Confidence Man, the Australian electro-pop mavericks, now based in London, have released ‘Sicko,’ the latest single from their new third album 3 AM (LA LA LA), out now via Casablanca. While known for their high-octane, dance-infused sound, ‘Sicko’ embraces a more subtle ‘90s indie-dance crossover vibe, a little less frenetic than much of the album but still unhinged and unmistakably Confidence Man. The single arrives alongside a stunning black-and-white video that almost resembles what might happen if you tried to make a musical based on Reservoir Dogs and Trainspotting—stylish, edgy with a gritty film noir sensibility and laced with a dark, twisted sense of humor. [via Under The Radar]

Ellie Dixon releases her new single and video for ‘Renaissance’, kicking off her energised new era of music. Mixed by Manon Grandjean (FLO, Cat Burns, Stormzy), ‘Renaissance’ soars with Ellie’s newfound and inspiring display of self-assuredness and self-confidence; “I’m in my renaissance, I got a new paint job”. Always refreshingly open about her experiences with anxiety and depression, especially on tracks like ‘Green Grass’, ‘‘Big Lizard Energy’ and ‘Dopamine’, this is the same beloved Ellie, but with a mediaeval twist and a wealth of life experiences, “On this day a great knight hath fallen, but an even greater knight hath risen”. “Renaissance is a musical phoenix from the ashes”, Ellie says. Grabbing the listener by the throat from her first uttering, expertly juxtaposed with a backdrop of sonic shimmering, ‘Renaissance’ opens with “Took a sword to the chest, bled out on my double bed, a hero’s got to fall I guess”. After unexpectedly parting ways with her label Decca Records earlier this year, Ellie “went through quite a deep depression while processing”. She elaborates: “after the pain came relief, a sense that this would let me carve my creative path. And then one 2am, after coming back from a Doja Cat concert, Renaissance was born. I was feeling inspired by her mix of magical soundscaping and grounded groove, so I put my twist on it. I blended the softness and hardness of the pain of rejection and change. I wanted to write a victory song, not a sad song. This was the beginning, not the end.”

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Sorry. In 2022, the British indie rock band released Anywhere But Here. In July of last year, they shared ‘Screaming In The Rain Again,’ a revised version of the track ‘Screaming In The Rain.’ Now, they’re back with a trippy song called ‘Waxwing,’ out now via Domino. ‘Waxwing’binterpolates a set of lyrics from Toni Basil’s ‘Hey Mickey.’ About it, Asha Lorenz says, “Mickey is desire ? Mickey is the bomb? Mickey makes me money? Mickey makes my songs? Mickey makes a poem? Mickey in the drugs ? Mickey is liar ? Mickey making love? Mickey is desire ?” The mischievous earworm — which, I think, is a (convincing) attempt to seduce Mickey Mouse — is paired with an equally eccentric music video directed and produced by FLASHA. [via Stereogum]

f5ve have released their new single ‘UFO’ via LDH Records. The track, co-produced by BloodPop, A.G. Cook, and Nomak, is inspired by Japan’s popular claw game machines, and follows on from previous singles ‘Lettuce’ and ‘Underground’. The accompanying music video, directed by Charlotte Rutherford and Crystalline Structures Studio, depicts f5ve as extraterrestrial beings abducting Tokyo residents with giant claws. [via Dork]

FKA Twigs has shared her new single ‘Perfect Stranger’, alongside a music video that features cameos from Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Yves Tumor. ‘Perfect Stranger’ is the latest single from Twigs’ upcoming album EUSEXUA – the long-awaited follow-up to 2019’s Magdalene – which will be released on January 24 via Young. Last month, the singer shared the album’s title track and its Jordan Hemingway-directed music video. Now, she’s given fans a second taste of the LP – with another video helmed by Hemingway. An intoxicating ode to fleeting relationships, Twigs sings: “I don’t know the name of the town you’re from/Your star sign or the school you failed/I don’t know and I don’t care,” while testing out roles as a half of different couples. Elsewhere in the video are appearances from Fleabag‘s Waller-Bridge and Yves Tumor. [via NME]

GRAMMY-nominated recording artist Ari Lennox (Dreamville/Interscope Records) makes her highly-anticipated return with her new single ‘Smoke.’ ‘Smoke’ is the first official release for Ari in 2024, following her 2023 single ‘Get Close.’ Directed by Chris Robinson, Ari is held at a mental asylum, where all the patients are running amuck, including her. Instead of sulking, Ari masterminds a plan to escape and dupes the employees during her performance. After a short hiatus, Ari is fiercer than ever, lashing back at her detractors, urging them to “f—k around and find out” on the unapologetic anthem. With ‘Smoke,’ Ari reclaims her power, showcasing her strength as a powerful Black woman beyond the booth.

It’s a superstar pop crossover! ROSÉ has officially launched her new solo era by teaming up with Bruno Mars on a new single called ‘Apt.,’ which arrived on Friday (Oct. 18). The song arrives just a day after the duo announced it, taking to Instagram to share the collaboration’s cover art. In the artwork, the BLACKPINK superstar lounges in front of a drum set, with the ‘Locked Out of Heaven’ singer sitting behind it, holding the drumsticks. The pair, who are in black-and-white against a bright pink foreground, are matching in leather jackets and white t-shirts. [via Billboard]

