“’Disco Dream’ is a solo riot, and all it wants is to get to the dance floor,” says Coach Party’s Jess Eastwood. “It’s rage you can dance to—about embracing loneliness and making it yours. A self-love anthem, but also self-sabotage at its finest, being so stubborn about standing alone that you end up pushing everyone away. We wanted it to feel fierce, a little broken, and completely unapologetic.”

‘”I loved working with Coach Party, they have a great dynamic and I’m a fan of how textured their sound is,” adds Black Honey’s Izzy Bee Phillips. “I love writing with a same “but different” vibe cus it made me look at myself from a different lense. The solo party narrative of the song also really speaks to me.”

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On the heels of Donzii‘s debut LP Fishbowl comes the newly announced For The People – a collection of their first two sold out EPs repressed together on one vinyl, sandwiched between never before heard tracks. The first of these new offerings is ‘Disco Rosie’ which arrives alongside an official video. Donzii has signed with Born Losers Records for the March 23 release of their vinyl compilation. Aptly arriving on Valentine’s Day, ‘Disco Rosie’ is four minutes of pure musical excess that could fuel any night of strobing lights, full dance floors and swaying sweaty bodies. The official video starring the band and a collective of friends feels like a psychedelic walk through a previous decade. Keeping things short and sweet, the band said, “’Disco Rosie’ is for lovers.”

Oakland band Blues Lawyer joins Dark Entries for their third full-length, All in Good Time, a record of pop-rock songs about living in a world that wants to put your existence on the clock. This week the band shared the Monty Python-inspired video for ‘Make Up’ ahead of the album release on Friday: Rob Miller said: “‘Make Up’ is about reluctantly accepting that a relationship has run its course because neither person is willing to be vulnerable and open with each other anymore. In typical Blues Lawyer fashion, we chose to make light of the song’s lyrical themes and made a Monty Python inspired video where Elyse and I’s characters embark on a heroic quest only to (spoiler alert) meet our demise. The video was directed by Blues Lawyer drummer/vocalist, Elyse Schrock and frequent collaborator, Richard Alex Olsen.”

Iconic singer-songwriter-rapper-artist Brooke Candy arrived fully charged this Valentine’s Day with her new single, ‘Juicy Fruit.’ Co-written by Candy, Jesse Saint John (Britney Spears, LIZZO, Saweetie), Nick Weiss and Cecile Believe, the sex-positive, electro-powered track is joined by an official music video. “It’s unique and a lot different than what I’ve done in the past. The visual taps into a different era that I cherish. It’s a little bit ’80s, and I want to run with that,” Candy tells Jack Irvin or People Magazine. “I’m just happy to still be able to make music, express myself through art and make a living doing it. I feel really lucky.” “If I can make someone smile with this song or video, that’s incredible, and I did my job,” Candy continues about what’s to come. “That’s all I want — to bring a little bit of positivity to the world.”

Eaves Wilder has shared new single ‘Are You Diagnosed?’ The London songwriter has signed to Secretly Canadian, with her debut EP Hookey set to land on March 24. Dubbed by its maker as being “about bunking off”, it touches on some incredibly personal topics. New single ‘Are You Diagnosed?’ is a case in point. A tongue-in-cheek indie burner, it actually touches on mental health, and the (lack of) services available to those in need. Still only 19 years old, it discusses her experiences with the British mental health service CAMHS – while also asking for a bit more help for those who need it. So, over to Eaves… “I first entered the Child and Adolescent Mental Health services – or CAMHS – when I was eleven. Although they did finally help me, and I left at the age of fifteen, ‘Are You Diagnosed?’ is basically a stream-of-consciousness, scream for help rant/report about what it’s like in those awful, quiet waiting rooms, and consulting rooms. As CAHMS is so dangerously underfunded by the government, the deal is- the closer you are to death, the higher up the waiting list you go. Which on average is around 16 months. And people with eating disorders are competitive anyway, so it’s very easy to look around the waiting room, and think, ‘I need to be the most ill person here. I need to get … ill-er than the girl with the bandages on her arms, or the tube up her nose – or I’ll never get treated. I’m going to make my way up that list.’ The key thing is getting your diagnosis. There’s no treatment until diagnosis. You don’t know what is happening to you. And a lot of people doubt you are ill anyway. They (friends, family, teachers) think that you’re making it all up, I think that’s easier for them. And so the biggest question is, over and over: “Are you diagnosed? Are you diagnosed?” [via Clash]

