Brigitte Naggar – aka Common Holly – has confirmed that her second album When I say to you Black Lightning will be released on Friday October 11th – the day before the New York-born singer’s birthday.

The album will be put out by Barsuk Records in the USA, Royal Mountain Records in Canada, Remote Control Records and Solitaire in Australia and New Zealand, and Dalliance Recordings in the UK and Europe.

The first single from the upcoming release – Central Booking – is a sparse and honest affair: a reflective staring-at-yourself-in-the-mirror track that echoes the emotional sincerity that permeated her debut album, 2017’s Playing House. 

Such a stripped back track is the perfect vehicle for Naggar’s rich and silky vocals, and it’s backed by an equally atmospheric video directed by Aaliyeh Afshar and Max Taeuschel that was premiered by The FADER this week.

Central Booking is a song that evokes the best of Playing House, particularly Nothing, In My Heart, and Lullaby, though there’s a suggestion that When I say to you Black Lightning will be a more varied record than her debut. 

"This record isn’t one singular statement, it documents a period of growth. The songs were written mainly over two years and they all reflect potent moments from that time,” Naggar said in a statement to announce the album’s release date.

While it’s obviously personal and based off of my own experience, I want this album to feel familiar — life gets complicated as we grow, people form relationships to each other, they lose things, they discover pain, fear, self-delusion; sometimes it’s funny, sometimes it’s weird, often it sucks — and we have to navigate our way through all of that."

The Montreal-based singer is currently on her Back From The Dead tour across the USA and Canada.

When I say to you Black Lightning track listing:

1. Central Booking
2. Joshua Snakes
3. You Dance
4. Measured
5. Uuu
6. Little Down
7. I Try
8. It's Not Real
9. Crazy Ok

Watch the video for Central Booking

Follow Common Holly on Facebook

Pre-order When I say to you Black Lightning 

 Folk