In the aftermath of Roe v. Wade’s overturning, Dove Cameron wants to make an impact with her new music video. The singer and Emmy-award-winning actress reverses gender roles in the powerful visual for her song ‘Breakfast.’ Following up on her queer anthem ‘Boyfriend’ from earlier this year, Cameron builds an alternate universe in the ‘Breakfast’ video. Opening with a TV reporter declaring Roe v. Wade’s impact on men, the Lauren Dunn-directed video liberates women at their expense. “With this video, I want to show the disturbing contrast between stylized femininity and masculine power and the gender stereotypes that plague our social commentary,” Cameron says. “I want the audience to notice how strange it is to watch the roles be reversed and it was important to highlight how ingrained these roles really are in our nervous systems.” The video’s ’70s-inspired costume and set design call back to the early movement for abortion rights, which culminated in the Roe v. Wade decision. However, Cameron acts out a thought-provoking twist, where men are the ones stripped of autonomy and forced to fight for their reproductive rights. Wearing an oversized suit, she leaves her husband at home before heading to an office full of female executives and male assistants, turning gender roles on its head. In the spirit of the chorus, “I eat boys like you for breakfast,” Cameron proceeds to be brazenly abusive of the men around her. She inappropriately kisses, touches and feeds alcohol to an underling, who then has to run out for an abortion (which the doctor shames him for as he lies vulnerable in stirrups). However, Cameron’s fantasy of female domination eventually comes to an end. In the final few seconds, news commentators describe the present reality of abortion rights being rolled back, and Cameron is left to settle with the true state of the world. “This is a video to remind us that ‘how it’s always been’ should never be a reason for desensitization or upholding broken systems,” Cameron says. “Hopefully by re-contextualizing these familiar scenes, this video will encourage people to vote for a world where we leave gender discrimination as a thing of the past and stop bringing the past into the present.” Cameron concludes the video with the words, “This is not the end,” before offering four “direct ways to get involved” through abortion funds, voter registration efforts and other organizations working towards gender equality. These include Supermajority, EMILY’s List, Headcount and National Network of Abortion Funds. [via PAPER]

Fauness has put out a new EP every year for the last four years, and now she’s finally ready to put out her debut album. Cora Gilroy-Ware, the art historian and musician behind the project, will release Fauness’ first LP, The Golden Ass, in October. Now, she’s sharing the sparkling pop song ‘Mystery’ as the album’s lead single. “For a while I’ve been thinking about how the concept of ‘Mystery’ is obsolete,” Fauness said in a statement. “Transparency and complete exposure seem to possess the beguiling, coveted allure that mystery once had.” She continued: “The song is an elegy to the idea of mystery, and for the video I wanted to create an embodiment of the concept, a masked character who makes her way into the sea and disappears. I thought that there’s no one better to narrate Mystery’s passing than the maenad, a type of nymph from Greek mythology. Holding her tambourine and sacred staff, a thyrsus, the maenad describes Mystery’s departure from this world.” [via Stereogum]

‘Better’ is a nostalgia-soaked piece of indie-pop/rock from the delightful Yugambeh/Gold Coast duo GENIIE BOY released alongside the accompanying music video. Hot on the heels of the groovy ‘Shaky Ground’, this new single ‘Better’ marks their third release for the year – a cruisy tune packed with warmth and effortless feel-good guitar-driven rhythm. Its magic is punctuated by clever drum fill motifs, polished production and Alisha’s distinctively silky voice that shines in the foreground, as well as in the catchy accents of backing vocals that are bound to have listeners smiling along. Listening once is good, but twice is definitely better. The song was written about the lifelong pursuit of ‘betterness’, and the many ways we duck and weave the obstacles of modern life to find it. Alisha elaborates: “The old saying – ‘if you love something, you’ve gotta let it go’ is almost the entire moral of this story, and that perhaps if we ‘let go of our hold’ on things, we can see the bigger picture more clearly.” In pure GENIIE BOY fashion, they bring all their creative joy and larger-than-life humour in the accompanying music video as they explore a day in their life when performing on breakfast TV – giving the producers a heart attack. Always going the extra mile in their extravagant music videos, all hands were on deck to prep each of their giant paper mache heads before diving head first into this self-produced clip.