Rebecca Black’s ‘TRUST!’ music videos opens in court, as influencers take the stand talking about what they love, hate and admire about the pop star. In the Mean Girls-style opening monologue, one person says, “Boiler rooms used to be cool, then Rebecca Black ruined them,” while another claims she slept with Elon Musk. The hilarious testimonies break away to show Black masked up, flashing lights and bodies surrounding her, as an intense dance beat grows behind the pop star and DJ, eventually breaking into a full-on choreographed dance routine in front of the judge. “It felt only right to kick off the next project with the loudest and brashest track I’ve put out yet,” Black tells PAPER, “and ‘TRUST!’ embodies the essence of the fearlessness in this project better than anything.” To bring the spicy dance video to life, Black worked with Director Olivia De Camps, telling PAPER that it was “so seamless from the jump because she really understood the vision I had, not only for this song, but for the entire project.” Black also says that the heart of her upcoming project is about “tapping into this essence of delusion of grandeur and glamour that led the writing process for me. Everything I breathe is laced with camp these days and this concept felt like turning a narrative on its head in a fierce and unapologetic way.” [via PAPER]

JADE continues to delineate her space as a solo pop renegade, sharing her third single of the year, titled ‘Fantasy’. Produced by regular collaborator Mike Sabath, ‘Fantasy’ is an irresistible assemblage of post-gay disco liberation, processed ASMR purrs and ecstatic vocal ululations, all melting into a euphoric club-ready mix that speaks to the judgement-free zone JADE is rendering this era. It’s further proof the singer from South Shields isn’t afraid of throwing the listener a sonic curveball as she continues to flesh out a more experimental repertoire post-Little Mix. ‘Fantasy’ follows clubland classic ‘Angel Of My Dreams‘ and the noirish follow-up, ‘Midnight Cowboy‘. The former has accumulated over 50 million streams to date, entering the UK Official Singles Chart at No.7 – the third highest new entry for a British artist this year. Of her new single, JADE says: “’Fantasy’ is a love song that I wrote with dream team Pablo Bowman and Mike Sabath about feeling safe enough with your partner to shamelessly explore your fantasies! We wrote this the day after ‘AOMD’ was written, and from then on I always knew it would be the second single. I can’t wait for my fans to experience more of my musical world.” JADE will perform the track for the first time on ‘Later…with Jools Holland’ on BBC Two tomorrow evening. The accompanying video was filmed in LA and directed by the legendary David LaChapelle. It takes visual cues from ’70s soul train performances and the supernatural horror film Carrie, featuring iconic drag queen Love Connie as the villain. [via Clash]

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Tackling identity, intuition, and naivety in her new song, German-Irish singer-songwriter Sinead Ann releases her Alternative Folk debut, ‘Lemonzest.’ Through juxtaposing grim lyrics and uplifting instrumentals, Sinéad captures the initial sting of biting into a lemon and the bitter sweetness of seeing true colours. Sinéad blends harmony and dissonance to illustrate her frustration with superciality and its dark consequences. ‘Lemonzest’ takes listeners on a journey through Sinéad’s development as a musician and artist, learning to trust her intuition and break the cycle of self-sabotage. The musical accompaniment inspires imagery of Irish landscapes and creates a mystical hypnotic effect, almost making the acidic lyrics sound sweet. ‘Lemonzest’ exudes that tart feeling you get when you realise someone’s true thoughts and intentions about you. This profoundly emotional song is about refusing to entertain what does not serve you and embracing the freedom of trusting your instinct. The word ‘gorgeous’ has lost value, and the backhanded flattery no longer holds its charm.

SRSQ has shared a trippy new video for ‘Used to Love’ off this year’s very good Ever Crashing. “Cinematographer Leigh Violet and I drew on visual references from many artists, people, and real-life locations including ‘Blue Velvet’, John Waters, the Madonna Inn, Creepy Gals, Busby Berkeley, the Cramps, Jayne Mansfield, and uncanny animatronics of yesteryear,’ says SRSQ (Kennedy Ashlyn). “The video cheekily plays at the fact that through it all, in this fantasy world as in real life, I will always have my music and my cats.” [via Brooklyn Vegan]

Suki Waterhouse has shared a new video for her current single, ‘Nostalgia’. The picturesque short film takes Waterhouse through floral fields, daunting cliffsides, and broad oceans – it was filmed in Ireland and focuses primarily on natural beauty. “I’m so happy to share the ‘Nostalgia’ video directed by Émilie Richard-Froozan,” Waterhouse says. “It’s the fifth video we’ve collaborated on together. We spoke a lot about how nostalgia is a place you go, a destination. Living there is a choice one makes unapologetically. To live in nostalgia is to dig your own grave, and that’s exactly what I did. The silver lining is that only you can dig yourself out again.” Richard-Froozan himself adds: “This is the story of a woman writing a letter to her childhood love telling him that she’s getting married. She hasn’t heard from him in years and often wonders what might’ve been. I wanted something sweeping and epic and unapologetic. When Suki sent me the song, I was driving through Doolough Valley and the landscape here fit the mood of the music so well,” he continues. “The lake in Doolough had my mind gravitate toward the story of Orpheus & Eurydice and crossing the river Styx. We were also highly influenced by Wuthering Heights and the cliff scene between Heathcliff & Cathy. The whole experience was pretty magical, like the last week of summer camp with a group of old friends.” [via Dork]

Last spring, Maryland indie-pop singer-songwriter Jordana released her debut album, Face The Wall, via Grand Jury. Since that time, she’s been on the road for her own headline dates, plus dates supporting Local Natives and Wallows, and released a one-off single ‘Is It Worth It Now?’ Soon, Jordana will head back out opening for Remi Wolf, and now she’s announcing a new EP, I’m Doing Well, Thanks For Asking; it’ll be out November 11 and also features ‘Is It Worth It Now?’ The EP’s lead single is a gauzy, cathartic jam called ‘SYT,’ which has a video directed by Graham Epstein. Opening up about ‘SYT,’ Jordana says: “It channels the feelings of empowerment and emotional awareness after a tough breakup.” [via Stereogum]