Next month, Gisela Fulla-Silvestre, the singer and producer who records as NOIA, will release her full-length debut gisela. Now, NOIA has teamed up with Ela Minus, the Colombian dance-popper who released the great ♡ EP with DJ Python last year, on a new single called ‘didn’t know.’ On ‘didn’t know,’ NOIA and Ela Minus sing in both English and Spanish over a slinky synth-beat that never sits still. It’s a haunted, evocative synthpop jam that still really moves. Lola Blanc directed the track’s very stylish video. In a press release, NOIA says: “’didn’t know’ is an ode to my friends in nyc. an ode to all the bad dating we’ve done in this city and how we’ve survived through staying together and laughing together. it’s also an ode to the nightlife of this city. I borrowed a couple of dialogue lines from Mad Men for the lyrics: this song is playfully centered around the idea of singing to the ultimate fuckboy, don draper. I have collected so many whatsapp audio messages (or whatsapp podcasts lol) from my friends sharing their late night experiences, so I wanted to bring those bits and pieces of dialogue into the song, that’s why there’s that sound design club bathroom moment in the song and that’s why you can hear them discovering the magic of autotune towards the end of the song. I had to invite Ela Minus to sing this song as a duet: she is one of my good friends with whom I’ve shared these experiences with, endless dinners in Brooklyn laughing away our love adventures. but also, when i started this beat (with a drum machine and not in the box as I usually make beats) I realized I was getting inspired by her amazing beat making style. so I sent the track to her during the pandemic and she recorded her beautiful airy vocals in it, half in English, half in Spanish. Musically this is my Prince song, it’s definitely a hot pink song. I wanted the voices to feel like a wall of airy rhythmic sexy vibes. but then the beat and the bass to feel chaotic and industrial.” [via Stereogum]

Paramore have released the music video for their latest single, ‘Running Out of Time’, from their recently released album This Is Why. Of the track, Hayley Williams says, “When we first started writing the album I wanted to challenge myself to write about ordinary things. I am horrific at time management and that feels about like the most mundane thing anyone could talk about… seemed like a fun challenge. It kept me from getting all deep and dark which is actually an easier place, internally, for me to dwell. Then again, expanding on those feelings isn’t all that different from the anxieties a lot of us feel about living on planet earth in 2023.” [via Dork]

Black Honey returns with punchy new rocker ‘OK’. The band’s new album A Fistful Of Peaches lands on March 17, led by comeback single ‘Up Against It’. Frontperson Izzy Bee Phillips used the lyrics to urge fans to be kinder to themselves, and these mental health themes permeate their new single. Out now, ‘OK’ punctures the happiness myth, and asks if something OK is actually something we should all strive for. If the guitar-based songwriting carries a real impact, then perhaps that is to drive the point home. Izzy Bee comments… “‘OK’ is a love story I wrote for my friend who was getting high all the time to dull anxiety. I didn’t want them to be struggling anymore and this song is like ‘I will stand by you and if you need a weird 10 mins where you smoke weed after drinking 8 pints till you whitey. If that’s what you need to do then it’s okay’. It’s too much to expect someone to be happy so just okay is enough. I’m also criticising myself for trying to be a Romeo-style hero when I’m so utterly ill-equipped to help anyone. I also somehow have the feeling of devotional dedication to a person that only rom coms ever show you and I didn’t really believe was real.” [via Clash]

Jessie Ware has shared a new video for her single ‘Pearls’, taken from her upcoming album That! Feels Good! The video, which was directed by Sophie Muller (Kylie Minogue, Rihanna) and Theo Adams (Elton John, Years and Years), sees Ware in a variety of dreamy, neon-drenched settings, which perfectly aligns with the ’90s-infused track. The song is a collaboration between Ware and Stuart Price, Sarah Hudson, and Coffee Clarence JR, and as Ware explains in a press release, it’s “a record that doesn’t take itself too seriously but demands you to have a dance. It’s inspired by divas like Donna Summer, Evelyn Champagne King, Teena Marie and Chaka khan and I guess attempts to show—in lightness—all the hats I try to wear (usually at the same time).” That! Feels Good! is the follow-up to Ware’s critically acclaimed album What’s Your Pleasure? In a statement, Ware said of the new record: “That! Feels Good! stems from over 10 years of understanding who I am, and who I enjoy being as an artist and the thrill of performance. It’s a record to be enjoyed, to sing and shout the words back at me and to each other. It’s a culmination of hard work and total pleasure appreciating the job I have and the worlds I get to dive into. I have never felt so ready for people to hear something I’ve made.” [via Dork]

