has spent the last four years submerged and is finally coming back up for air. Since her debut album ‘Some Of Us Are Brave’, Ponder has been forced to navigate a sea of grief and immense, unimaginable loss. And in many ways, she is still wrestling with the shadows. The artist’s sophomore album ‘Everything Has Changed’ is out now via acclaimed label , under Phoebe Bridgers’ former imprint Saddest Factory Records. The album is an intimate and reflective collection that reveals her healing wounds, tracing the scars they leave behind.
The New York native burst onto the international stage to great acclaim in 2022 with tremendous vocals and an inspiring story: Ponder worked for over a decade as a public defender, dedicating her life to advocating for those whom society would much rather discard. Yet on the eve of her 40th birthday, she left it all behind to pursue a full-time career in music.
Listeners worldwide were immediately gripped by this powerful, classic gospel-soul voice paired with hip-hop, rock and R&B melodies, making for a contemporary yet timeless sound. With unflinching honesty and vulnerable, autobiographical writing, Ponder paints with sound, making music that is raw and relatable, that you feel in your bones and in your soul.
Indeed, everything has changed for the 44 year-old. Yet what remains constant is her undeniable talent, hypnotising vocals, and her deft ability to narrate both intimate and collective experiences. The lead single ‘Power’ is a thundering anthem celebrating the Black Diaspora and highlighting the importance of staying rooted in our ancestral identity as Afro-descendants; while ‘Sun and Moon’ is an upbeat and funky groove juxtaposed with melancholy lyrics that rebuke a flimsy love – wherein you’re only appreciated once you leave. The celestial imagery spills over into ‘Garden’, a slower, sobering track with the singer asserting “I deserve a love like heaven,” in wistful, velvety tones.
The perils of deifying a romantic partner and the quest to de-centre men is a recurring theme on the album. We hear it on the self-aware ‘God Of You; the elegant, sultry and wryly humorous interlude ‘NWAS’; and underscored by rolling string arrangements on ‘Open Windows’. The pain of losing loved ones, the fleeting nature of time, and her inner battles are equally present throughout. The record is an uncompromising acknowledgement of the under-appreciated labour and love of Black women, as well as an affirmation of the artist’s self-worth, which comes as the result of a lot of inner work.
CLASH magazine caught up with the artist over Zoom, for what was a very candid conversation, to discuss the album and everything she’s traversed in the time in-between. When we meet, she’s in the middle of packing her bags. “I’m gonna be moving around a little bit just because I have to be out of this Airbnb, so don’t mind me if you see me and you don’t see me,” she explains. Ponder is frank and open throughout our chat, with a generosity of spirit that immediately puts you at ease. She shares details of her personal life, discussing bereavement and heartbreak, as well as the anxiety and battles with perfectionism that come with realising a long-held dream and being thrust into the spotlight.
“’Some Of Us Are Brave’, articulates the confidence and courage I had going into this – what you heard was a girl who was like, I’m leaving this relationship. And then on the second album, you’re hearing a girl who’s . You’re hearing a girl struggling with her own insecurities about getting older on the song ‘Time [Is A Wild Thing]’.” The worry about passing time is what had originally pushed Ponder to quit law back in 2021, “it didn’t hit me until maybe like 34, 35, you know; you get older, you get more reflective, and I’m like, ‘yo, what if I die?’ And I never actually even tried to be a full-time artist! I’d feel like I betrayed myself if I didn’t try.” Despite taking the plunge and reaping the rewards of betting on herself, the journey hasn’t been smooth sailing. “So many demons showed up through this album.”
What we hear on this sophomore record is the process of alchemising grief and loss – navigating a new reality in which many familiar faces were suddenly missing, and a particularly devastating experience that was hard to talk about. “These past four years, I lost my brother-in-law, who was in my life, my whole life – he and my sister were married for 35 years. I lost one of my best friends, and some of the people I worked with. My father got dementia and his dementia really, you know, increased to the point where he can’t speak anymore. It was one thing after the other that was happening. And then, I was pregnant as well and I miscarried, so I lost a child during this time.”
This is a truth she has only recently begun sharing with the public. After initial apprehension at opening up about the story behind the stripped-back ‘Blues’, Ponder found that many women would come up to her, thanking her and divulging details of their own experiences. The secrecy that surrounds miscarriage, we agreed, is due to the shame attached to women’s bodies, “related to puritanical beliefs and just misogyny, to be honest.” It is a grief that often isn’t met with the same understanding or acknowledgement as the death of a parent, for example, because it is “a pain we are not supposed to share.” The cumulative effects of these experiences left Ponder in deep anguish, understandably. “It was a rock-mother-fucking-bottom up in here, okay?! And I had to decide if I was gonna get up or stay down; and when I think of this album, it means way more to me that I finished it. The songs belong to the people now, but for me, seeing the resilience that I was able to have in the midst of losing so many things, including my mind, I just – I will always just be proud that I persevered through that, to continue to do the work that I’m called to do.”
Therapy, meditation, and time spent with her family are things which have helped the musician cope with her mental health, instead of constantly chasing the next achievement. Pressures of the sophomore album had Ponder overthinking her decisions through much of the recording process. Being surrounded by a new team, and without her best friend who had been her right-hand when making music, also presented challenges. It took time to find the courage to speak up and defend her choices, putting aside her worries and perfectionist tendencies, and learning to trust herself anew; “I got rid of like ten songs in making this album.”
Her diligence and steadfastness were rewarded though, delivering an album which expands her fluidity, allowing her to focus on conveying all the depth of emotion and feeling she contains, and revealing a multidimensional artist. The production on the album is elastic, stretching with Ponder’s many hues and textures, incorporating the breadth of styles which have influenced her artistry.
Ponder plays with contrast beautifully, something she admits she really enjoys. That mix of “old and new” can be heard on ‘NWAS’ (produced by Sol Messiah), where she admits she had fun imagining Billie Holiday existing in 2026, “singing so beautifully, but she’s singing ‘niggas ain’t shit’”. We both gush with excitement over the contents of ‘SKN’, where Ponder deliberately talks about the Middle Passage over a vapoury beat that echoes Radiohead. Produced by Bartees Strange, who joked ‘white people are gonna love this’, the lyrics “you just wanna live in my skin” address the white colonial drive to consume and devour everything about Blackness. “This oppressive system where it feels like damn, you want every piece of me. My voice, my body, my soul, my spirit; every piece of me, you want to exploit!”
‘SKN’ is about shaking off the heaviness that comes with being Black in the USA. “America is drenched in the blood of Black people, and the cries of spirits that were lost on this land.” Ponder discusses the “two experiences you have as a Black person” existing in the US – one being the constant reaffirming and insistence on being seen, proclaiming your authority and humanity, while the other is the desire to simply be left “the hell alone.” “I don’t always want to live in a world where I carry so much history on my shoulders, you know.”
The bright tempo, delicate bass lines, husky background vocals, and the repeated “And I’m here / And I’m free” heard on ‘SKN’ expresses the desire to exist as an individual without the weight of history – a reality the artist encounters when she travels back to Africa. She returned to Senegal recently, to film the stunning visuals for ‘Power’, where she rejoices in being “just Danielle. I’m just a woman, you know, and it’s such a freeing experience.”
‘Everything Has Changed’ sees Ponder refuse to relinquish her power any longer; grabbing freedom with both hands and sitting comfortably in her own skin.
‘Everything Has Changed’ is out now.
Words: S. R. Field