Priya Ragu has released a new single, ‘Adalam Va!’, which arrived alongside a combative and energetic music video. It is her second single of the year, with ‘Illuminous’ dropping back in March, and follow’s her 2021 debut mixtape. The new track’s title roughly translates to ‘Let’s Dance!’, which explains its electrifying core of South Indian sonics fused with rattling rhythms and pop production. It was co-written and produced by her brother, Japhna Gold, and Priya recalls: “I was outside the studio one day and Japhna was working on this new beat. I stormed straight in to find out what he was working on – I was convinced it was a banga. We immediately started to write out the lyrics and before we knew it we had the track completed that day.” Elaborating on the track, she explains: “‘Adalam Va!’ is about hope in the darkest of days. It’s about the fresh energy that emerges out of these times. We wanted to express that feeling through this song and to get everyone on the dancefloor!” The vigorously choreographed music video displays a flurry of dance routines and martial arts moves brought together under the influence of international cinema. “I’ve always wanted to shoot a video where dance moves and fighting combine together, which is well out of my comfort zone,” Priya details. “It was a huge challenge for me to do these movements, with no prior experience, but we did it!” [via Dork]

Dylan experienced a much-too-keen dinner date for the new music video of her latest single, ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’. The track is the latest cut from Dylan’s recently announced mixtape, The Greatest Thing I’ll Never Learn, which is slated for release on October 28. She teased the video’s arrival via social media, asking her audience: “ARE YOU READY FOR MORE CHAOS??” [via Dork]

With upcoming shows across Europe next month, Desire are back with their new video ‘The Young & The Restless’ – the eighth visual from their Escape album, which came out earlier this year via Italians Do It Better. In a foreshadowing glimpse into her crystal ball, Megan Louise simply says “Gone…” in the opening lyric. What more is there to really say sometimes? Drenched in the gauze of reverb, the track feels like disintegrated memories from a hazy dream. Originally composed by Barry De Vorzon & Perry Botkin Jr. for a film in 1971, it’s best known as the instrumental theme song to the American soap opera of the same name; soundtracking the day time drama since 1973. Desire’s vocal version is bookended by the somber flutes of a Mellotron & the eerie warp of a String Machine on magnetic tape. As an out of tune player piano plays alone in the vacant lobby of a hotel, we see the blur of the afterlife flickering in a single candle. Theatrical melodrama, plot twists, and character themes unravel in the vanity of youth in ‘The Young & The Restless’. Climaxing with a growling ensemble of synthesis, the instruments claw their way out of the grave.

Having left her hometown in Romania to pursue her lifelong goal of making it big in the music industry, rising pop talent Sorana is living the dream. Having already penned chart-topping multi-platinum hits for the likes of The Chainsmokers, David Guetta and Charli XCX, Sorana is stepping into the spotlight with a string of solo singles. Now, Sorana returns with her latest single ‘Happy Birthday Sadness.’ Building off the dance-pop sound she’s perfected alongside producers like David Guetta and Alan Walker, ‘Happy Birthday Sadness’ serves up a glowing house beat with a bouncy bassline and cheery guitars, all topped off with a catchy vocal hook. Offering a new spin on the “crying on the dancefloor” trope, Sorana finds melancholy in what would otherwise be a traditionally happy occasion, fending off feelings of loneliness and yearning as she blows out her birthday candles. “Birthday songs are always happy but I’ve always felt kinda melancholic on my birthday especially at my party when my friends bring out the cake and say ‘make a wish’ because in that moment I think of everything that is missing,” Sorana explains. “I moved from country to country so many times that no matter what, I always end up missing someone on my birthday. Songwriting is my therapy and with my birthday coming up, I wanted to write a dramatic birthday song to express a feeling I’m sure a lot of people have felt. It’s not always popping champagne, eating cake and laughing with your friends. Sometimes you’re alone or surrounded by the wrong people, away from your family, or lover or maybe you just want to cry at midnight. ‘Happy Birthday Sadness’ is a song for anyone who has ever felt the loneliest on what’s supposed to be our happiest day.” [via PAPER]

Berlin based Mulay has shared her new IVORY EP in full. An artist with an awareness of classical music, Mulay studied in the Netherlands before immersing herself in Berlin’s creative communities. Drawn to electronic production, her artful touch lit up debut EP ANTRACYTE before Mulay secluded herself back in the studio to focus on a follow up. Out now, IVORY finds the Berlin artist moving up a level, with the enticing introductory passage leading into four assured, emotive tracks. The sound of an artist moving with incredible confidence, IVORY blends the digital with the organic, with her beautiful voice acting as a guide through this ethereal realm. Watch the video for the title track above. [via Clash]

Willow’s follow-up to last year’s Lately I Feel Everything is here. COPINGMECHANISM is her newest LP, whose anticipation was built through tons of great singles like ‘Hover Like A Goddess’ and ‘Curious/Furious.’ To accompany the release of this new record, Willow unveiled a music video for the track ‘Ur A Stranger.’ It’s a metallic, bitter heartbreak anthem that’s propelled forward with caustic riffs and Willow’s pained vocals. The video finds her expressing that frustration as fully as possible, having something of an exorcism. There’s also lots of alcohol. After the flash of chaos, the video ends with Willow getting kicked out of a bar. [via UPROXX]

chloe moriondo is sick of indie boys, and now she’s experimenting on them in her new music video, ‘Plastic Purse.’ The high-energy single comes off of moriondo’s album Suckerpunch, which is out now. From the inside of a vibrant science lab, the 20-year-old pop singer towers over the shrunken, beanie-wearing boys before dropping them in her bright plastic purse. Moriondo’s playful persona in the song, written for “girls who want to feel better about themselves, and maybe go key somebody’s car,” captures the unpredictability of the uninhibited 13-track album. Suckerpunch is moriondo’s third full-length album following 2021’s Blood Bunny and 2018’s Rabbit Hearted. Though she rose to fame with understated indie-pop and pop-punk hits, she is taking her new album in a completely different direction, drawing inspiration from the early 2000s pop stars she grew up on. Exploring self-image, obsession, and power, moriondo is trying out a new sound as she expresses her experience as a young woman in the music industry. Ahead of her tour that begins October 12, moriondo implores fans, when listening to the silly yet sincere album, to “take it and love it and dance with it, or sit with it and chew on it and spit it out. ” [via PAPER]