LA-based pop trailblazer Grace Gaustad has shared their new single and video ‘The Cloud’. ‘The Cloud’ appears on Gaustad’s forthcoming multimedia concept album PILLBX: whts ur fantasy?, which will culminate this summer in an epic cinematic film. ‘The Cloud’ is a delicate and glowing art pop track, where Gaustad’s vocals are swirling and haunting around soft electronics. It’s an incredibly considered and mature track for the 21 year old, with the video depicting physical isolation in an overconnected digital world, featuring a cameo from Emmy and Golden Globe winner Mariska Hargitay. Speaking further about the track Grace says “‘The Cloud’ is a song about the epidemic of loneliness we all feel from the primary relationship we have with our cell phones. We’ve become so dependent on our phones that we now store the best parts of our life somewhere in the cloud, as opposed to enjoying them while they’re happening.”

Rising indie-pop trio Bailen has announced the release of their second full-length album, Tired Hearts, due out May 5 via Fantasy Records. The New York City based siblings have also shared the album’s first single, the alt-pop anthem ‘Call It Like It Is,’ along with its cult classic thriller style video. The sparkling ‘Call It Like It Is,’ co-written by Bailen and X Ambassadors’ Adam Levin and Sam Harris, is “an anthem for anyone who refuses to be taken advantage of,” the band stated. “It unmasks the ugly truth behind shiny veneers.” The track’s beautifully rendered, cinematic video, directed and edited by David Bailen, is a fictionalized account of a scary ‘catfishing’ episode Bailen recently experienced while on tour. “To save money on the road, we often stay with friends, family and fans instead of staying in hotels,” the group explained. “It goes to show what it takes to be in a touring band these days just to break even.” [via udiscovermusic]

Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Bea Miller released a new song ‘cynical’ on February 15. The song is the second single under her own label Gauche Records, following ‘lonely bitch’ released back in January. It was written by Bea Miller, Cara Salimando, and Colin Brittain. Produced by Colin Brittain. Bea Miller said of the song, “’cynical’ has always been a word I’ve used to describe the way I view love and romance. When my last relationship ended, I felt like it had been destined to crash and burn. Because I was already prepared for that, it didn’t hurt me as much as it should’ve. I don’t think that’s great necessarily, but there was something oddly satisfying about being right.” The accompanying music video was directed by Gina Gizella Manning. It serves as the second installment of her twelve-part visual compendium, entitled “BEA MILLER’S CABINET”. She said, “In the video for ‘cynical,’ we wanted to showcase the monotony I’ve felt in relationships by essentially filming the same shot over and over again, with varying emotions.” [via pmstudio]

Following up the release of her ephemerally dreamy, glittery cyber and otherworldly EP, Dear Diary, Alex Sloane has premiered the music video for the sweet but venomous single, ‘Mine.’ A vintage decor princess bedroom, pages detailing nothing but one repetitive line of “Everything is ok,” the hauntingly sweet music video gives nods to Kubrick’s 1980 classic, The Shining. Featuring a breathlessly thrilling tempo and Sloane’s honey smooth, quaint but beyond recognizable vocal, ‘Mine’ perfectly infuses electronic influence with lo-fi and hyperpop. Displaying the movie-set reality behind the picturesque, cottage-core bedroom at the end of the music video, Sloane again reveals the danger of delusions, reiterating the main focus of ‘Mine’ once more. [via Earmilk]

Honey Revenge have released a new single and video, ‘Are You Impressed?’ The duo – vocalist Devin Papadol and guitarist Donovan Lloyd – continue to make their mark following previous singles ‘Rerun,’ ‘Ride’ and ‘Distracted,’ with their latest effort following their standard set so far of incredibly catchy and relatable. ‘Lost sight of what I’m working toward / It’s the same shit different day / Battles I have fought before / Will they ever go my way?’ go the lyrics of the second verse, with Devin explaining that, “Are You Impressed? is about dealing with a need to constantly be productive and well liked in a world where everything we do is documented and put online.” [via Kerrang!]

