Jill Barber Resonates with Parents in “Homemaker”

If all you wanna do is run / I won’t tell anyone your secret fantasy, Jill Barber sings in her latest track, “Homemaker.” She assures It’s okay if today the only thing you make / Is you make it through the day.

The folk-pop singer/songwriter is commiserating with fellow parents in the lead single off her upcoming album of the same name. Describing the song in a statement, Barber called “Homemaker” “a rallying cry to all the parents out there who have ever felt isolated, depressed, or trapped in a domestic situation that is stifling, thankless and unending.

“It’s a gentle reminder that it’s okay to not feel okay… and that sometimes just getting through the day is enough,” she added.

Delicate and soft, the tune is swaddled in a dreamy arrangement of strings and keys. Barber’s lush vocals are earnest and heavy with understanding. Dishes won’t do themselves / Dust upon the shelves / And time’s impossible to find, she rattles off in the opening lines of “Homemaker,” asking, Is anybody gonna help?

Barber’s upcoming album, Homemaker, is set for release on February 10. The record sees a return to the singer/songwriter’s folk roots as the project brims with stripped-bare emotion and homespun instrumentation.

“These songs are so damn personal, and such a deep reflection of my soul, that I felt an almost maternal instinct to both protect them and produce them for myself,” the artist shared of the album. “I really feel like I stepped into my own power as a producer on this record, with a lot of generous assistance from engineer/producer Erik Nielsen, who really championed my abilities in the studio.”

The newly dropped title track follows a handful of Barber’s previously-released songs like “Beautiful Life,” “Joint Account (feat. Slow Leaves),” and “Instant Cash For Gold.”

Photo by Jessica Jacobson / Courtesy of IVPR