Even R&B Ari Lennox isn’t immune to the tomfoolery of the dating scene, as displayed in the new visual for her single ‘POF,’ from her latest album, age/sex/location. Since ‘POF’ is all about plenty of fish in the sea, the video sees Lennox go on a number of nightmare dates, from an overly zealous mini golf player (played by special guest Smino) to a Netflix N Chill hangout with a man who still lives with his mom. But there’s a glint of light on the horizon for the singer. Without revealing too much, let’s just say that things may turn around for her by the end of the video, in an unexpected way. [via udiscover]

corook has shared her sneakily catchy and heartfelt new single, ‘your mom,’ alongside a bittersweet yet heartwarming music video, starring corook and her actual girlfriend. “I wrote this song when I was dating a girl in the closet,” shared corook. “I was really fortunate to have already come out so I wanted to extend support if she wanted it, as well as the time and space to make her own decisions about it. I think the line ‘You don’t have to tell your mom about me’ can relate to so many couples in that giddy beginning, living in their little love bubble not wanting to pop it too soon. I hope this song gives people the patience, love and compassion that they truly deserve during the coming out process.” [via Prelude Press]

Singaporean indie band Sobs have released their first new material in three years with the bubble-grunge meets skater-punk title track of their upcoming album ‘Air Guitar’. Released on Friday alongside a music video, the single sees Sobs draw inspiration from Weezer, Demi Lovato and Liz Phair with a single that blends alt-pop melodies with a distinctly disenfranchised tone in lyrics like “Rewind the tape and show me all your scars / I liked you better being silly with your air guitar” and “Your lips don’t taste the same you’re no longer mine / You’re not worthy of a fight / Like the sweetness of my cherry pie / I can’t stop but I’ll try”. The music video, which was directed by Edward Khoo, sees Sobs’ frontwoman Celine Autumn dragged into a contract agreement and transformed into a model. She seems to revel in the glamour at first, before discovering that she signed over the rights to her soul. [via NME]

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17-year-old, NY-based recording artist Sky Katz has debuted the official video for new single, ‘Why Did You Call?’ A gorgeously-shot visual brimming with poignancy, heartbreak, and biting emotion, Sky delivers her strongest video to-date in a lush display of the intricacies of young love depicted as a stunning short film. Detailing the concept behind the video, of which she wrote the treatment and self-directed, Sky notes: “I had been waiting to make a short film/music video for such a long time. I just haven’t felt like I had the right song for it just yet. Once my song ‘Why Did You Call?’ came out, I realized that this would be the perfect song to make my vision come true. I had in my head exactly what I wanted the video to be and look like. I created a treatment, secured the locations and talent both behind and in front of the camera, including Savannah LaRain who co stars with me on our Netflix series Surviving Summer. We play love interests in my film, which I am so excited to share with my fans. An important part of the inspiration behind this video is for people see a story normalizing young, gay love because it’s so much more rare to see than the usual straight storylines. Whether you relate on a personal level or if you’re just seeing how normal and healthy a same sex relationship is, I find it extremely important to represent and show a relationship like this, especially knowing a large part of my demographic are young kids. I am very pleased with how the video turned out, and I think/hope everyone is going to love it.”

Sydney-based artist Ainsley Farrell has shared her latest single and video ‘Buffet’. This is the second single from her sophomore album, Dirt, set to be released early 2023. Ainsley had this to say about ‘Buffet’: “This song came from a place of feeling angry, powerless and minimized after a few different experiences where men thought they could violate my space and then just go about their day. The main experience the song touches on is when an old man hit on me at a buffet by comparing me to the food. I made excuses for the men who inappropriately hit on me, groped me, and shoved me. Singing this song helps me take back my power and stand up to them when I wasn’t able to at the time.”

After emerging as a viral phenomenon, 20-year-old Mississippi-born and Nashville-based singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Sarah Cothran has released the official video for her debut single ‘Baby Why’ via Republic Records. On the track written by Cothran, she leans into a classic throwback vibe with a resounding refrain punctuated by her dynamic vocal range. About the video Sarah commented, “I was inspired by a lot of vintage sounds when I was writing and producing ‘Baby Why’ and I knew I wanted to carry that out into the visuals surrounding the song. In the music video I’m arguing with ‘my boyfriend’ on the phone while watching television. The song involves a lot of back and forth in a toxic relationship and I feel like the beginning scenes really captured that. I then start zoning out and imagining myself in different TV channels. I wanted to make sure to keep a nice balance of the 50’s era inspirations while also staying true to me, and this felt like the perfect way to do so. It was such a cool way to show my personality and combine a lot of the time periods that inspire me in both music and fashion. I got to dress up in so many different outfits and makeup looks so it was like a teenage dream come true!”

