Opening with nothing more than Asha’s dreamy vocal and an acoustic guitar, ‘Cool Guy’ immediately draws the listener into its intimate world. As subtle drums gradually join the arrangement, the song steadily gathers momentum, blossoming into a stirring climax without ever losing the tenderness that makes its opening so captivating. While described as alt-country, its sound sits much closer to atmospheric indie folk, allowing its heartfelt songwriting to take centre stage.

There’s a warmth running through ‘Cool Guy’ that lingers long after it ends, conjuring images of open fields bathed in the soft glow of sunset. Gentle, reflective and effortlessly moving, it’s another compelling glimpse into what promises to be a remarkable album.

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After releasing her debut album, Ego Ride, in 2024, Jefferies toured the UK, Europe and the US, and supported Courtney Barnett, Soccer Mommy, Hana Vu and Middle Kids. She returned to the UK to record Desire Is An Angel with producer Tom Iansek (Big Scary, #1 Dads). Co-produced by Jefferies and Iansek, the album is a showcase for Jefferies’ sophisticated indie rock and folk-pop songcraft. It’s both more sonically ambitious and more intimately personal than its predecessor.

On ‘Art of Suggestion’, one of the record’s most classic-sounding pop songs, Jefferies plays with the imaginative potential of desire. “I wrote Art of Suggestion about being swept away by the undertow of desire. Before confirmation is revealed and you know someone is interested in you, there is a heavy, electrifying drive to project your desires onto them. Daydreaming has taught me that sometimes, the exhilaration of seduction is less about contact and more about the unknown,” Jefferies explains.

The track arrives alongside a music video directed by Meg Siejka, shot on a farm in Victoria. Jefferies adds, “We wanted to play with the embodiment of desire through daydreaming. Desire can feel expansive and intoxicating in ordinary places – while cleaning your teeth, sitting by the pool on holiday or watering the garden. Filming this required a lot of changing out of wet jeans…”

Desire Is An Angel:

1. Backwards Baby
2. Art of Suggestion
3. Lilo & Stitch
4. Cool Guy
5. Desire is
6. An Angel
7. Why Does Your Girl Look Like Me?
8. Walrus
9. What the Hell
10. Leftovers

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Of the track, Asha says, “‘Stranger’ opens up the album channeling a built up question – how are you to know and share yourself with someone if you’re never being given the space to explore or question it? The song speaks to being lost and trapped inside of a relationship and tackles themes around codependency, identity, voice and desire for freedom.”

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Crystal Murray has shared new song ‘PAYBACK’. The vivid pop creator is back, and she wants to start anew. Wiping the slate clean, ‘PAYBACK’ leans between anger and revenge, repression and transgression, all while delivering something potent, punchy, and irresistible. Out now, ‘PAYBACK’ shows off her visceral vocals, with Crystal Murray offering: “For the first time, I feel like I’m starting somewhere fresh.” The full video is a dramatic evocation of her creative imagination, placing Crystal Murray in the middle of a battle of her own making. Subverting warrior motifs, she says… “As this song unfolds it places Myself in a battlefield, ANGER in my eye I got hurt and asking for revenge. Surrounded by women ready to fight in the field with me, they are beautiful, powerful and RAW. ‘PAYBACK’ opens us to a new sound that is big, raw, and noisy. This is the first single, and I arrive screaming… All the time wasted on people that don’t deserve it, the money, the youth stolen. It’s time we ask for reparation. This is my revenge song.” [via Clash]

L Devine has released a new single, ‘If I Don’t Laugh I’ll Cry’. Following on from ‘Slippin’ Away’ and ‘Laundry Day’, it’s the latest cut from debut album Digital Heartifacts, set for release on February 2 via AWAL. “‘If I Don’t Laugh I’ll Cry’ is about the sweet spot between having a mental breakdown and total liberation,” she explains. “It’s a proper insight into my personality, I usually cope with my struggles and insecurities by finding humour in them.” Of the album, she adds: “The album is a bit of a different direction sonically in that we recorded way more live instruments on it than I ever have before and I think this song especially has a proper band feel to it. So being able to record a live session with Devon at Abbey Road and show people what’s to come on the live side of things was so exciting.” [via Dork]