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London-based powerhouse Lily Moore has returned with her brand new single, ‘Hard Days Love’ via Believe. Showcasing her signature soulful and soaring vocals, the track was co-written by Lily and The Nocturns (Mimi Webb, James Arthur, Dylan and more), who also produced the song. The long-awaited ‘Hard Days Love’ is Lily’s first musical offering since her More Moore mixtape featuring Maverick Sabre (on track ‘In-between’) and Dan Caplen, and is the start of a brand new compelling chapter for her. Lily explains, “’Hard Days Love’ is about knowing when it’s time to give up. Being a musician is my favourite thing in the world but the last few years made that nearly impossible, and to lose that part of myself nearly over night was the hardest break up I’ve ever gone through! A sexy little cocktail of the world going mad and my own personal issues finally catching up with me, meant it felt like the world was putting a big old middle finger up to me and all my friends trying to make a life in London.” Alongside the release, the artist has also revealed the official music video which was directed by Claryn Chong (Holly Humberstone, flowerovlove, Tommy Lefroy). The visuals were shot at an arduous assault course near Brighton, which Lily was already very familiar with as she took on the challenge at school when she was just 14. Watch the video here. Lily says of the video process, “It has been a very long time since I did any music video. They’ve always felt quite scary to me and I get more nervous about them than I do for any shows. The beauty of this video was that I was so cold and busy concentrating on not stacking it, that I didn’t even notice any of my usual self conscious, annoying, little thoughts.”

Jessica Winter has delivered a third outing from her new Limerence EP titled ‘Clutter’, which sees her team up with Lynks and is accompanied by another Ella Margolin-directed video. Winter says of the new song, “I moved house and found love letters, photos and other bits from relationships over the years that at the time meant so much yet hold no significance now. I’ve carried these things around with me all this time and a spring clean was needed; physically and spiritually from all past and present relationships! Lynks embodies a divine solitary strength so there’s no one better than him to help deliver this message.” [via Line Of Best Fit]

The producer Yaeji has been putting out music for nearly a decade now — she’s released many singles, some EPs, and, in 2020, she shared a full-length mixtape called WHAT WE DREW 우리가 그려왔던. Now, she’s ready to put out her debut album. It’s called With A Hammer, and its cover art shows her wielding a large hammer, which per a press release actually has a name: Hammer Lee. With A Hammer will be out on April 7, and it includes contributions from Loraine James, Nourished By Time, and producers K Wata and Enayet. Yaeji is sharing the album’s lead single, ‘For Granted,’ with a self-directed music video. [via Stereogum]

UK songwriter Fenne Lily — who moved to New York City in the time since she released her sophomore album, BREACH in 2020 — has announced a new album, Big Picture, which was recorded at Brad Cook’s studio in North Carolina. Fenne Lily co-produced the album with Cook, save for one track that was produced with Christian Lee Hutson, with whom she’ll head out on an extensive tour later this year. Now, she’s sharing the album’s muted and shimmering lead single ‘Lights Light Up.’ “Iʼd never really written about love in the present tense before this, but even though I was still in love and not thinking about the end, there was something else going on subconsciously that led to a song about moving on before the moving on had begun,” she noted in a press release, continuing: “When it came time to record, the band and I had been playing it live for a while and itʼd become something joyful and positive, but when I started recording vocals, the lyrics made me cry. By that point the song was over a year old and I thought those wounds had healed but I guess it hurt to admit Iʼd been letting go of something while still trying to hold on.” [via Stereogum]

Los Angeles based Lisel (Eliza Bagg) just released the new song and video for ‘Immature’ from her upcoming album, Patterns For Auto-Tuned Voices And Delay, out February 17 on Ba Da Bing. The song features Bagg’s operatic voice, layered, cut up, and warped. The video straddles the experimental and pop realms, combining minimalist dance in the vein of Anna Teresa de Keersmaeker’s Rosas Danst Rosas and Yvonne Rainer with pop culture aesthetics that reference Beyoncé and Charli XCX. Lisel and two dancers walk in high-heels on treadmills, enacting something both bizarre and pedestrian.

The C.I.A.’s Surgery Channel is ripe with straightforward conviction. The trio made up of Denée & Ty Segall and Emmett Kelly have constructed a world where everything is piercing and pinpointed. Every word brings confrontation – The C.I.A. make you question what could be happening here…or what they’re after. Just ahead of its Friday release, they revealed a new video and single ‘Bubble’ — a story of anxious desire. We will be consumed by what we must consume. Restraint backfires and drives a person to madness. Or maybe that’s just what they want you to think. It feels as though Denée (vocals, lyrics) is whispering directly in your ear, amplified by the suspense of tick-tocking drum machine beats. Ty (bass, percussion, back up vocals) and Emmett (bass, synth, back up vocals) paint a jarring and dissonant landscape behind Denée’s story. Words are rhythm at The C.I.A.

