Five weeks before her wedding in 2022, singer, songwriter, and guitarist Danni Hoshino realized she was trans. In the subsequent unwinding of her old life, Hoshino wove together the one she was always meant to live. Releasing under the artist name Light Bird, her debut 10-song collection, See Her, announces today. To mark the occasion, OFM is proud to exclusively premiere the album’s only duet, “Alright.”
Featuring the incredible vocals of Ri Lotz, who also sings harmonies throughout the rest of the album, “Alright” is a bittersweet folk-country ballad that captures a pivotal moment of transition. “It’s a folk-country ballad that I began writing before I came out as trans, and finished after I started transitioning (a couple of pronouns needed to be changed in the lyrics),” Hoshino explains.
The track serves as a poignant reflection on the end of Hoshino’s engagement and the evolution of a deep connection. “’Alright’ is about the relationship I was in at the time—by far the closest and strongest partnership I had ever experienced,” she says. “It touches on the challenges that all relationships face, but also how those challenges don’t need to be that hard when you’re with the right person. The chorus line, ‘You don’t need a reason to be mad at me,’ is about making space for someone to feel and express their feelings, even when your instinct is to defend yourself. That’s so much easier to do when a relationship is built on friendship and trust and empathy and enduring love.”
While much of See Her explores the “gender euphoria” Hoshino found in her reflection and the new life she built after moving from the Boston suburbs to Brooklyn, “Alright” leans into the complexity of change. The song celebrates a persistent love while accepting that some shifts are fundamental.
“The final verse, written post-transition, reflects on the way life-changing circumstances can rupture even the strongest connections,” Hoshino continues. “Coming out came with so many dynamic emotions, both for me and those who loved me. Sometimes, even when you really want something to last forever, it’s okay when it needs to come to an end. There’s beauty in that, too.”
Produced by Don Mitchell of Darlingside and featuring a cast of storied Boston folk scene collaborators, the album sonically breathes through organic, live-recorded sessions. From the catharsis of crying on public transit in “Williamsburg Bridge” to the lighthearted dating observations of “Big Time Texter,” See Her is an invitation to find universal moments of self-discovery within a specific trans perspective.
Ultimately, Hoshino hopes the record offers a sense of shared humanity. “I want people to hear something of an experience that they haven’t had, and still find words and moments to relate to and find catharsis in,” she says. “And I want people to play it in the car with the windows down.”
