‘Swim’ is a letter to Hanni’s younger self, and was written after they came out as non-binary late last year. “I wished I could have seen more representation when I was younger in order for me to get to a point where I understood myself.” Hanni explains, “The world currently doesn’t feel like a very safe place to be trans, and for that reason a lot of the dialogue around trans issues is really scary and saddening. Those stories are so necessary, but with ‘Swim’ I wanted to take a minute to express the joy that comes with learning yourself and feeling love from your community around you.”

ARXX is here to remind those coming to terms with their gender identity that it does get better, you’ll be okay, and promise that one day, you will be able to confidently “swim with your t-shirt off”.

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‘Trouble’ is about when a good thing turns bad; like a stream of consciousness through all of the feelings that come up when a relationship is breaking down. “This song felt like the most instinctive thing I’ve ever written,” says ARXX. “The palette we chose is meant to feel very affecting and visceral because we wanted the song to actually feel the changes, as well as telling the story.”

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23-year-old, Maryland-raised and LA-based songwriter Jordana Nye returns with a new single, ‘We Get By.’ A rollicking golden folk epic sprinkled with shimmering yacht rock glitter, the standalone track ushers in a new Laurel Canyon era for Jordana, who in between tours with Local Natives, Remi Wolf, TV Girl & Wallows, has been working on material since 2023. The song, which was produced by Emmett Kai, Jordana says is about “true love.” Listen and watch the affirming and perfectly tongue-in-cheek Otium-directed video below. “‘We Get By’ is about true love,” says Jordana. “It’s about leaving any materialistic things behind and basking in the appreciation of the truest loving from a pure ground zero — whether that be with yourself or with someone else. We could leave everything we have and still be happy.”

Sugar, spice, and everything nice color the vibrant music video for ‘Right Now,’ the latest release from powerhouse girl group NewJeans. The record arrives as the precursor to their forthcoming single and mini album Supernatural, which finds the five-piece performing in Japanese. Directed by Youngeum Lee, the Takashi Murakami-collaborated video follows NewJeans as their animated counterparts mix up ingredients to create the perfect concoction to cure Hanni’s broken heart. At the start of the visual, the singer makes a brave first move and invites her crush over to watch a movie, but when she only gets a flower emoji back in response, it sends the group on a collective mission to decipher what the cluster of colors could possibly mean. “Your chance is here and now,” NewJeans warns on the song’s second verse, reminding their romantic prospects that time is of the essence. When Hanni’s crush double-texts to clarify that the flower text was an accident at the end of the video, the scene closes out with the appearance of the dreadful three-dots indicating that the other person is still typing. The cliffhanger ending sets up a world of possibility for Supernatural, out June 21. [via Rolling Stone]

MOTHICA has released a new music video. The new music video, for the track ‘Toxins,’ is taken from the Los Angeles-based alt-pop singer-songwriter’s upcoming new album, Kissing Death, which is scheduled to be released in August this year, via Heavy Heart Records/Rise Records. Speaking about the new song, the artist shares, “’Toxins’ is the first song that made the record, since I originally wrote it for a Halloween release in 2022. I loved the image of a spider singing to its freshly caught prey. It took on a new meaning with the grim reaper as this stalker or dark shadow that followed me around, even when I made strides to get better like going to therapy or getting sober. The analogue synths David Burris put in the chorus definitely inspired the sound of the record, taking influence from the darkwave genre.” [via Distorted Sound]

Brighton power duo ARXX unleash playful ‘Good Boy’ via Submarine Cat Records. This follows prior single, equally lighthearted ‘Crying In The Carwash’ and acts as a second sneak peak into a soon-to-be-announced larger project. Laden in harmonies, a hypnotic thumping beat and dripping in spicy, submissive tongue-in-cheek lyricisms, ARXX consider ‘Good Boy’ their “big gay anthem”. On the track, they say, “It’s a little bit saucy, it’s a little bit cheeky and it’s a lot of fun! It’s a song about feeling good and making other people feel good. It’s our favourite song we’ve made so far, we hope it makes you feel good.” Undeniably groovy, this suggestive tune is bound to get you on your feet. However, whilst raunchy in its auditory nature, the video takes a more literal and adorable stance on the phrase ‘Good Boy’, seeing almost a dozen dogs audition for their spot in the Good Boy Academy, featuring Hanni and Clara judging and dancing with the contenders.