Tāmaki Makaurau’s original pop royal Princess Chelsea aka Chelsea Nikkel has unveiled a new video for ‘Time’ from her fifth studio album Everything Is Going To Be Alright, filmed in Prague while touring the globe last year. Directed / edited by Julie Reynaud and made with support from NZ On Air, viewers are invited to peer inside a gothic storybook to encounter a vampiric PC roaming amidst the Czech Republic capital’s jam-packed graveyards, ancient cathedrals and cobblestone-lined streets under cover of darkness — pondering the future and glamorously garbed in outfits including red flowing velvet cape and an amazing chainmail style hoodie. The artist’s famously talented bandmates (recently acclaimed by Shayne P. Carter) Joe Kaptein, Jasmine Balmer, David Harris, Simeon Kavanagh-Vincent and Joshua Worthington-Church make an appearance too, having a fun picnic with Nikkel in the clip’s closing moments. [via Under The Radar]

Black Honey have kicked off their 2023 with another taster from their upcoming album, A Fistful of Peaches, ‘Up Against It’. “This song is an open letter to my younger self,” Izzy Phillips explains. “And to every young discriminated and marginalised person out there. I want so bad to give them an anthem that was instead of “fuck the world” would give them a screaming discovery of new found kindness towards themselves. Troubled young people give themselves the hardest time of all. I want to tell them that you are hurting and things are harder than you ever thought they could be, but all you have to do is show up for yourself every day. Things aren’t always going to go to plan but I know that future you is fucking proud of who you are now. And you will look back on yourself with huge admiration. Give yourself a break kid, you were up against it.” It comes alongside a video directed by Izzy and the band, which you can check out below. [via Dork]

Mercury Prize winner Arlo Parks has announced the follow-up to her critically acclaimed debut album, Collapsed In Sunbeams. My Soft Machine will be out May 26 and features the lead single ‘Weightless,’ out now.

It’s been a bit since we’ve heard from Gisela Fulla-Silvestre, the electronic musician who puts out music as NOIA. Her Crisàlida EP landed back in 2019, and now she’s finally ready to announce her debut full-length album. gisela is out at the end of March, and it features contributions from Ela Minus, Maria Arnal, and Buscabulla, whose Raquel Berrios duets on the glimmering lead single ‘eclipse de amor.’ “’eclipse de amor’ is like a movie set in a tropical night that ends with a knife and blood,” NOIA said in a statement. “A love story and a mysterious murder. It’s a song about duality, two people mirroring each other, an eclipse of love that ends up consuming you in the name of becoming something beautiful together.” She continued: I guess it’s an ode to toxic consuming love? This song is also an ode to old boleros. it has that energy of old romantic duets, but then the chorus feels like entering a future dystopian tropical video game party, so it holds those two very different worlds. I was very excited to sing this duet with Raquel from Buscabulla. She has a unique vocal tone, it evoques darkness and echoes from another era somehow. We complemented each other so well with the two characters of this song. Luifre (the other half of Buscabulla) recorded this retro synth line over her verse that gave it even more of a classic vibe. I started working on this song as part of the music for a film that needed a romantic bolero kind of track, and then the song evolved when i was making some beats for a reggaeton artist that he ended up not using. So in a way it always has felt like a very playful song.” [via Stereogum]

Wishing us happy holidays a month ago with her festive insta-classic ‘Meri Kirihimete’, Erny Belle aka Aimee Renata’s (Ngāpuhi) gifts us a romantic alternative to the nine-five grind with a new video for ‘Island Time’, from her acclaimed debut album Venus Is Home. Self-directed and produced by Renata, shot at Te Arai on analogue film stock by Ezra Simons (Earth Tongue, Soft Bait) and made with support from NZ On Air, the clip co-stars Navakatoa Tekela-Pule (Strangelove) as the Stetson hat wearing The Man From The Islands, tenderly strumming his acoustic guitar and dancing with the red-garbed songwriter on the sandy shore. Originally self-released in early ’22, Venus Is Home is being reissued in a new vinyl edition courtesy of Flying Nun. Erny Belle says, “‘Island Time’ is an ode to the Pacific. I picture myself and the times I spent looking out at the view from Te Arai beach, from the waters edge and my sister’s porch. I spent a lot of time contemplating my creative visions and the loss and prospects of love on the horizon. The chorus is a mantra on perseverance and self belief. Though there’s a lot behind the love story, I think really it’s a love song to pacific culture and beautiful brown people, maybe I needed to give myself that back. My good friend Navakatoa plays The Man From The Islands. He is also the bassist for the Erny Belle band, It’s special that we’ve been able to capture ourselves at this time, I think it’s really sweet we’ll be able to look back at it in years to come and be reminded of everything we were doing musically at this time. It was shot at Te Arai, which is a special place to me.” [via Under The Radar]

