Cliché as it may sound or seem, change is inevitable. The adage of life comes at you fast has been something of an understated aphorism to describe our contemporary consciousness as we continue to weather the storms of natural disasters, suspect civics, a pandemic that has ravaged the world as we previously knew it and the long and exhausting road of reconstruction, re-building, re-imagining and all the inevitable personal growth therein. As the antiquated and obsolete systems have showed their irrelevance left in the thread bare rubble of leveled institutions; we are finding which truths to hold on to and what baggage that no longer serves us (or anyone for that matter) to discard. Semblances of hope, kernels of inspiration and other emerging and remaining items of goodness and grace are the things that are worth holding on to tight. These shine a light on who we are, the people we are becoming, the identities that resonate with us and the folks we love. Awash in the perpetual winds of change, we look for a foundation worth anchoring and grounding ourselves in as the earth below and heavens above move in cycles of constant shifts.

San Francisco-based artist Anna Hillburg understands these tides of infinite evolution and devolution on levels that stretch from the principle to the psychic. Presenting the visual debut for “Holdin’ On” directed by Doug Avery and edited by Tootin' Tuesdays; Hillburg offers an intimate and privy portrait of the meditations on the things that are altered in absentia, in real time, leaning in towards subtlety and the sublime as the world spins with and without us. Featured off the upcoming Tired Girls album arriving October 13 via Speakeasy Studios SF, Anna delivers musical movements that tackle humanity’s collective exhaustion, identity, femininity, observing a world in flux, coping amid the cornucopia of seismic upheavals and so forth. Upon returning to San Francisco after a pandemic-era sabbatical in Nevada City, Hillburg articulates what is different. The differences outwardly, environmentally, internally, the externalities, the epiphanies, the inceptions of concepts, the constructs that are long gone, the things and folks that remain, the newness, the not so new and everything in-between that is found on the plane of our shared existence.

“Holdin’ On” is Anna Hillburg’s ode to coping and trying to figure it all out. The song captures the feeling of fright and startled fears of coming back to a world that has been altered, rendered into terrain that stands at the crossroads of transitions, turmoil, rehabilitation, restoration, transformation, et al. From the glimmering, hopeful keys to the sincere horns; Anna looks outward and inward, seeking answers that only offer unlimited lines of questions and thoughts that beget new thoughts and perspectives. “Holdin’ On” deals with the feeling of the material realm that fades into the void of the ether, worlds that become beholden to the machinations of erasure and the sentiment of how truly fragile our communities, environments and ourselves really are.

The video from Doug Avery spotlights Anna decked out in glittering sequins amid a background of darkness. The singular and isolated qualities at work in "Holdin' On" shine through with heart as Hillburg materializes amid the throngs of our perpetual night, breaking the quarantine spell with song, lyrics of heart and a voice that reaches toward an outer and upward echelon of existence. Filmed in one spectacular shot, the trumpet sections of the song initiate the view of water hitting the surface of the window as the camera lens bears witness to a testimonial of grasping for what is still there. Reaching for something better. Striving for a better day, a brighter night and a world that is more enriched in an ethos of love, care and kindness that knows no borders or metrics of fickle measure.

Anna Hillburg provided some insights on the inspirations behind “Holdin’ On” and more:

During the pandemic I left San Francisco for the first time in a decade and lived alone in Nevada City. I would go months at a time without seeing a single human being except for grocery store clerks. It was a strange time of isolation, but also a time of deep personal growth. I really got to know myself and enjoy the solitude. As many others did, I felt completely changed by the experience.

Shortly after coming back I experienced the loss of a close longtime friend. It seemed like everyone around me was grieving and dealing with fear and loss. “Holdin’ On” was simply me trying to create something beautiful that would give hope to myself and other people.

Anna Hillburg’s album Tired Girls will be available October 13 via Speakeasy Studios SF.