Los Angeles, CA, Friday, May 8, 2020 – Annie Stela, L.A.-based singer, songwriter and mother, has released a new track, “Weight Of Life,” today, with an accompanying music video + listen HERE. The song is from her fourth EP, Joy, out Friday, July 17.
The music video for “Weight Of Life” was directed by Caitlin Fowler and produced by Gus Black. Lyrically, the song is Stela’s frank confession of fear over being swallowed up by motherhood, and a detailed account of getting to the other side. A punch in the gut written over lullaby chords, “Weight of Life” is the first song in a collection that tells the truth about being a mother in all its terror and all its beauty.
“One night, when my daughter was still a baby, I was out to dinner with my husband and another musician friend,” she says. “I hadn’t written much since she was born, and I was in a strange, numb state. We were at a trendy taco joint in Nashville and I had brought my daughter along. She was off her schedule because we were traveling, and she had fallen asleep on my chest. My musician friend was young, in his twenties, and just getting courted by record labels and managers. I watched him at the bar from my perch at our table, the baby hot and sweaty on my chest, not able to get up for fear of waking her. I watched his grin and his death metal t-shirt and his hands as he patted friends on the back and downed shots of bourbon, free as the wind. My fury was terrifying. That night I went home and wrote this song.”
“My advice to those dealing with postpartum depression, now, during quarantine and anytime, really, is to NEVER be ashamed of this. You do not have to hide. PPD is a disease like any other. Get online, find a therapist who does FaceTime sessions, or one you can call when the baby naps. Talk about this; it’s the only way to relieve the pain around it. When I first went to therapy and spoke the terrifying truth, I was in shock that the therapist didn’t lock me away right that second. But that’s the thing; so many mothers deal with this. It’s nothing they haven’t heard before. Same goes for group sessions with other moms (Zoom!). If you end up needing medication, or needing to up the medication you’re already on, for the love of God, do it. Having an infant (oh, and also, quarantine) means that a lot of the resources you might normally go for to relieve depression or stress (yoga class, meditation, going out with friends) aren’t available. Lean on this resource while you need to. I know it’s difficult to get out and about these days, but a walk with your baby in a covered stroller or even some sunshine on your balcony every day is a necessity. So much of the pain of early motherhood for me was the isolation, and we’re dealing with that twofold right now. That time outside, however small, is essential.”
Joy is about working hard to paste together a new identity after having a child shatters what you know. Produced and mixed by Tony Buchen (Courtney Barnett, Robyn Hitchcock), Joy will be released on Friday, July 17.