Suki Waterhouse has returned with news of her second collection of mellow alt-pop following her 2022 debut I Can’t Let Go. The actress/musician will unleash Memoir of a Sparklemuffin on September 13 via Sub Pop after gaining traction on the festival circuit over the past two years. In the meantime, Waterhouse has shared the record’s first single in the form of ‘Supersad,’ a polished garage-rock anthem merging scuzzy guitars with the singer’s soaring and, well, at least a little bit sad vocals. “I tried to write a ’90s song you could hear playing at the mall in Clueless or as an opening track for Legally Blonde,” she shared upon the track’s release. The track also arrives with a music video that embraces those vibes equally well. [via FLOOD]

Self Esteem and Moonchild Sanelly have teamed up for a collaborative new single, ‘Big Man’. The song marks the first release from the former – aka Rebecca Lucy Taylor – since her BRIT and Mercury Prize-nominated 2021 album, Prioritise Pleasure, and “explores the nuances of modern masculinity and gender roles”. “I’m a big man/ Yeah, I’m a fucking big man/ What are you?” the pair sing over an electronic beat. Speaking about working with South African musician and dancer Sanelly, Taylor explained: “Me and Moon wrote a song from the perspective of a good boyfriend. The ones that are just chill and secure so they just leave you to it. The ones that don’t want a medal for doing the bins. The ones that see that you’re working your tits off so they go and get yet another thing you’ve ordered and missed the delivery of from the post office. The ones that don’t take your success as a direct threat to their existence. To me, this is real masculinity.” She continued: “We have both collaborated with Johan Karlberg on our records and I’m so grateful to him for introducing us, it was a joy to make this song together.” ‘Big Man’ arrives with an official music video, which Taylor described as “an inverse ‘I Want To Break Free’” by Queen – referring to the band’s iconic 1984 visuals. The clip sees the two artists undertake various household chores while donning oversized suits. [via NME]

To usher in the official start of summer, Pop-rulebreaker UPSAHL makes her long awaited return with a brand new single and accompanying music video titled ‘Summer so hot,’ out now via RCA Records UK. ‘Summer so hot’ kicks off a new era for UPSAHL as she demonstrates her sonically elevated new sound. Destined to be played on a speaker out by the pool in warm weather, the track is a sexy summer anthem showcasing UPSAHL’s breezy vocals, impressive breath work with packed lyrical verses and an electro-infused bassline keeping the beat. The music video, replete with fans, ice cubes, and popsicles, emphasizes the sweltering heat UPSAHL is doing her best to cool off from. Alternating between a poolside dance party (from which you can see the detritus of the previous night’s debauchery strewn across the lawn) and a sensual video shoot in the cool confines of the house, UPSAHL perfectly encapsulates what a typical summer hang looks like in the throes of soaring temps. On the track, UPSAHL shares: “I wrote ‘Summer so hot’ in the middle of winter in London. I was feeling nostalgic for that perfect summer day where all fucks fly out the window, you’re just being present with friends, and escaping to wherever the day takes you.”

Italian-born, London-based riser Sans Soucis has shared another preview of their forthcoming debut album Circumnavigating Georgia, which now has a confirmed release date of October 9. New track ‘If I Let A White Man Cut My Hair’ is a homage to the significance of nurturing Black communities, and a testament to how even small, everyday acts can serve to resist structural marginalisation. “I think when you build your personality around everything that society wants you to be, then you also agree to a lot of norms that don’t belong to you,” Sans Soucis – aka Giulia Grispino – has said of the laid-back, groove-infused single. “But to really own my narrative, I needed to move on because I didn’t want the society I live in to tell my story for me”. [via DIY]

Multi-artist talker recently dropped her debut album, I’m Telling You The Truth. Along with the album’s arrival, she has shared a video fot ‘Return to Sender.’ Directed by Sylvie Krakow and choreographed by Nadine Olmo. talker’s Celeste Tauchar on the video: “I worked on the Return to Sender video with my good friend Sylvie who also directed the ‘TWENTYSOMETHING’ video. We already have a relationship where we really push each other to go for crazy concepts in our work, and I love working with her so much because she doesn’t think any idea is too much. She’s always going to find a way to make it work, and I’m the same way. Sylvie instantly saw the funeral idea when she heard this song, and together we unpacked the idea of having a funeral for my relationships and my emotions. We paid homage to the album’s intro track, which encapsulates putting to rest all of the experiences and negative moments in my past that I unpack in the record. We brought in Nadine Olmo to choreograph the dance, which of course was amazing. She’s worked with Olivia Rodrigo, Blink-182, PVRIS Tinashe, just so so many amazing artists and it was both intimidating and a huge honor to work with her, and that she wanted to be part of it.” Celeste tapped into her dance background, but it’s been a long time since she used her body in a way to physically tap into emotions. “It brought me to a whole different plane with expressing the song and getting back into the headspace, because I wasn’t just singing the lyrics and thinking about them. The song was seeping out of every part of my body and I really felt drained the next day, physically and emotionally. But I’m so happy with how it turned out, and I think it’s the most fitting way to paint the full picture for this song and really tell the whole story. And since it’s coming out the same day as my album, I wanted it to be as honest and raw as possible.” [via Northern Transmissions]