Polish techno misfit VTSS (real name Martyna Maja) shares ‘Body Mind Hell’, taken from her vocal-led mutant pop forthcoming EP, Circulus Vitiosus out September 16 on Ninja Tune. Across four tracks, her musical character steps further into the light, backed up by razor-sharp production. From recently released ‘Make You Scream’s deadeye hooks and devastating seduction to the self-reflexive, low-slung ‘Incredibly Annoying’, ‘Body Mind Hell’ is a fever-dream of physical intimacy that teases with a confidence all too often denied to women in the hypocrisy of male-defined societal values. The meaning is many-layered as a sample repeats, “out with the old, in with the new,” with VTSS embracing the liberation of this new self-defined sphere she moves in. It’s the perfect summation of Maja’s intentions with this release, to not hold back on what she wants to explore about herself and the identity she is shaping. It gives away something of herself, but only she knows for sure how much. For the rest of us, we’re learning as we go, and every cryptic line feeds our curiosity.

ALASKALASKA have shared new single ‘TV Dinners’ in full. The group remain impossible to pin down, sitting somewhere between gilded synth pop and free improvisation, nestling up against South London’s much-vaunted jazz and post-punk scenes while retaining a curiously original identity. New album Still Life – out on October 14 – spins the creative dials once more, with Simian Mobile Disco’s Jas Shaw helping to align their flood-tide of ideas into something approaching coherency. ‘TV Dinners’ was constructed during one of our many lockdowns, and it’s a stream-of-consciousness ode to the pleasures of time alone. Left-field moves that still feel resolutely ‘pop’ in its loosest sense, ‘TV Dinners’ is neatly melodic while also billowing past any boundaries, or preconceived rule set in its path. Lucinda Duarte-Holman comments… “‘TV Dinners’ was the only song on the album written during lockdown (the rest were written previous to Covid). I wrote it in about 20 minutes as a stream of consciousness kind of poem. Very literal. Even though, like a lot of people, I wasn’t really sure what to do with myself under the circumstances, I was still really quite happy to have some time doing nothing – noticing the way the light changed in my flat and the sound of the birds and trees outside. I felt a real sense of privilege that I was able to enjoy a space in time that for a lot of people was incredibly testing on so many levels. And with that privilege, a sense of guilt: “What once was bliss, becomes a certain kind of ignorance.” We all take part in it in some way – you can change the channel if the news becomes too much, or steer away from doom-scrolling, and I think you should as a way of protecting yourself, but I also think it’s important to recognize that its a privilege to be able to do so.” [via Clash]

Margo Price is starting to roll out a new set of songs. We don’t have any news on a new album yet, but she’s billing her new single ‘Been To The Mountain’ as the start of a new era. She wrote the song with husband Jeremy Ivey, and Jonathan Wilson produced it during a weeklong stint at Fivestar Studios in Topanga Canyon. The song’s punchy strut is matched by the music video, directed by Courtney Hoffman in Los Angeles. A quote from Price: “’Been To The Mountain’ is part one of an introspective trip into our subconscious. It is the perfect continuation of my search for freedom in my art and freedom in the modern age. I have a lot of high hopes for this next chapter and truly believe this is the most exciting music I’ve ever made in the studio with my band. We have all grown so much, we operate like one single organism – it’s telepathic. Courtney Hoffman brought my wild visions to life with the help of an incredible cast and crew in the music video. I wanted the story’s hypothetical 8 to 12 hour window to feel like a mini-lifetime. We also wanted to portray how an intense psychedelic experience has the potential to become a spiritual experience, and how that can change your perception of the world around you.” [via Stereogum]

Rising LA-based pop trailblazer Grace Gaustad has shared their new single and music video for ‘Old Ways’ – taken from their upcoming multimedia concept album PILLBX: whts ur fantasy?. Each track from the album will be released like an episodic mini-series, culminating in Summer 2023. ‘Old Way’s is a stunning piano led pop ballad, that showcases Grace’s cathartic and triumphantly considered songwriting at its most raw. The music video sensitively and artistically captures Grace interacting with past versions of themself – resembling self-growth, new mindsets, and evolution of identity. Speaking about the track they say: “’Old Ways’ is one of the more personal records on the album. For me, it represents the desire to revisit the past with all of the knowledge I know now. Old habits and old people hold value because there is safety in the devil we know as opposed to the devil we don’t. I think everyone has wished to revisit old versions of themselves in hopes that maybe by redoing the past, they could rewrite the future.”