At just 17 years old, up-and-comer flowerovlove is quickly blossoming into everyone’s chic, new bedroom-pop fav. Drawing inspiration from artists like Tame Impala, the artist’s love of nature and an earnest approach to songwriting has her living up to her namesake, reflecting the beauty and natural growth of a flower. Coming off the back of her previous single, ‘Hannah Montana,’ flowerovlove returns with her latest offering, ‘Get With You.’ Full of sunny guitars, hand claps and a punchy refrain, the psych-pop confection sees the artist curiously muse over a burgeoning crush with a playful mix of nostalgia and wistfulness. “‘Get With You’ is a mindset of going after something you want,” flowerovlove explains. “Needing, wanting and urging to ‘get with it.'” The track arrives alongside a new visual directed by the artist’s brother, Wilfred Cisse, that shows flowerovlove followed by an obsessed doppelganger from London to Los Angeles. Equal parts Scooby Doo hijinks and David Lynchian existential horror, the music video juxtaposes the song’s light-hearted atmosphere with a mounting sense of paranoia, as flowerovlove’s stalker escalates from popping out of a pool and drinking her leftover tea to hiding out in bathrooms and eerily looming in her backyard. “The ‘Get With You’ visual is a metaphor for chasing after your higher self, chasing after the person you want to be, your dreams and your goals,” the artist says. “Joyce is going after flowerovlove from London to LA to pursue her dreams.” [via PAPER]

With three EPs to their name and having shared stages with the likes of Grinspoon, Amyl & The Sniffers, Clowns, Cosmic Psychos, DZ Deathrays, WAAX and many more, it would seem like the time for alt-punk-rock four-piece VOIID to release an album may be edging near… which now we get the first taste of in the form of new single and video ‘Lexapro’. A nostalgic and chaotically harmonious cut of 90s leaning alt rock goodness, ‘Lexapro’ pairs clean tremolo guitar lines with big distorted riffs and an undeniable anthemic chorus with vocal powerhouse Anji Greenwood’s irresistible delivery the sonic cherry on top. Of the single the band explain, “’Lexapro’ is a huge rant about coming to terms with the realisation of what place women hold in the world, struggling with the intricacies of your mental health and the frustration that comes with wanting to open up but fearing if people will listen. It’s about feeling forever unheard, forever less than, forever inadequate”. ‘Lexapro’ comes with an appropriately fun and trippy video, channelling a little bit of ‘Black Hole Sun’ by Soundgarden vibes across it’s fever dream style visuals and rotating scenes that are sure to remain in your mind long after the video finishes. [via Pilerats]

Black Honey have returned with new single ‘Charlie Bronson’, which marks the group’s first outing of 2022. ‘Charlie Bronson’ is Black Honey’s first new release since their Written & Directed album landed in March last year, and is teamed with a Craig Hemming-directed video. Lead vocalist Izzy B. Phillips says of the new outing, “There’s a personality in my head that feels like Britain’s most notorious prisoner. Sometimes I can’t make sense of anything. It’s a bind of frustration from having to constantly present myself in a way that society accepts. My mind works differently. I say all the wrong things. I hate being ‘ladylike’. I was punished so much for what I know to be my good qualities; a strong minded neurodivergent person who is creative, inquisitive, excitable and in my own universe.” “I was medicated, my shine dimmed and I began to see how the world rewards women who turn invisible,” she adds. “‘Charlie Bronson’ is my rage.” [via Line Of Best Fit]

Singer-songwriter-producer Nina Diaz, premieres new alternative/rock video single ‘Holy Mary Mother In Me’ as a declaration of autonomy in the face of laws rescinding abortion rights. The track which recalls artists like Stone Temple Pilots, Kate Bush, PJ Harvey, Babes in Toyland, stems from her upcoming studio album titled, I Could Be You, You Could Be Me, which drops on August 18. On writing and performing the song ‘Holy Mary Mother In Me’ Nina Diaz says: “I have a chaotic spiritual practice. I pull, with respect, from many religions and form what make sense to me. Mother Mary in Catholicism represents strength to me and goddess energy. Archangel Michael helps cut energetic cords that stop you from moving on or healing. When I first wrote this song, I was in the process of breaking free from authority. Now this song means even more to me when I perform since people in power are banning certain rights for women in Texas. There have been times on tour, or here at home, when passing an abortion clinic, anti-choice groups would not only carry photos of fetuses, but they would hold up images of Mother Mary. Yes, in Catholicism she does represent purity and life. But to me she also represents strength, choice, individuality and courage. Considering the recent ban on abortions in Texas, I feel this song, and the symbolism in this video represents the frustration of what it feels like when someone tells you what you can or cannot do with your own body. Especially when you are feeling lost, or stuck, or at a crossroads. As I mentioned before, Mother Mary is a badass in my eyes, and I am interpreting what it’s like to break free from the fears of others, and to have the right to make decisions for your own life.” The video was directed and edited by Nina Diaz, and was shot with the help of camera assistants Carly Garza and Ann Correa. Discussing the video production Diaz says: “There is much symbolisms in this video. I draw inspiration from Pamela Colman Smith’s illustrations used for tarot card decks. I also bring back the theme of “shadow work” as I include a shadow dance as part of the visuals. I want to share how the tarot cards are interpreted here: Two of Swords represents a stalemate, truce or being at a crossroads. Three of Swords represents a fundamentally sorrowful experience. Eight of Swords a feeling of being trapped and victimized. Ten of Swords represents destruction, being pinned down by a multitude of things or situations. I cut the ties binding me as the Eight of Swords, freeing myself to make a choice and embrace my power after feeling lost for so long.”