It’s been a couple years since Kali Uchis’ last album, 2020’s Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios), but she’s kept busy. She’s playing a bunch of festivals this year and has been teasing a new project, which started with ‘No Hay Ley’ last fall. Now, she’s back with a new single, ‘I Wish You Roses.’ “This song is about being able to release people with love,” Uchis said in a statement. “It could be a friend, a lover, or someone else, but the point is to celebrate releasing people from your life without being resentful or bitter.” [via Stereogum]

Calva Louise have just released their new single, ‘Third Class Citizen’. It’s is the first single taken from their upcoming EP, Over The Threshold, which will be released later this year. Vocalist and guitarist Jess Allanic explains, “’Third Class Citizen’ is about the never-ending struggle to become masters of our own destiny by merging the real, the imagined and the dreamed”. The track is accompanied by an otherworldly music video that was animated and directed by Jess, which you can check out below. [via Upset]

Tragic Sasha, the moniker of London-based artist Sasha Gurney, brings atmospheric, futurism-infused alt-pop on her new single ‘Bottle It Up’. Vocals bathed in a rhythmic autotune with bouncing vocal chorus gently drench atmosphere over Sasha’s soft and sincere vocal deliveries, bringing ethereal melody to the cutting synth bass and organic drum beats. A minimal and industrial yet artistic video aesthetic reflects Sasha’s sound perfectly; modern and cutting-edge, yet somehow still a blend of old and new. Speaking on the songwriting process, Tragic Sasha shares, “I wrote ‘Bottle It Up’ a while ago with my co-writer Scott Colcombe about holding in emotions. I wanted the song to feel like a stream of consciousness that spiralled into chaos at the end. We wrote it in two hours- it was surprisingly easy to write and very cathartic!” [via Earmilk]

Get ready to experience a new level of pop perfection with the latest release from the multi-talented Asy Saavedra, a Swedish-American singer-songwriter, producer, and composer. As the lead singer and keyboard player of the electro-pop sister duo Chaos Chaos, Asy has been making waves in the music industry for years, and now she’s kicking off her solo career with her new single ‘Masterpiece’. With this playful new release, Asy teases us with a taste of her unannounced upcoming record and takes us on a journey through her unique and genre-bending production. ‘Masterpiece’ is a powerful anthem of self-empowerment and insecurity, with lyrics that delve into the theme of not feeling like a masterpiece at all. Asy’s powerful pop songs are known to be a force to be reckoned with, but her recent venture into experimental production takes her artistry to a whole new level. Asy’s ‘Masterpiece’ is a visceral construction of the playful dance between self-empowerment and insecurity. The song is forthright and relatable, with a vulnerability that is evident in the lyrics and in the way Asy’s voice breaks intentionally when she delivers the high notes in the chorus. The production on ‘Masterpiece’ is a tantalizing blend of pop and avant-garde, with sultry “oohs” that evoke the intimacy of the bedroom and hint at a messiness beneath the surface. Asy has a knack for crafting powerful pop songs, but her recent venture into experimental production has cracked open a sonic universe in which she challenges her own formulas and doesn’t hesitate to take the reins.This is just the latest chapter in Asy’s industrious music career. [via Wonderland]

Alt-pop sensation, songwriter, and filmmaker Zolita has released her new single and video ‘Ashley’ from her highly anticipated Falling Out / Falling In EP (out February 10). ‘Ashley’ is a stripped-back and heartfelt love song which picks up directly where her previous single ‘Ruin My Life’ left off. Zolita is getting ready for Ashley’s wedding while unearthing old memories of young love between her and the bride-to-be. The video is the next installment in Zolita’s new cinematic story that began with her recent singles ’20 Questions’ and ‘Ruin My Life.’ “‘Ashley’ is a sapphic love song written for my close friend, now girlfriend,” shares Zolita. “It’s a song about yearning, falling in love, and knowing the lows that inevitably come with a relationship will be worth it. It’s sickly sweet and one of the most earnest, heartfelt songs I’ve ever written. It’s the queer ‘Hey There Delilah’ I wish I had growing up!” [via QueerForty]