London pop figure Liz Cass is an over-sharer. Someone who pours every ounce of her soul into her music, incoming debut album The Words finally affords Liz Cass a broader landscape to work with. Out on October 21, it’s led by new piledriver ‘Near Miss’, an alt-pop statement that delves into her thoughts on relationship. Refined, finessed electronic pop, ‘Near Miss’ is “about not wanting to give up on someone when they can’t figure out what they really want. When you’re not ready to let go but have that need to be able to look back and say you gave it everything you had.” Brisk of vocal and buoyant of chorus, ‘Near Miss’ is a deliberate attempt to re-shape the narrative around Liz Cass’ work As she puts it: “The song shows a different side to me and comes from a less melancholic place. I was in a better headspace when I wrote ‘Near Miss’ and wanted to reflect that with some really uplifting pop. There’s no more wallowing from me… At least for a while!” A jewel of a single, we’re able to share the Conrad Gamble directed video, which takes you around the singer’s favourite East London haunts. [via Clash]

On new track ‘End Of My Life’, Kailee Morgue unpacks the pressures of young adulthood. Anyone who’s reached a certain point in their 20s will know that life looks very different depending on who you are. One of your friends might be getting married, while the other solo travels the world, the other lives solely to party, and the other’s on a career drive just two steps away from being CEO. This tapestry of circumstances is one of the beautiful things about our younger years – there are so many options, but equally, look around and you may well think: “What the hell am I supposed to be doing?” ‘End of My Life’ sees the Arizonan alt-pop artist platform this pressure of feeling time’s scarcity despite being merely at the beginning of adulthood. Inspired by the Bridget Jones Diary book series, Morgue’s fears of getting older are brought to life by a light-horror-esque music video, both symbols of her long-standing love of light entertainment forms like ‘90s movies and soap operas. She channels this into her own brand of “coming-of-age” art which she uses to empower her inner teenage self and likely many young listeners of today. The good news is that ‘End of My Life’ is taken from Morgue’s newly announced debut album Girl Next Door – due on October 28. [via Wonderland]

Scene Queen and Set It Off have collaborated on new single ‘Barbie & Ken’. Scene Queen says of the new track: “This song is the perfect combination of the crazy chaotic hyper feminine “Bimbocore” sound my music has combined with the high energy and theatrical sound of cinematics era Set It Off. I was so excited to get in a session with Cody in general but the collab that it morphed into was honestly more fun than I could’ve even hoped for.” Set It Off’s Cody Carson adds: “We knew as the song was coming together that this was something fun and truly special. I even got to tap into a little bit of the neurosis I let out on our previous album Cinematics. So I feel like Set It Off fans will really appreciate that.” [via Upset]

Greentea Peng has shared details of a new mixtape, Greenzone 108, which is set to be released next month. The news comes a week after the artist returned with a spiritual new song called ‘Look To Him’, which has now been given an official video alongside the mixtape’s announcement. Discussing the new mixtape, which will be released on September 9, in a statement, Greentea Peng said: “GREENZONE 108 is a free flowing, open field of expression. A collection of works accumulated over a transitional period of my life. An elevation of sorts from MAN MADE, in the sense that so much has changed and formed in the 2 years since that conception. GREENZONE108 is freer, less formed and more of an open dialogue/ space exploring all different types of topics from spirituality, and originality to mental health and politricks hence why this is a mixtape and not an album.” Talking about the meaning behind ‘Look To Him’, the artist added: “‘Look To Him’ explores the idea of originality and the notion of tapping into source energy for creativity and inspiration rather than just searching for it amongst your peers and surroundings,” Greentea Peng said of the new song in a statement. “At the same time, it challenges the idea that anything is truly original as nothing is truly our own rather seeped into us from a Higher Power and thus channelled from God him/herself.” [via NME]

No one really knows why love begins or ends, but just that it does. The LA-based artist, Arima Ederra, poses the question we all know too well—the one we might to scared to ask or hear the answer to—with her new deeply-felt single ‘Portals.’ The second offering from her long-awaited fall project is sewn with the tenderness of falling and the truthfulness of doubt when yearning for something that as already come and gone. Gently serene vocals carry her sincere confession that all rests on a blanket of sweet guitar strummings and lightly layered vocal riffs. Following her first single,’Free Again,’ Ederra expands on her intent to follow the tendrils of her psyche through reflection and revisiting the people, moments, and dreams that inevitably lead us to who we are. “’Portals’ is a message about longing to be longed for. How humility guided me through a portal back to myself after heartache. It’s about confronting why the absence of love seems to be the only time we realize we’re out of time to say how we earnestly feel,” the artist shares. The accompanying video follows the artist into a manifestation of her into the unconscious as she slowly untangles the mystery of love, heartbreak, and what comes after. “I’ve always been a fan of surrealism, magic realism, and the beauty of the subconscious mind. The video was a way for me to express what sort of dialogue occurs during the meeting of the selves, both literally and figuratively. When do we allow ourselves to reach that stage of vulnerability? If the sun took us all tomorrow, would we then be able to say how we really feel? It’s hard to know where I end and you begin and for that reason I think it’s important to hold space and compassion with myself and others during the journey.” [via Flaunt]