Night School’s forthcoming third album Invoke clearly reflects the band’s come-up within various West Coast rock circles, with the scuzzy sunshine pop of Best Coast and the tunneling shoegaze of Nothing both rearing their heads on the album’s early singles. The second single from the project arrives today, with ‘Tunnel Vision’ hitting that balance perfectly, thanks in part to production from ex-Nothing instrumentalist Nick Bassett. “‘Tunnel Vision’ just sort of spilled out of my head one night,” the band’s Sarah Vyeda shares, noting that the pandemic inspired her to spend more time with her guitar. “After I had written out the rhythm and lyrics, it came together pretty quickly and was one of the first songs we recorded for Invoke. I love the heaviness and chaos music can convey, and I wanted to feel that when writing my first song.” The track arrives with a visual directed by the band which blends Midsommar’s sense of sunlit horrors with the dreamstate imagery (and, notably, the white dresses) of Picnic at Hanging Rock. [via FLOOD]

Early in 2020, during the twilight hours of an otherwise uneventful Sunday, the sky turned a lurid shade of orange with the air carrying greater qualities of smoke than a West Auckland shed party. The sun grew so dim you’d be convinced it was barely a spark from a Bic lighter, blotted out by a thick blanket of smog which had drifted trans-Tasman from the bushfires raging in Australia. Given the extremely low light and poor visibility, I didn’t even think it was a good idea to drive that day let alone film a music video. However, that is exactly what dream-pop sensations CRUSH and co-director Martin Sagadin decided to do, setting their haunting, dub-infused new single ‘Abstract Oils’ to the backdrop of weather conditions fit to hail in an apocalypse. CRUSH, if you haven’t yet crossed paths with them, is something of a “supergroup”. Comprised of Richard Larsen and Bevan Smith from Ōtautahi’s Glass Vaults, Charlotte Forrester of Pōneke sibling ensemble Womb and Cory Champion (Borrowed cs), the band serve lush, ethereal melodies with rich textural depth. The ghostly vocal harmonies of ‘Abstract Oils’ weave between each other, wistfully pulling the listeners attention between acoustic elements as they arrive and depart from the mix. It’s engaging listening which floats breezily from movement to movement — not unlike the several thousand square kilometres of bushfire smoke that showed up just in time to shoot one of the most beautiful music videos you’ll see this year. [via Under The Radar]

Christabel (the solo moniker of Tāmaki Makaurau’s Christabel Williams) has unveiled spiky new soul-pop anthem ‘JEALOUS’, along with an eye-popping video co-starring Stranger Things actor Konstantin Podprugin. Flexing her acting skills in director Mason Cade Packer’s clip filmed with friends in LA, there’s definite shades of John Waters’ Serial Mom as Christabel prepares an outrageously gross dinner for her cheating hubby in the couple’s cosy ’60s retro suburban home. Stacking the catchy hooks and sawtooth synths perilously high, hit play on the knives-out visuals made with support from NZ On Air below and be aware of the accompanying content warning: mild adult themes, blood and cannibalism… Christabel says: “This song, unlike most of mine, is not based on personal experience this time! Jealous was carved from observing toxic relationships between friends and people I knew. The kind of relationship that really isn’t ever going to work, the kicking, screaming, on and off again, absolute chalk and cheese kind of relationship. This was my chance to put myself in their shoes, become a whole new character, and then do the same on-screen.” [via Under The Radar]

R&B singer and Dreamville associate Ari Lennox released her debut album, Shea Butter Baby, back in 2019, and she’s spent the past couple years putting out some loose singles. Now, she’s announced her sophomore album, age/sex/location, which will be out on September 9. It looks like out of that long string of singles, only ‘Pressure’ made the cut for the album, but now she is sharing another new track, the seductive and smooth ‘Hoodie,’ whose chorus goes like this: “Can I fit in that hoodie? I’m tryna get in that hoodie.” The track’s music video co-stars Isaiah Rashad. [via Stereogum]

Following a tantalizing pair of singles, Philly-based women punk rockers Vixen77 announce their highly anticipated debut album Easy Access, out October 14. Distributed via Megaforce Records (Metallica, Anthrax, Meat Puppets, Dirty Honey, Plush, etc.), the album features twelve tumultuous tracks recorded in an impressive seventy-two hours at Retro City Studios (Mannequin Pussy, Mitski, Lizzo, The Menzingers) that navigate life through love and rock ‘n’ roll. Alongside the news, they also shared their latest taste of the project with the single and video ‘Some Days’. A back-and-forth ripper, the track is about preserving one’s mental health, and accepting that some days, it’s okay to not be okay. The band expands, “It’s about mental health and how you have to try to be okay all the time. Some days you don’t because you don’t want to, and some days you won’t because you’re unable to.”

Sylvan Esso let their freak selves shine with the release of a resounding new album, No Rules Sandy. Created primarily over the course of three weeks that Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn spent in a small Los Angeles rental home at the beginning of 2022, it is both the fastest the band has ever made a record, and the most uninhibited. “Even if we weren’t feeling good, we would just sit down and try to make something,” Meath says. “Pretty much every day that we did that, we got a song that we liked.” Out now on Loma Vista Recordings, No Rules Sandy is accompanied by a thrilling music video for the standout ‘Echo Party’. Directed by Lindsey Nico Mann (Major Lazer, Silk City, Teenage Wrist, Dirty Projectors, Alice Glass), the visual follows Meath as she raves from a downtown, warehouse dancefloor to the mossy ground of an otherworldly forest. Over wobbling bass, warbling vocals and ecstatic promise of a party you may never be able to leave, an exhilarating tension emerges between the lightness and darkness of a good time.

