Singled Out: Sarah Hollins' Libra

Los Angeles based independent singer-songwriter Sarah Hollins just released her latest single, "Libra", and to celebrate we asked her to tell us about the track. Here is the story:

"Libra" was initially inspired by the instrumental music playing under 90's and 2000's nostalgia TikTok videos targeted at millennials. The nostalgia sound made me sad and brought forward feelings of melancholy that made me miss my childhood. I started thinking about how simple and magical Halloween felt back in the 90's when I was a kid, even though my childhood was complicated and somber at the same time. I wrote "Libra" late last summer after watching those nostalgia videos of old toys, holiday bazaars in elementary school, and old snacks and candies that they don't make anymore (shout out Butterfinger BB's!!)

I specifically missed my childhood ritual of going to Blockbuster every Friday night to rent a movie and watch it on the old tube TV in the living room. I'm the eldest daughter and spent much of my childhood babysitting my younger brother and sister. I would spend my Friday nights as a kid watching them and then putting them to sleep, going downstairs, and watching the movie I had rented. I wrote the chorus first about that feeling, "Oh I wish and I miss Friday night movies/Tucking in my parents' kids, then watching something spooky." The verses came quickly after that and I sung the full topline of the song into my phone and brought it to my friend, Richard Blacksher, to flesh out the idea. (I work this way a lot, singing full toplines and then playing them for producers or co-writers). Then, my producer, Erik Kertes, and I messed with the progression to make it even sadder and pulled in some Explosions in the Sky references to really make that last chorus hit hard.

Libra is about that complexly nuanced feeling of missing being a kid even though you never truly got to be a kid as an eldest daughter because you're so busy tending to everyone else's needs and emotions and largely neglecting your own. I was born in October so that time of year makes me wax poetic even more about childhood Halloweens and the passing of time as I have always marked my year passing via my birthday during spooky season. I hope the song feels cathartic for anyone else who had a similar childhood experience.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more here

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