Effortlessly witty and seductively playful, ‘Taste of V’ is the ultimate read-it-and-weep anthem for industry moguls who have tried and failed to stunt Rromarin’s creative expression. With her ever-joyful vocals out to play, Rromarin delves straight into a sexy narrative that celebrates lust and desire from a female perspective — a concept that is all-too-often shunned from charts even within the modern day. In keeping with her daring approach to storytelling, the single also comes hand-in-hand with a mesmerising visual, showing the Melbourne vocalist and producer in a state of freedom, where inhibitions are left at the door. In her own words, Rromarin explains, “While playful, flirty and tongue-in-cheek, ‘Taste of V’ is also a deeper commentary on my experiences as a female artist navigating a largely conservative music industry. Over the years there have been countless moments in which I’ve been pressured by those in power to dilute my creative vision, to write music that is ‘safe’ and ‘accessible’ – in other words, ‘vanilla’. This pressure to conform and fit in the box also extended to my identity as Rromarin, and is an issue that I felt deeply when making the decision to step into motherhood. ‘Taste of V’ is my response and retaliation to this; it is a celebration of taking creative risks, a challenge to those who don’t, and my attempt to break the stereotype of what a female artist should be.” Ensuring her addictive pop hooks and pulsing production remain prominent throughout, ‘Taste of V’ has given us all of the energy and angst necessary to combat an otherwise conservative society — with no apologies necessary. [via Wonderland]

London based alt-pop force Selin returns with ‘cool’. The Istanbul-born artist is fast becoming a key player within the UK pop scene, with her lyrical over-sharing and superb vocals standing out from the chasing pack. New single ‘cool’ comes at the tail end of summer, but it taps into those party energies. A bolshy, exuberant return, Selin comes bursting out the speakers, with perhaps her most on-point vocal performance yet. ‘cool’ has another side to it, however, with Selin depicting the fissures within a post break up relationship. As she puts it… “It’s a song about the realisation of how it is genuinely hard to stay friends with an ex-partner due to current relationships and the fact that you’re no longer with them anymore. Although there are moments in the song where I am being slightly petty, it was primarily a fun way to let go, move forward and highlight that sometimes it’s hard for people to accept change. It’s a weird feeling of detachment that you have to accept. Memories fade. Your worlds are different now. The act of letting go and moving on from the past can be challenging and this song is kind of a bittersweet anthem highlighting those situations.” The video leans on the sheer colour and vitality of her performance, depicting a pop star in bloom. [via Clash]

Rising So Cal rock trio The Aquadolls have released their new single, titled ‘Beachy’, out now. The song, produced by Chris Szcezech (Goo Goo Dolls), finds The Aquadolls dipping into their nostalgic roots, for a 60s meets 90s dream pop self-love song. ‘Beachy’ tackles the hardships of coming out of a global pandemic and quarantine. Front woman Melissa Brooks says the song, “takes the listener on a trip to the California sunshine with reverb-y guitar and saccharine vocals. While alone at home, we are left with the thoughts of missing those we are far apart from, but realize that self-love is key to making it through these hard times.” ‘Beachy’ serves as the lead single to the band’s upcoming Charmed LP. [via TotalNtertainment]

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Having announced that their debut album will be set for release this November, Brighton’s Currls have shared an uplifting new single. A colourful ode to female friendship and owning your own unique individuality, ‘Honey‘ is propelled by an empowering energy as lilting, catchy hooks flow alongside frenzied beats and unifying, singalong refrains. And, as the soaring, soulful vocals of front person Holly take the lead, an enlivening dose of twinkling, scuzz-filled garage-rock is created; an energising and compelling anthem of self-love that’ll motivate and inspire on first listen. ‘Honey’ is accompanied by a vibrant, DIY video showcasing femmes coming together to celebrate each other and themselves. The perfect, sparkling energy-boost you need on during this lethargic heat wave. [via Get In Her Ears]

