Having previously co-written songs for Phoebe Bridgers, The Breeders, Haim, and Madi Diaz, Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Morgan Nagler (of the bands Whispertown and Supermoon) has released her debut solo single, “Cradle the Pain.” It’s a crunchy, smoldering rock track that was produced by King Tuff‘s Kyle Thomas and mixed by Alex Farrar. Thomas and Hand Habits‘ Meg Duffy play guitar on it, with Josh Adams on drums, and you can watch the video, directed by Christian Stavros, below.
“I originally wrote this song as a sort of letter to one of my dear friends,” Nagler says. “It’s funny how it’s often easier to cut to the core of truth when the message is disguised as being for somebody else. It has since taken on many new and personal meanings to me, currently serving as more of a mantra. I think we inherently know it’s all in our own hands, but the allure of not being accountable allows us to romanticize falling victim to the whims of fate. I am constantly needing the reminder that perspective truly is the key to life, and only we contain our own salvations. We have to just keep getting back on the saddle again and again. Cradle the pain, it’s all the same, it’s what you make of it.”
Nagler is preparing to release a solo album and has more new music on the way. “This song is the first of a body of work I consider closest to home,” she says. “After spending my childhood as an actor taking on alternate personalities, my young adult days writing and touring in various indie projects, and the last several years writing with and for other artists, I’ve compiled a personal collection of songs alongside Kyle. They will be released under my name for the first time, which is appropriate as I feel pretty raw and more like myself than ever. So in many ways, regardless of a lifetime spent in the trenches of creativity, this feels like a debut.”