Brooklyn-based singer and guitarist Light Bird, aka Danni Hoshino, released her debut album See Her on Friday, June 5th. The album’s eleven tracks chronicle Hoshino’s experience discovering and learning to acclimate to her trans identity at the age of 33.
Largely acoustic with a storytelling songwriting style, the album may be a beautiful and valuable companion to listeners going through a similar story.
The album begins with “Williamsburg Bridge,” the previously released single about mourning the past and gaining hope for the future. The track acts as the first step on a journey of acceptance for Hoshino that continues throughout the album. The single is followed by the album’s title track “See Her,” in which Hoshino gives a powerful personal message to her listeners and herself about missing signs: “I didn’t know I wasn’t done searching/ So I didn’t see her.” The track then expands into a dreamy guitar sequence and a series of lyrics detailing all of the stories that stood in the way of Hoshino finding her true self, from age to relationships. One of the album’s most raw and emotional tracks ends with the story of Hoshino’s wedding day and the line “now I can see her.”
The album’s third track is “Big Time Texter.” Light and timid compared to the rest of the album, "Big Time Texter" is a nervous love song underscored by lines like “dreaming of your smile” and “wandering around the city with a melody.”
The track is followed by “Alright,” an acoustic addition that brings back the raw emotion of saying goodbye to an old self. Hoshino pours everything into the performance, with lines like “I know that sounds dramatic, but that’s how it felt” serving as a direct, unfiltered reflection of her ups and downs; her doubts, questions, and moments of clarity. The harmonies elevate the track further, adding a layer of intimacy and emotional depth that makes it instantly resonant and easy to connect with.
“The Feeling” encapsulates what Light Bird does so well throughout the album: lyrics that tell impactful stories combined with a stripped-down musical style that goes straight for the heart. With lines as simple as “some days it falls apart” to start off a collection of little moments and experiences that are dark and hopeful and relatable all at the same time.
Another acoustic track, “Whales,” follows and is one of the album’s most musically subtle tracks. “Whales” takes us back to a childhood story, when “I thought I knew who I was and what I’d become.” Creating a narrative so destabilizing and sentimental, Hoshino seamlessly weaves together her past and her present like waves passing in the sea.
“Slow Down” takes on a different groove, bringing in a relaxed electric guitar to signify deep breaths and nights of sleep, while “Land of the Free” uses the instrument to unlock a new rock side of the album. Bold and assured, “Land of the Free” is a strong call-out about tragic histories of prejudice and oppression. Hoshino also includes a cover of Billy Joel’s “Vienna,” which takes on a slightly different hopeful charge when put into the context of a transgender journey: “you can be everything you want to be before your time.”
In the album’s final two tracks, “Save Myself” and “Like Being Free,” Hoshino rings out the last bits of sadness, ultimately deciding “I will save my own life” and ending the album singing that the outcomes of this journey are “something like being free.” Full of intense ups, downs, and somber memories, See Her is a collection of honest tracks that prove immeasurably valuable to all of the listeners who have struggled to embrace themselves as they are.
Light Bird’s full album, See Her, is available to stream now on all platforms.
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