The Australian singer-songwriter Gordi has been doing a lot lately — a single with Troye Sivan, a Dolly Parton cover, a Julien Baker remix. Next month, she’ll release Inhuman, a new EP that she recorded in studios around the world. We’ve already posted first single ‘Way I Go,’ and now Gordi has also shared ‘Inhuman,’ a song about about transforming yourself into a robot as a way of coping with earthly stresses. Gordi was a doctor before she became a full-time musician, and ‘Inhuman’ draws on that experience. Gordi sings through a computerized voice filter over swells of synth and guitar, and she captures a certain sense of sad-but-comforting disassociation. Here’s how she describes the song in a press release: “When I wrote ‘Inhuman,’ I was thinking about the blackened roadsides on my drive from Sydney to Lismore in 2019. I had to turn back halfway because the fires were too out of control. I was supposed to start work in Lismore Hospital on the Monday, where I would meet countless patients who couldn’t be discharged because their homes had been destroyed. Hearing one story after the next made me numb, and being numb to that sort of tragedy feels like forgetting to be human.” Check out the Triana Hernandez-directed ‘Inhuman’ video above. [via Stereogum]

ALASKALASKA will release new album Still Life on October 14. The project truly operate in their own lane, with core partnership Lucinda Duarte-Holman and Fraser Rieley using barbed electronics as a means to dissect pop tropes. Working with Marathon Artists, the group’s debut album provides them with a broad canvas to operate with. Jas Shaw – of Simian Mobile Disco – produces the record, blending Brutalist synths with sharp-edged melodies. New single ‘Still Life’ is out now, the curled digitalism underpinning a hypnotic vocal from Lucina Duarte-Holman. A kind of extra-dimensional pop song, it puts us in mind of everyone from Cabaret Voltaire through to Factory Floor, while still demanding you meet it on its own terms. [via Clash]

Next month, Jennifer Vanilla — the alter ego of New York-based performance artist Becca Kauffman — is releasing their debut album, Castle In The Sky. It includes the previously shared ‘Body Music’ and ‘Take Me For A Ride,’ and now Kauffman is putting out another single, an enticing, svelte, sinister earworm called ‘Humility’s Disease.’ Its Luca Venter-directed music video introduces another alter ego: Johnnifer Vanillo, a devilish figure plagued by two angels. Here’s Jennifer Vanilla’s statement: “Have you ever worried that there was something truly and absolutely wrong with you, deep down inside and from every possible angle? Sat on a secret feeling that you were an unlovable monster, a massive disappointment to the world, utterly rotten at your core? Feared that your instincts were completely fucked, that your anger made you evil, that your mind was an inhospitable trap you would never escape, that your own body would never do, that you ought to be ashamed of yourself, that the world wasn’t meant for you? Don’t be so humble! Johnnifer Vanillo is here to talk you out of it all. Johnnifer Vanillo is my alter ego’s alter ego— Jennifer Vanilla with the skin off, on the verge of spontaneous combustion due to intense internal friction. Toxic sludge is bubbling up, the guck stuck under the surface of the burning nether regions we condemn. Their monologue is an eruption, a confrontation, a coach’s pep talk to let the ego sing— if only to quell the inflammation and then settle into a balanced peace. In this world, the edges around “good” and “evil” dissolve into a puddle of damp, sputtering flames, angels and devil-figure swirling the elements of their supposedly oppositional poles into a perverse reworking of whatever you thought right and wrong ever were. There’s nothing wrong with humility— it’s just that too much of it can destroy you like a disease.” [via Stereogum]

DYLAN shares her anticipated new single ‘Girl Of Your Dreams’, her first release for Island Records UK/Republic Records. The track arrives alongside a new video, co-directed by Dylan and Carla Dauden. ‘Girl Of Your Dreams’ is a headrush of spiky energy that sits somewhere between pop perfection and a classic stadium rocker. The track is defined by a reckless sense of momentum, seamlessly merging alt-rock and pop sensibilities to create a sound that is unmistakably Dylan. Honed into its current form by months on the road, it is the product of a popstar who truly understands the power of live performance. “’Girl of Your Dreams’ is very simple and straight to the point.” notes Dylan. “The day I wrote it, I was feeling a lot of frustration towards someone who sadly had absolutely no interest in me. Ultimately, they hadn’t done anything wrong, so instead of writing a “screw you” song, I wrote a “want me!” song.

