ALL LINKS TO STREAM/PURCHASE

A soaring chorus combined with delicate guitars and a talented songwriter at her most vulnerable, ‘Lantern’ follows on from her impressive single ‘Release Me’.

Released alongside an accompanying lyric video entirely created by Coddington herself, ‘Lantern’ again sees Coddington laying herself bare lyrically, questioning her place in the world. Pieced together around the theme of uncertainty, ‘Lantern’ once again showcases one of New Zealand’s most acclaimed songwriters and her incredible vocal range, floating between vulnerable verses and powerful choruses.

As is so often the case with music, only so much PR-spin is useful before you need to put it in the words of the artist themselves. 

“I often describe songs as being like dreams – in that they can sometimes be strange bits and pieces your subconscious has cobbled together, and you recognize where those pieces have come from and understand why your brain has put them together, but when you try to explain it to someone else they look at you like “riiiiiiiiight”. ‘Lantern’ is one of those songs.

The most coherent theme comes from the fact that when you have a child, your own identity undergoes a sudden and extreme makeover. Everyone defines themselves by certain things, and for me I was mostly “a person who makes music” and “a person who does karate”. Both things came with their own social circle (whānau really), their own sets of routine and ritual, etc. I had spent years establishing my place in these things, and both things became almost impossible with a newborn baby. I imagine everyone has their own version of this – temporarily giving up the things you’d always been patted on the back for and used as markers for your progress in life. Giving up your own glory in the name of something more important in that moment (that’s your baby, obvs). – Anna Coddington