Sug Daniels hopes for the repair of a broken nation on “Kintsugi”

Wilmington singer-songwriter Sug Daniels just released a new solo single, the third in a string of folk-oriented songs the dynamic frontperson of funk/rock powerhouse Hoochi Coochi has shared this year.

“Kintsugi” takes its name from the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with liquid gold, and the song itself circles around reparations of a different sort. Daniels plays a dreamlike ukulele accompaniment to her poppy, floating vocals about being taken for granted — “I work hard, you take my money / you leave me too tired to fight,” she sings.

On her Bandcamp page, Daniels writes that the song “addresses the botched relationship between America and a black woman coming into her own. A realistic but hopeful tone, Kintsugi looks towards the future in hopes that the obvious and apparent bigotry and one sidedness can allow for change and reparations resulting in a nation that’s one for all and all for one.” That cautious optimism shows through in a lyric towards the end: “When you gonna do right by me? Glad I’m on this side of history.”

Take a listen below. Daniels’ band Hoochi Coochi performs at the XPoNential Music Festival in September; tickets and more information can be found at XPNFest.org.