I never knew what i meant to you," Frances sings on the opening line. Throughout, she reflects on ephemeral relationships; sometimes they're so quick you can't properly weigh their importance.
Then, the song speeds up to jovial, honky-tonk sprint. That burst of energy is short-lived. Frances pensively returns to herself. "The fear of everyone leaving keeps me leaving first," she sings later one. Her voice is a sleek arrow, making those comparisons to Joni Mitchell feel poignant. "This song was a breakthrough for me in contending with the roots of my relational past, and holding space for the fragmented parts of me that are learning to trust through fear of abandonment," she added.
The song comes with a video by Frances. It's the first she's directed and edited. "I worked with my friends and collaborators Derrick Alexander as DP and Vanessa Castro as colorist," she said. "To represent my present awareness I had my band perform, and had my friend Av Grannan as the embodiment of my past. She and I did contact improvisation, working with and conveying the experiences of oscillation, mistrust, interdependence, isolation, security, holding, and releasing. It was very cathartic and joyful.”
Watch the video for “Falling From And Further” below.
