Ora Cogan releases ‘The Smoke,’ the final pre-release single from her forthcoming album and Sacred Bones debut, Hard Hearted Woman, out this Friday. Cogan is also set to tour the UK and Ireland later this month.

Following recent single ‘Division,’ ‘The Smoke’ rises on a hypnotic rhythm, nodding toward JJ Cale while pulling the form apart. It’s a groove for the end times with congas, shakers, cracked guitars, and ghost-weathered textures all colliding as Cogan sifts through the darker corners of our shared humanity. She doesn’t shy away from the mess. Instead she digs into it, looking for the spark that can turn dread into empathy. Commenting on the track, Cogan says: “’The Smoke’ is about theatre of the absurd. It is about how humans can be ridiculous and still beautiful. How we can hero worship, villainize and romanticize each other. Sometimes perception shifts depending on how and where the light is hitting. This song is about losing faith in people and continuing to bend towards love.”

Of the song’s accompanying visualiser, director Paloma Ruiz-Hernandez says: “Alone in a diner she’s never been to before. She orders coffee for the beat to pick up, turns to her dominoes to find answers and to pass the time, the only thing missing is the smoke.”