Divorce have dropped a video for their single ‘Sex & The Millennium Bridge’. The track is taken from the Nottingham band’s Heady Metal EP, out now via Gravity/EMI Records. Co-vocalist/bassist Tiger Cohen-Towell says of the clip: “Everybody got on board pretty quick with this concept for this video, because when do you get the chance to be a good old fashioned rock band in this day and age? We basically have such a soft spot for this period of music history, we wanted to honour it, humorously, what we found funny is that the song (SATMB) is so at odds with the type of music that is usually paired with these visuals except it has a guitar solo, so we just decided to go ham. The shooting day was so much fun, Clump and the whole team did an amazing job and we were all laughing so hard for many consecutive hours.” [via Dork]

Becky Hill launches 2024 with ‘Never Be Alone’ featuring fellow dance music trailblazer Sonny Fodera. Released by Astralwerks, the track draws upon Hill’s influences from deep within the world of club culture. Her dancefloor diva topline mixed with Sonny Fodera’s production provides an intoxicating rush of heavyweight dub bass, pounding beats, luminous synths and atmospheric breakdowns, allowing the drops to hit hard. Becky shot the official video for ‘Never Be Alone’ in the mountains of Morocco. As she performs alone in the stunning natural landscape, the sun-kissed day turns to night and the environment takes on a mystical air with Hill surrounded by a circle of fire, amid five mirrored columns. View the video, directed by Remi Laudat and produced by Olwyn Fagan, below. “‘Never Be Alone’ was born out of a post-lockdown world where isolation and distance were forced upon the world,” Becky explains. ”With my partner and I both being in music, we really felt the full force of an imposed lockdown on the events industry. Our entire careers were in jeopardy and I really felt the downward spiral of someone I loved, who’d worked his entire adult life curating line ups for festivals and clubs. I wrote this song with my longtime collaborator Karen Poole (‘Remember,’ ‘History’ and ‘Disconnect’), drawing on inspiration from the time we lived apart, feeling helpless with his despair.” She adds, “What I love about this single is that it has transcended lockdown and feels so relevant still in a time when we need to be there for each other now more than ever. I’ve been playing it in my live sets and it has been a joy watching the crowd’s reaction. I’m excited to show people what Sonny Fodera has added to this anthem; he’s one of the only people left in the dance space I haven’t collaborated with yet and I can’t wait to release this record alongside him.”

Brisbane, Australia based indie-pop riser Asha Jefferies announces her debut album, Ego Ride, set to release on April 12. To mark the announcement, she shares the apex of euphoria from the album, ‘Brand New Bitch.’ It lies between the intuitive anthemic rock of Tom Petty and the thrilling ease of emotion that comes to Gracie Abrams or Olivia Rodrigo. ‘Brand New Bitch’ was written almost as a necessity for Jefferies, once she found the comfort of coming into her own as a young queer woman. It’s propulsive and catchy like the best pop songs, with the grit and liveliness that comes from recording the old fashioned way with a full band in studio. It sets a fire underneath you as soon as the bass line kicks in. Of the accompanying video for ‘Brand New Bitch,’ Asha Jefferies said, “We shot this music video over 4 days across many locations in Meanjin leaving many passer-bys wondering – why is she wearing a bike helmet? Why is he annoying her with a balloon? Why is she being splashed with a bucket of water? The result is Brand New Bitch, a story of getting free and moving on.”