It’s all fun and games until your cheer squad tries to kill you. That’s the premise of Jackie Cohen’s new visual for ‘Moonstruck,’ the creeping, frenzied lead single off her forthcoming album Pratfall. In the video, directed by Sloppy Jane’s Haley Dahl, Cohen joins two pals for dance practice on a tennis court, but what starts out as a sunny choreo session eventually turns into a bloodthirsty chase through the hills. It’s a wild, campy ride, perfectly in line with the adrenaline and doom Cohen channels in the song. “Haley was really thoughtful about creating this video,” says Cohen. “She wanted to help me tell a story that was cinematic but also true and cathartic, and the cannibal-cheerleader concept came about sort of as a response to the cutesy, peppy, performative version of myself that exists but is actually pretty dislocated from the reality of me. I always felt like it was my responsibility in my life to remain small, unobtrusive, palatable, accommodating, and I developed this self-abandoning way of being in the world that was really corrosive to my identity,” Cohen continues. “We talked a lot about trauma, emotional fracturing, horror, the uncanny, the death moth that’s been following me around—appearing in the last shot as a charm—and about the relationship between femininity and screaming. So much of this record has to do with realizing in a split-second of delayed sentience and absolute panic that the quaint, idyllic, well-kempt, well-rehearsed dream has become a nightmare.” In ‘Moonstruck,’ that dream-turned-nightmare comes in the form of homicidal cheerleaders, but it also comes in the form of heartbreak and suburban dread. The song’s title, meanwhile, is a nod to the 1987 film of the same name, which co-starred Cher and Nicolas Cage. “Get the knife, get the big knife,” Cohen screams in the bridge, almost gleeful in her sense of duty, like a survivalist taking charge at the end of the world. But Cohen doesn’t sound fatalistic—she sounds energized. [via Flood]

In ‘Nomad’, ZADA confesses and even prides herself in being one.. “Pick up myself, and dust off this place/I’ll be the stranger with something to say/Constantly changing it’s been my way” she thoughtfully rhymes with a graceful Hip-Hop swagger that cuts through the air with very precise intent- with this song, she isn’t just letting us now that her transatlantic journey has turned her into who she is, but that it’s likely in her DNA too, and that a Nomad she will remain as she hops from stage to stadium across the globe in the years to come. It bears mentioning that the video features some absolutely stunning nature shots of beautiful British Columbia, and ZADA looks completely enamored with the place as she re-enacts scenes from her own pen. [via Ladygunn]

Bella Poarch has released her second proper single, and it’s got a video where Poarch and Grimes get into a super-powered sci-fi fight scene. Poarch’s Billie Eilish-ish new song is called ‘Dolls,’ and she recorded it with Sub Urban, the New Jersey producer who also worked on ‘Build A Bitch.’ Grimes didn’t have anything to do with the song, but she’s key to the video. Director Andrew Donoho‘s ‘Dolls’ clip is full of cameos from YouTube and social media personalities who are extremely famous to anyone under 20 and probably completely foreign to anyone who’s older than that (that’s me!). They include Bretman Rock, Dream, Valkyrae, Chloe Cherry, Ludwig, and Madison Beer. It’s got a storyline about Poarch, playing a one-armed robot, leading some kind of AI revolution. The clip ends when Poarch tries to attack the boss figure, played by masked Minecraft streamer Dream. Dream’s bodyguard is a glowing-eyed Grimes, who gets into a fairly well-choreographed fight scene with Poarch. There’s probably heavy stunt-performer involvement in this one, but the two performers had to do at least some of the John Wick stuff themselves. [via Stereogum]

Ellie Goulding is back with her first release of 2022, ‘Easy Lover’, which sees her team up with Big Sean. ‘Easy Lover’ is Goulding’s first outing as the lead artist since her 2020 Brightest Blue album, although she did feature on Silk City’s ‘New Love’ last year, and sees her collaborate with Big Sean. Goulding says of the new single, which is accompanied by a Sophia Ray-directed video, “I wrote ‘Easy Lover’ in LA with Julia Michaels after conversations about the age-old tale of being infatuated by someone cool and beautiful knowing that they will never quite feel the same. It’s about going back to the same dangerous person to feel alive when you know they have hurt people again and again before you. Having the legendary Greg Kurstin produce any song of mine is always a dream come true. He always understands the assignment!” [via Line Of Best Fit]

Demi Lovato has dropped a raucous new single, ‘Substance.’ The anthemic pop-punk number is the second track off their forthcoming eighth studio LP, Holy Fvck, out August 19 via Island Records. The song arrived with a video directed by Cody Critcheloe that nods to late ’90s and early ’00s pop-punk music videos. In the clip, Lovato stomps into a board meeting, joins some pals at a diner, and gets wild at a house party. The video ends with an appearance on a red carpet that features a cameo from Paris Hilton. ‘Substance’ was written by Lovato, Oak, Keith Sorrells, Alex Niceforo, Laura Veltz, and Jordan Lutes, and produced by Oak, Sorrells, and Niceforo. “I’m so excited to share another taste of what’s in store for this album,” Lovato explained in a statement. “We can all relate to searching for something more in life, and I want this song to make you feel like you’re having a damn good time while doing it.” [via Rolling Stone]