Danish superstar MØ has today released Motordrome: The Dødsdrom Edition, an expanded version of her recent album Motordrome, alongside a new single ‘Spaceman’, which are both out now via RCA. Featuring the 1996 #1 hit by Babylon Zoo, MØ’s new single ‘Spaceman’ is an upbeat and eccentric track that feels like an alternate reality rave and is accompanied by a mesmerising and dramatic video by Fa & Fon, who also directed the ‘New Moon’ video. MØ says: “I wrote my version of the song with Noonie Bao, Ilsey Juber, and Oscar Holter, building on the original version written by Jas Mann. It was Oscar Holter who had the brilliant idea to use the hook from Babylon Zoo’s cult classic ‘Spaceman’ as the chorus, and we all loved that idea! We wrote our demo back in 2017, but the timing just didn’t feel right. Then came 2022, and all of a sudden, I was like “it’s now!” We decided to rework the production a little bit – describing the vibe we were going for as “Gotham rave party” – and that’s how we arrived at the final version.”

Bella Poarch has released her EP Dolls, as well as a new music video for her track, ‘Living Hell’. The new EP includes previously released tracks ‘Build A Bitch’, ‘Inferno’ as well as title track ‘Dolls’. New single, ‘Living Hell’ also features on the EP as well as tracks ‘Villain’ and ‘No Man’s Land’, which features Grimes. “I’m really excited to release my first EP after starting this journey during lockdown,” Poarch said. “Dolls is my personal story of challenges and growth over time that I hope my fans can relate to.” In the sinister video for Bella’s latest single, ‘Living Hell’, the TikTok star is trapped in a room, something she’s previously discussed experiencing in childhood. According to a release, the video is meant to depict Poarch seeing her younger self, and realizing “the pain inflicted on her as a child no longer defines her life.” [via NME]

Jackie Cohen has unveiled her new single ‘The Valley’, which is taken from the upcoming album Pratfall. The track features Weyes Blood’s Natalie Mering on the 12-string guitar as well as backing vocals from Shaun Fleming (aka Diane Coffee). Check out its Marly Ludwig-directed video above. Discussing ‘The Valley’, Cohen explained in a statement: “This folk song is for the Valley girls and Ventura Boulevard pervs. It’s my most autobiographical song. A love letter within the context of Stockholm Syndrome. When I wrote this song, I was listening to a lot of Joni Mitchell and Radiohead and Paul Simon, all artists who have mastered the glitteringly pretty and haunted song about being back in a town. This song, for me, is like those big amalgamated memory sequences that happen in “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “Vanilla Sky.” Both films are about these deeply melancholic characters who aren’t ready to reckon with themselves, and they kick and thrash and self-sabotage until they are so badly injured that they elect to undergo fantastic dystopian medical procedures meant to erase their pain and affect ignorant bliss. There is no bliss. Their formative memories bubble up and mash together and distort and zombify. When I wrote ‘The Valley,’ I was just beginning to notice the bubbling. It’s a sentimental song about the catastrophe of realizing who you are a second too late and the weirdly serene experience of looking back in grief as everything unravels. For a while, it really felt like I had escaped the trappings of my upbringing. It really annoys me how everything really does boil down to childhood. I think it’s really cool that we made an orchestral piece without an orchestra.” [via Our Culture Mag]

Mia Rodriguez has shared her third single for the year, ‘I LUV U’. “Loving people is hard, sometimes it can hurt – so much so, that it tears emotions in two different directions,” Rodriguez explained in a statement accompanying the track, which oscillates between acoustic guitar-driven verses and a heavily-distorted refrain. “[The lyric] ‘I love you so much I want to punch you in the face‘ isn’t literal, but it symbolises the overwhelming feelings which you can be impacted by from love,” she added. ‘I LUV U’ arrives alongside a Josh Harris-directed music video, which sends Rodriguez back to high school and has the feel of a horror film. “It was fun to take this video into a darker place that symbolises the overwhelming feelings that can be triggered by love,” Rodriguez said of the video. [via NME]

A dark angel has fallen straight into the pop charts. With twisted lyrics contemplating love, life, and death, DeathbyRomy sings and screams harmonies over tracks mixed with industrial noise. After working with Capitol Records on two recent releases, Love u — to Death and Songs For My Funeral, Romy Flores is back to being an independent artist, creating without boundaries—an approach that lead to her sexiest and most abrasive track to date, ‘No Mercy.’ In the song, Flores brought melodrama to hardcore, gently singing morbid lyrics: “Your nightmare is the man of my dreams / It turns me on when he makes you bleed / Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the sickest bitch of all.” Following the steps of City Morgue, Flores is continuing to reinvent nu metal by instituting a guitar riff, screaming an almost Korn-like chorus and following a catchy pop structure. Adding more metal into her sound is a route that works well for the DeathbyRomy persona Flores fabricated at age 15. ‘No Mercy’ is explosive and electronic, appealing to the highly online culture of her generation. She is neither emo nor goth, both words never resonated with her—unlike the outcast label she recalls receiving in high school. Due to the bullying, Flores sought refuge in an online community—and after dropping out and earning her GED, she has emerged as an edgy pop star known for playing with trap and rock and roll simultaneously. With the track’s music video—a Phobia Films production directed by Flores herself, Gnarlos Wright, and Rake—released today, DeathbyRomy will be seen dancing in a cool-toned trailer park, lying on an abandonded railroad tracks, and locked up with her dangerous lover. She’s surrounded by neighbors, including little girls in babydoll dresses carrying rifles. It’s chaotic and creepy with vomited blood and strobe light flashes. [via Document]

London singer-songwriter Salt Ashes follows up previous single ‘Body Says’ with a new electrifying single ‘Didn’t See It Coming,’ The songstress spoke about it embodying her toxic take on a love song. Salt Ashes explains: “‘Didn’t See It Coming’ is my f*cked up version of a love song. It’s how an unexpected love managed to pull me away from a way of life I thought I wasn’t ready to leave until they slapped me in the face… metaphorically, of course.” Love flows in the air and latches on you when you least expect it. As Salt Ashes puts in, it usually blinds our judgment until we get metaphorically slapped in the face. The beginning ‘Didn’t See It Coming’ has the creeping escalation of what falling in love could sound like. [via Indie Music]