After a stellar 2023 that cemented her sass-shaped sonic imprint in the current soundscape, pop sensation Glowe is set to make an even more indelible mark with her upcoming release, ‘Mean Girls.’ Out now, this empowering anthem stands as a bold proclamation of self-assurance, challenging negative stereotypes, and celebrating the strength found in embracing unapologetic individuality. Timed impeccably with the release of the new ‘Mean Girls’ musical, Glowe’s single promises to captivate audiences not only with its infectious beats and catchy melodies but also with its empowering message. The accompanying official music video is anticipated to be a visual spectacle, further amplifying the song’s powerful message of empowerment. Reflecting on the inspiration behind ‘Mean Girls,’ Glowe candidly shares, “‘Being a loud and confident young woman at school meant I was often labeled by teachers as naughty or ‘too much’. In reality, these are the qualities that have served me best in my adult life. The music industry can be a scary place to navigate, particularly as a young woman. You have to channel a little Regina George in order to not be walked all over. Why do men always seem to be celebrated for their confident and cheeky attitudes yet women get given nasty labels?”

Singer-songwriter and globally acclaimed multimedia artist Jazmin Bean reveals a new single, ‘You Know What You’ve Done,’ out now. This is the fourth single from their debut album, Traumatic Livelihood (Island Records / Interscope), available everywhere February 23. This huge anthemic pop song, with a hint of rock, is an ode to heartbreak. Jazmin says “This song is about feeling remorseful, revengeful and getting payback on a lover who didn’t take accountability.”

According to Instagram, artist Weyes Blood went on social media to share her new video ‘A Given Thing,’ which features the captions: “Once upon a time in ye olde year of 2022 a very intimate portrait video was spontaneously created in a small apartment in Red Hook NYC with a bunch of strange kids and old friends… the outcome was this psychedelic rumination piece. I give to you, the music video for ‘A Given Thing.” [via mxdwn]

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‘Keep My Shit Together’ was produced and mixed by Sam Cromack of widely adored Brisbane band Ball Park Music, in his cosy studio Prawn Records in the inner north of the city. Testing her own bravery in the face of milestone-induced anxiety (in this instance, celebrating Christmas with a new partner) – “I get sentimental around the holidays” Jefferies proposes in the song’s opening refrain, before asking herself “Why do I stay in the city? / With all these angry people” as the song bounces between head-spinning indie-pop, demonstrating both assured humour and a sense of gravitas.

Speaking on the track’s creation and its lyrical inspiration, Asha Jefferies said: “‘Keep My Shit Together’ was written one hot and sweaty day around my piano in December. While feeling stuck and existential, this song is an ode to bringing lightness to hot and heavy feelings around Christmas time. We recorded this in mid-December, air-con cranking and all in organised matching white tank tops.”

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‘Cruise Control’ – Asha’s first for new label home Nettwerk (Miya Folick, Flyte) – was produced and mixed by Sam Cromack of widely adored Brisbane band Ball Park Music, in his cosy studio Prawn Records in the inner north of the city.

With such a wide range of influence and comparison, Jefferies’ songs are euphoric in more ways than one; coming from the most vulnerable depths of a young woman learning to express her queerness. Written in a time of tremendous change, discovery and exploration, Asha notes the impact of acts including Lucy Dacus, Radiohead and Big Thief on the creation of ‘Cruise Control’, with the song moving between pensive indie-rock and soaring, radiant indie-pop.

Of the new song, Asha said – “To be in cruise control is to ride steady and smoothly through the storms of rough climate, harsh roads, lame parties, and undesired romantic gestures. It’s a phrase I have kept close, after a lesson learned on testing my boundaries and finding the confidence to trust my gut. It’s a growing-up anthem, cultivating comfort in my own skin and exercising what feels right and what doesn’t.”

The song’s accompanying music video directed by Cody Wood was inspired by inspired by 500 Days of Summer and its expectation vs reality split screen scene. Asha went on to say: “Both Cody [Wood] and I love how split screen’s can tell a story of different versions of the self. We filmed over two nights and features my older sister Tiana, who has taught me a lot about finding my own voice and trusting myself.”

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