Following a defining run of releases and months spent on the road, Chloe Slater has cemented her place as one of the UK’s most vital new voices. Today, she returns with ‘UGLY,’ a poignant new single, signalling a new chapter in her evolution; it finds Slater writing with sharpened intent, capturing a generation caught between nostalgia for the past and an increasingly uncertain future.

Building on the socially conscious blend of alternative and indie rock that has defined her earlier releases, ‘UGLY’ pushes further outward, interrogating the systems that shape modern identity and desire. Mantras like “buy now” and “don’t miss out” repeat as modern-day commandments, blurring the line between satire and reality, before erupting into a chant-like chorus that offers a moment of collective release. It’s frenetic, confrontational, and unmistakably of its time, capturing the absurdity and unease of a world driven by consumption as only Slater can do.

“I wrote ‘UGLY’ after watching a documentary on Netflix called Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy, which looks at where ‘away’ actually is when we throw things out,” Slater explains. “The song centres around this almost religious compulsion we have towards consumerism. Our ads are full of commandments, ‘buy now’, ‘don’t miss out’, and we’re promised heaven in the form of status and wealth if we follow the right path.”

Slater continues, “I frantically list products and capitalist tokens throughout the song to mirror the never-ending frenzy of the world we live in. I wanted it to feel chaotic, with a big sense of release in the chorus, something people can throw their hands up to and let go of at shows.”