Canadian superstar Carly Rae Jepsen released a brand-new single last week, ‘Beach House,’ to promote her upcoming studio album The Loneliest Time. She had previously released ‘Western Wind’ just in time for her set at Coachella 2022, but ‘Beach House’ is keeping the momentum going even further for the album. In the music video for ‘Beach House,’ Jepsen is first seen having a conversation with two other women who are in committed relationships. While they reminisce about being single and think that Jepsen is living her best life, the singer notes that it isn’t easy out there in the dating scene. “You guys don’t know what it’s like out there,” Jepsen argues, before breaking out to sing her latest song. ‘Beach House’ is all about the roller-coaster ride of being single. Going on dates and meeting guys who she’s not into, who are taken, or who overpromise and underdeliver. Ultimately, these men are bound to “hurt your feelings,” Jepsen sings. [via Pride]

M.I.A. takes on influencer culture with the release of her new single ‘Popular,’ the latest preview of her upcoming album MATA. The track arrives with a creepy music video starring an “influencer-bot-in-training” fittingly named M.A.I. Over an uptempo dance beat propelled forward by tribal drums and celebratory horns, the British-Tamil artist sarcastically regurgitates empty phrases that often pour out of the mouths of influencers. “Love me like I love me,” she sings on the chorus. “Suddenly it’s about me/ You wanna be around me/ ‘Cause I love myself/ I’m living my best life.” In the music video, M.I.A. trains her robot counterpart by showing M.A.I. how to dance more fluidly and rap along to ‘Popular.’ At one point, that means reducing the influencer bot’s screen time. By the end of the clip, the fed-up musician decides it’s all an exercise in futility. Watch the Arnaud Bresson-directed clip above. [via Consequence]

Legendary indie rock group Yeah Yeah Yeahs recently released a brand new music video for their latest single, ‘Burning.’ This new single is off of their highly anticipated fifth album Cool It Down, the band’s first new album in nine years, which releases on September 30. The music video for ‘Burning,’ directed by musician Cody Critcheloe, is incredibly visually impressive, to say the least. The video features amazing choreography, set design and visual effects. These things, when combined with the creative use of colors and occasional subtitled dialogue for the characters within the video, create an incredible visual experience that is both surreal and energetic, fitting the song ‘Burning,’ incredibly well. [via mxdwn]

Australian queer pop artist Hallie introduces their brand-new single/music video, ‘Do It,’ a song capturing the longing for a romantic response. Hallie explains, “I wrote ‘Do it’ about trying to get into the swing of dating again and the child-like nerves of flirting. I was experiencing loneliness while simultaneously wanting to explore my sexuality and make new connections. I find that stage just as exciting as it is scary and confronting and this song is me being honest with how I was feeling and giving myself a push toward exploring those crushes.” The video for ‘Do It,’ co-directed by Hallie and Lili Pedrazzini, depicts Hallie at once elated over their new crush and frustrated by the lack of reciprocity. ‘Do It’ opens on emerging, trickling guitars topped by a soft, echoing voice. As the tune ramps up, it takes on the contagious heft and energy of alt-pop flavored with hints of alt-rock. Vaguely reminiscent of Liz Phair, the song pushes out potent leitmotifs intermingled with gentle, shimmering chapters. Hallie’s crème de la crème voice imbues the lyrics with deliciously nuanced tones, alluring and evocative. [via Guitar Girl Mag]

Singer-songwriter ella jane has shared a new video for ‘How Do I Lose You’ off her forthcoming project marginalia coming out October 28 via FADER Label (Clairo, Matt and Kim). Of the track, ella jane says, “‘How Do I Lose You’ is a quintessential example of how much I love to pair fairly unhappy lyrics with upbeat, danceable music. I get such a kick out of tricking the listener like that. So despite its quick pace and jumpy melody, the track is really about the anxiety of being in an undefined, ‘let’s see where this goes’ type of (non-)relationship.” Ella continues, “Musically, it’s definitely one of my poppier efforts, but I love the way the production kind of indie-fies it. Part of that is actually thanks to Orla Gartland (although I don’t think she knows it yet); I was really inspired by this video she posted a while back where she explains how she duct-taped the strings of an upright piano to create this muted, mallet-y sound in her song ‘More Like You.’ I tried the trick on my piano at home, and soon started bringing a roll of duct tape with me every time I went to the studio. It immediately became a really big component of the texture of ‘How Do I Lose You,’ and later many other tracks on my forthcoming project.” The video, directed by Aerin Moreno (Girlpool), mirrors this combo of lighthearted and doubt, with a very camp alien encounter that could have gone in a much more gruesome direction. It’s easy to laugh along with ella… the over-the-top makeup of the Seuss-like alien as he peeks through the window conveys the absurdity of how the non-relationship has become the norm. If we’re not laughing – if we’re not jamming to upbeat melodies – we’re crying. And now’s not the time for tears. [via Northern Transmissions]

Los Angeles pop star MIZZI is treating us to a vibrant end to the summer with her newest video for ‘BOMB.’ Directed by Adam Shattuck, the visual follows MIZZI as she embraces confidence, allowing listeners to dive into her world and feel just as empowered. With inviting graphics and a rain of color, the video is also a perfect representation of MIZZI’s sound – electric, capturing and fun. ‘BOMB’ is the most recent video off MIZZI’s previously released LP, SUGAR HIGH. “The ‘BOMB’ music video was so much fun to shoot,” MIZZI recalls. “We wanted it bright and colorful for the summer with an edge. The set, dancers and giant lollipops really made the song come to life.”

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