Domino Kirke praises bonus parents with “stepchildren”, reflects pregnancy (exclusive)

Domino Church Pracials the beautiful ways families take shape.

With its last single “Stepchild,” the singer/songwriter and doula – which is currently Expect twins with Penn BadgleyWith whom she also shares a son and is also the mother of son Cassius from a previous relationship – pencils a “love letter” to her husband, 38, and to all bonus parents who take on these roles.

“I think there is a lot of stigma around a stepparent,” says Kirke, 41, over Zoom from Brooklyn, new “I feel that it is a sufficiently common story in the families I work with where there is mixing.”

“You caught us on the back / swung into our space / We sat at the head of our table / But all I could do was eat your face,” Kirke crowns on the track.

“I wrote it as a” thank you “you to my husband around choosing to take us as his new family,” she tells People of the You Star who met his son when he was 5 years old. “But in the song I also take time to say goodbye to my son’s father too.”

In the music video as exclusively premiere with people, Kirke’s track plays when the camera panins to different step families who react to the song, share pictures of their children and tell stories about becoming – or opening their arms for – a righter.

For the visual found Kirke inspiration in his music video for “Half Blood,” Where she asked half-siblings to talk about what it is like to have a sibling-it is not entirely biologically their coupled to them in this “full” way.

“With ‘Stepchild’ I wanted the same thing. I wanted the visual of these people who have chosen to go to stepparenthood but also hear enough the song that it still captures your ear. It can be a bit heavy on the conversation, but it was a choice,” she explains.

“Stepchild” will appear on Kirke’s Sophomore LP The most familiar star.

Written and recorded with Elliot Krimsky and Grizzly Bears Chris Taylor, Kirke’s upcoming album tackles the idea of ​​losing herself and find renewal as she grieves her predecessor and pre-parenthood self and used to be an advance, before marriage and reflects the change that occurred.

To present The most familiar starHer first album in eight years, Kirke shared Lead Single “It’s not there,” A collaboration with her friend Angel Olsen who has a Sharon van Enen test from a 20-year-old demo.

The album also particularly deepens Kirke’s upcoming experience with sexual abuse for the first time with the song “Secret Growing”.

“I had done a lot of emotionally deep investigative work on myself since my oldest son, who is 16, was about 4. I was in therapy like everyone else, but I also decided to join some 12-step groups and read books about family systems. And after doing so, I started to have memories of abuse against children.

For Kirke, “Secret Growing” is about “remembering things I don’t want to remember and then using that material to gain a better understanding of relationships and why I attracted the people I attracted.”

Never miss a story – register for People’s free daily newsletters Keeping up to date on the best of what people have to offer, from celebrity news to compelling stories of human interest.

In the midst of her self-exploration, Kirke also prepares for the birth of a new chapter-twins, As she announced last month.

“I feel that I carry the feeling of twins,” she laughs. “Gemini pregnancy is just in my face. It’s my dormant bitch face now.”

For Kirke it was to expect twins a “total surprise” and an “absolute shocker.”

As Kirke sees, there is a certain “grief” that is inherent in becoming a parent.

“You are postpartum forever,” she explains, referring to something she tells her Doula clients. “I just wanted songs that go on that trip with me, and that’s what I think has translated most into this album.”

The most familiar star Is out on April 18th.