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It’s every artist’s dream to support one of their musical heroes. This song, produced by long-term collaborator Steven Ansell (Blood Red Shoes) and mastered by Katie Tavini (Arlo Parks), is a celebration of when that exact fantasy came to life for them. ARXX fondly and lightheartedly recount the memory that inspired the track, sharing, “’Crying in the Carwash’ is about the moment we found out we’d be supporting one of our favourite bands in the world, MUNA, and Hanni cried at the nice man in the Car Wash.”

They continue, “It’s a celebration of your dreams coming true and making all the hard parts worth it. Being in a band isn’t always glamorous and you have to sacrifice a lot but when these moments happen it’s like a high you’ve never experienced. Pure joy.”

The song comes paired with an outrageously hilarious and playful video filmed by Rosie Powell. ARXX can be seen advertising a queer friendly car wash, where Hanni skillfully spins a ‘CARWASH’ sign, and Clara dresses to the nines in an inflatable dancing Tube Man costume. They’re later joined by friends, including previous collaborator crysometimes, to parody a sexy auto cleaning service, featuring wet translucent white shirts, body scrub downs with sponges, over the top sultriness and exaggerated flirting with both the vehicle and the camera.

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Toying with a not-so-quintessentially-ARXX sound, the duo claim that ‘God Knows’ is “one of the most adventurous tracks on our record.” The track, produced by Steve Ansell (Blood Red Shoes) and mastered by Katie Tavini, is built on foundations laid by some of the band’s favourite pop artists. “We really pushed ourselves to step into Dua Lipa’s shoes. We were able to live our Cher dreams and dive into the world of auto tune and swoopy synths.”

Ultimately, the playful, atmospheric tune covers the heartfelt topic of amorous pressure. ARXX states, “It’s about the tension between two people who really care for each other, trying to move through their differences.”

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‘Ride or Die’, which the band say is their favourite song they’ve ever written, follows on from their last bodies of work, infectious break-up anthem ‘The Last Time’, ‘Call Me Crazy’ ft. Pillow Queens, and ‘Couldn’t Help Myself’, which was released via non-profit label Share It Music, whose proceeds went to Gendered Intelligence, a charity dedicated to increasing understanding of gender diversity and improving trans people’s quality of life.

Commenting on the track, ARXX say, “To us it’s about a lot of things, primarily it speaks about the kind of commitment and dedication to something you love, that means there is no possible or conceivable way that you would give up on it. In one breath it is an unapologetic celebration of queer love, and in the next breath it expresses the unwavering determination that we both hold for our band.”

The band also nodded to their musical influences for the song, saying, “A huge inspiration to this song and to the band in general comes from Sister Rosetta Tharpe. She is the reason Hanni plays electric guitar. The combination of classic rock and roll and references to Church are a nod to her and her influence on the band.”

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The tune, produced by long-term collaborator Steve Ansell (Blood Red Shoes), and mastered by Katie Tavini (Arlo Parks), is an infectious package of bittersweet emotions, teeming with sparkling, uplifting synths, unapologetic bass licks and soaring vocals designed to envelop the listener in a empathetic blanket of cathartic-yet-ambivalent post-heartbreak warmth. ‘The Last Time’ plays with lyrical dissonance, juxtaposing feelings of dejection, self-pity and acceptance with elevating instrumentals.

On the song, ARXX say, “‘The Last Time’ is a candid insight into heartbreak and letting go. It’s a track that encompasses sadness but also a lot of joyfulness. It was so freeing writing in a way that was so autobiographical, which felt really appropriate for the song. We tried to make the music feel euphoric, to mirror the feeling of release when you’re finally able to let go and move on.”

Ride Or Die:

1. Deep
2. Not Alone
3. God Knows
4. Ride or Die
5. Call Me Crazy ft. Pillow Queens
6. Stuck On You
7. What Have You Done
8. Never Want To Go Back
9. The Last Time
10. Iron Lung
11. Outro

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