G Flip has shared a poignant new single titled ‘Waste Of Space’, wherein they reflect on and celebrate their non-binary identity. It comes in commemoration of International Non-Binary People’s Day, which is observed globally today (July 14). The song puts a unique spin on Flip’s established alt-pop style, with the artist singing emotively over a tight, droning electric guitar line and simmering string harmony. As the intensity of their vocal performance builds, so too does the instrumental, before it erupts into an explosive, drum-heavy crescendo around the two-minute mark. ‘Waste Of Space’ arrives alongside a music video directed by Nas Bogado, produced by Ash Davis and filmed by Sasha Paskal. In addition to Flip theirself, it features an eclectic cast of 19 people, all of whom are either non-binary or genderfluid. In addition, as Flip noted in a press release, over 85 per cent of the video’s crew identify as queer, and 55 per cent are gender non-conforming. “For everyone involved with ‘Waste Of Space’, it wasn’t just another day at work,” they said. “We are all passionate about the overall mission of my project to bring queer and non-binary representation to the world. Alongside the new single’s release, Flip shared an essay expounding on their personal journey as a non-binary person. “I wasn’t sure if I would ever release this song,” they admitted, explaining that they were polarised by the attention they’d received after coming out last June, but ultimately decided to release ‘Waste Of Space’ because “I know that if I had this song as a kid, it would have changed my entire life”. They wrote: “A few months ago, my gender identity was thrown into headlines and talked about more than I ever thought was possible. I’ve been flooded with messages and questions about being non-binary. There have been many positive messages including from parents reaching out and asking on how to best support their non-binary children, as well as messages from people who just want to understand what being non-binary is and means. But there have also been a lot of hateful messages about my gender identity and people even telling me that I’m not non-binary. As I receive more and more of these messages, I realise how much education the world needs when it comes to gender identity. Even though I wasn’t sure if I’d ever release this song, the more I thought about it, I realised how much the world needs this song.” Flip went on to discuss the ways their upbringing affected their relationship with the social construct that is gender. “My first memory of being confused about my gender was when I was seven,” they wrote. “I played with the boys and wore the boys uniform to school because I thought I was one of them. One day, the boys told me I couldn’t play with them anymore because I was a girl. I went to the girls table in hopes that I would belong there. But they also told me I couldn’t play with them because I was dressed like a boy. I was left in the middle, with no one to play with. The kids would call me a ‘waste of space’ and I was ostracised. This left me confused.” On how they currently perceive theirself in relation to the gender binary, Flip said: “When you Google ‘non-binary’ it says neither a man nor woman, but it’s so much more than that. It’s a spectrum. I’m not neither, I feel like I’m both. Everyone lies on a different part of the spectrum, even those who identify as a girl or a boy. Representation in the media matters. I, along with so many other gender non-conforming souls, are here. We are present and we are going to make noise so that this generation and future generations aren’t ostracised for being their beautiful, authentic selves. To anyone who’s ever felt like a waste of space, you’re not. You’re important, you matter, and you have purpose in this world.” [via NME]

Rose Gray has shared a brand new EP, Synchronicity. Featuring previous singles ‘Last Song’ and new track ‘Cupid’. On ‘Cupid’, she says: “’Cupid, cupid why are you so stupid? Don’t you think before you shoot it?’’ – do I need to say any more?! I wrote this song about how sometimes we fall for the wrong person. Cushioned between heavy breakbeat drums and 90’s house chords, I playfully joke about falling victim to love – again. When I wrote this song I remember thinking this truly captures that feeling of being out of control. I sometimes question if Cupid really is up there in the clouds with a bow and arrow.” [via Dork]

IC3PEAK‘s new track ‘Kiss Of Death’ is out now accompanied by a music video. The importance of Russian folklore is crucial in IC3PEAK’s work. The ‘Kiss Of Death’ music video features numerous elements of Russian culture. For instance, the men consume baranki and “blood” from the samovar. Additionally, the musicians stayed true to their typical simplicity and avoided any semantic puns. ‘Kiss of Death’s meaning is straightforward: “a woman feels upset that, while she is succeeding, she is not needed. She is only necessary while she is struggling.”

