Danielle Durack Sees the Red Flags In New Video For “Broken Wings”

In advance of her upcoming album No Place, Danielle Durack has shared the first single “Broken Wings”. As a deeply personal song that examines the bad habits and patterns in a past relationship, Durack presents herself as an honest, thoughtful artist. Accompanied by a tongue-in-cheek music video, the vulnerability of the lyrics is matched with a healthy dose of self-deprecating humour to balance everything out.

The heartfelt track opens with Durack describing her love interest, singing “you’re a special kind of tragic / and so naturally I’m attracted to you / don’t know what it is about broken wings.” The Arizona based singer songwriter says that song is a “kind of wry take on my questionable taste in men.” Continuing, she explains how the song is a self-critique, as question of “‘why do you keep doing this to yourself?’ But it’s also pretty jab-y towards the men in question.” Her self-reflection is evident in the story the lyrics tells – ‘I’ll fix you up as good as brand new / and I say I don’t mind it but I do.’

Adding to the jabs towards the men of past relationships is the fresh and lighthearted video. Opening with an apparent wedding scene, Durack enters through large wooden doors and walks towards a makeshift altar. Viewers see an officiant, and then her partner-to-be is revealed – one big red flag. Literally.

While we’re all surely guilty of ignoring the red flags in a relationship, Durack makes them painfully obvious as the focal point of the video. As the track builds with crashing drums and distorted guitar, viewers travel through the relationship, the steady red flag ever present, even as the ‘newlyweds’ drive away.

Durack says the inspiration for the video came when a friend posted about a bridal store closing sale, and she started thinking of how she could creatively use a wedding dress. “I had a really hard time deciding how it should end,” she says. “Ultimately, we went with a ‘The Graduate’ ending where the excitement of the moment quickly fades after the ceremony, and the weight and permanence of [the] decision begin to sink it.” As “Broken Wings” closes, Durack’s vocals are once again paired with a more stripped instrumentation, as she asks ‘I wonder when it is that I’ll learn?’

A relatable heartbreak anthem that details the disappointment and weight that comes with realizing the red flags aren’t going away, “Broken Wings” is an introduction of what to expect from No Place as a whole. Set for release on January 15th, 2021, the ten tracks each represent an entry in Durack’s heartbreak journal. Listen to the first entry here, and watch the music video below.