We held our breath, they held their place

Thursday music corner: British singer-songwriter Anna B Savage released her debut EP in 2015 and promptly disappeared, despite the favourable attention it garnered, finding the spotlight troubling and dealing with the aftermath of a breakup. But the break, Savage told Rolling Stone magazine in March 2021, was ultimately cathartic:

In hindsight, she says, the break was beneficial for more than just her mental health. Through therapy and introspection, she eventually found her way back to making music, and rediscovered her strengths. In addition to her distinctive, brooding alto voice, Savage has a way of meticulously working through life’s conundrums over the course of a song – even if she doesn’t always arrive at a solution, or a happy ending.

Her follow-up, the 2020 debut album A Common Turn, attracted even more positive reactions from the music press, and spawned five singles. A Common Tern - the avian spelling is intentional - was the third of these, released in September 2020. It's another dramatic, swirling break-up classic, with an impressive video performance. She told Out Now magazine in the month it was released that '[f]or me, a common turn means the common moment where you decide you just don't / can't love someone any more, and there's nothing any of you can do about it'.

Anna B Savage - A Common Tern (2020)