Never has an artist’s name felt more fitting than Spacemoth; Maryam Qudus’ sound is able to transport you into alien worlds, while still managing to feel ethereally light. In the lead up to her July 22 debut LP No Past No Future, Qudus’ liminal sound is slowly taking form. Latest single ‘Round in Loops’ continues to showcase her penchant for woozy distortion. ‘Round in Loops’ is a glittering haze of stardust. The track feels like a smear of nostalgia, distorted synths and gently muffled vocals unsettling yet oddly comforting. Snapshots of memories float by as Qudus’ experimental sound lures you in, the entire experience a quirky psych-pop delight. The single perfectly fits in with the tracks teased thus far; ‘Waves Come Crashing’ and ‘This Shit’ in particular are similarly jagged, capturing that same distorted tranquility of Spacemoth’s enticingly alien realm. Qudus’ push for unique sound has been somewhat of an uphill struggle due to her background; “Women are often discouraged from pursuing music in the Afghan & Muslim community, and those who follow that path receive a lot of heat,” Qudus has previously noted. Yet, despite those who may attempt to limit her art, Qudus is instead thriving, making a name for herself as a well-respected producer and composer in the scene. And, with her debut on the horizon, it’s finally time for her to allow her own wistful and complex mind to be heard. [via Clash]

Tami Neilson new album Kingmaker is out now with title track ‘Kingmaker’ now on video. Tami Neilson said of the clip: “It felt so fitting to work with an incredible team of women on this video for a song of empowerment, led by Director Alyx Duncan and Producer Emma Mortimer. Alyx really poured her heart and soul into making ‘Kingmaker’ come to life with her incredible attention to detail and she suggested approaching the owner of the historic St James Theatre located in the heart of downtown Auckland. The once-grand theatre that had hosted Queen Elizabeth herself in 1963 is now crumbling and dilapidated, shuttered for years as work to renovate it came to a standstill. This created the perfect symbolism for ‘Kingmaker’ – a group of women, alive and powerful, rising from the ashes of the old colonial institutions that once excluded and oppressed them. Art director and stylist Evie Kemp created the throne room and my crown, like a renaissance painting come to life. I wanted the visuals to reflect the cinematic feel of the song, which includes a choir of some of my dearest friends, Julia Deans, Anna Coddington, Bella Kalolo and Zoe Moon – all incredible New Zealand artists in their own right. I asked each of them to dress in what they viewed as regal and what made them feel powerful. (Bella wears Samoan traditional dress, Zoe wears cowrie shells- the ancient pan African symbolism of wealth and fertility, Anna wears a Maori necklace carving and a feather shrug that nods to the traditional Maori kākahu by indigenous designer Kiri Nathan) Having these women who support and surround me both in music and in friendship serves as a reminder that when we are united, we are so much stronger.” [via Muzic.Net]

Tell Elon, she said, “zoom, zoom!” On Friday, Cyn dropped her single ‘House with a View,’ the track she wrote while handling the not-so-fun aspects of being a new mom, as she manifests a good-ass life and luxury for herself (and her baby boy Etienne). “I felt like I was washing like baby bottle after baby bottle, and I was sitting there at the sink thinking, ‘If this is my life, like, it would be so much better if I could look out at a beautiful landscape,’ ” Cyn — the pop star signed to Katy Perry’s Unsub Records and behind the bop ‘Drinks’ — tells Rolling Stone over Zoom, hiding in her backyard, so her baby doesn’t see her on the phone. “Sometimes, I even pretend like I am on the ocean.” In the new song, she sings about wanting “that debt-free attitude” and hoping to see her “son with a trust fund by the time he’s four.” She also stars in a silly music video for the track, where she house and dog-sits for a “rich bitch living on Rich Bitch Avenue,” played by Katy Perry, while she’s away in Las Vegas for “literally 24 hours.” “I was like, how can I make this storyline work? Katy made perfect sense,” Cyn says. “I’m a songwriter trying to get a start in life with my art and my music. This is her way of being there for me as a mentor.” Perry describes Cyn’s new song succinctly to Rolling Stone: “Cyn is a savant songwriter and knows how to perfectly put into words the soundtrack to your late-night Zillow scrolls, and a musical middle finger to that student loan life.” In the video, Cyn completely takes over Perry’s house and pretends to live a lavish lifestyle in the mansion, bringing in an ice sculpture of her face, a personal guru, and an Architectural Digest-inspired photoshoot. Most of the folks featured in the video are a lot of the people who actually “support my art” IRL — including her fiancé Kyle Newman, who directed the video. “You’d think it would be something special, or it would be weird, but it just felt very natural,” she says of working with her fiancée. “I thought I was gonna be more nervous because he’s seen me give birth, and now we’re doing a music video. We’re collaborating on a lot now: children and careers. It was perfect!” [via Rolling Stone]

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