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placeholder is the second full-length album by Hand Habits, the project of guitarist and songwriter Meg Duffy. It was released on March 1, 2019 on Saddle Creek, after a self-made debut, and was recorded largely with producer Brad Cook at April Base, the Wisconsin studio associated with Bon Iver.^[1]

Duffy described the songs as being about accountability and forgiveness, drawn from real stories rather than invention.^[2] Critics noted a more assured sound and a leap in songwriting from the debut.^[3]

Much of the album was written while wildfires burned across Southern California. Duffy has said they only noticed the environment's influence after finishing, and fire, heat, smoke, and ash recur across the songs, from the track named for the blaze to a short interlude called heat.^[4] One reviewer heard the record's private subjects as shadowed by reflections on destruction, rebirth, and mortality.^[5]