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Jockstrap have shared a fun new video for their song ‘Greatest Hits.’ In the video a celebrity trial between two pop stars plays out in full, from being caught by paparazzi as they enter to the drama unfolding inside the court. Cameos in the video include Jamie xx, Don Letts, John Foley, and Princess Julia. Director Aidan Zamiri, a regular collaborator of FKA twigs, says: “I think Jockstrap are one of the most exciting bands in the world and I’m stoked we were able to make this video together. We wanted this to have a bit of a reflection on the time we live in now, whilst still having a sense of humour about it. Georgia and Taylor are geniuses, and I was so grateful to explore this mad story with them. We did our best to make it as legally accurate as possible (with a few artistic liberties) and this was possible thanks to Jean Lee, our barrister consultant who also played the judge.” [via The FADER]

Black Honey are back with news of their third album A Fistful of Peaches, and have shared new single ‘Heavy’ to accompany the announcement. ‘Heavy’ is teamed with a video directed by and starring Drag Race UK’s Dakota Schiffer, and will appear on Black Honey’s forthcoming album with last month’s ‘Out of My Mind’ single and August’s ‘Charlie Bronson’. Lead vocalist Izzy Phillips says of the single, “We wrote this song the day I found out the founder of our fan club passed away from Covid-19. We were talking about the weight of grief and the way it holds you down, about the parallels between grief and depression. The weight of mental illness and how it brings you a deeper understanding of grief. There’s always a glimmer of light though and I love how Heavy has that kind glitter darkness. It’s in my nature to become co-dependant and I think in this song I’m reaching for someone to help me climb back out. I talk a bit about the never-ending story as it was my first dialog with death and depression as a child. Watching Artax the horse getting swallowed by the nothing whilst Atreyu screamed helplessly from the edges of a swamp really spoke to me.” [via Line Of Best Fit]

When she’s not co-fronting Nice Biscuit, you can catch Grace Cuell making some cool sounds as Baby Cool, who returns with new single and music video ‘Poison’ ahead of her debut album Earthling on the Road to Self Love, set for a February 2023 release. A breezy slice of indie-pop meets psych-folk with just a dash of alt-country, ‘Poison’ takes the listener on an effortless, floating journey through it’s guitar twangs, relaxed rhythm section and Cuell’s smokey, entrancing vocals. Explaining the inspiration behind the song, Cuell says “I wrote this song as a playful way to move through the feelings of rejection that can surface after a break up. The meaning has morphed into different things over time. Mostly it’s about expelling bad energy from your soul so that you can move through life a little lighter. I like to sing it to that painful voice of self loathing that surfaces whenever I’m feeling vulnerable in some way – that voice for me is the true poison.” ‘Poison’ arrives alongside a playful music video that’s “part two in the visual trilogy initiated by ‘The Sea’, and combines surrealist styling and visuals with the lush foliage of the rainforest behind Cuell’s Byron Bay home to create a dreamlike visage. Filmed by photographer Imogen O’Doyle, styled by and starring Brisbane-based artist Miri Badger as the visual representation of ‘Poison’, edited by and co-starring Cuell herself, and colour/VFX work done by Tom Carroll, the new clip mirrors the ethereal ambiance of the track.“ [via Pilerats]

yunè pinku is 19-year-old Irish Malaysian-Londoner Asha Yunè, who debuted earlier this year with Bluff, an EP that bent the past three decades of rave culture to her own will. Now, she returns with a new song called ‘Fai Fighter,’ which digs deeper into her feelings and comes out howling. ‘Fai Fighter’ begins with a synth riff worthy of any ’80s pop hit and marries it to a four-on-the-floor beat that stays stomping throughout. Yunè’s vocals are chopped up and scattered across the chorus, leaving her to get her message across in the verses. Her lyrics mix the macabre with the every day to amusing effect. “My head just severed,” she sings at one point before undercutting the drama with a well timed, “Oh babe, whatever.” The song comes with a video that — and you may detect a theme here — features the producer and artist wielding a sword as she poses for the camera. There’s a chaotic nature to the visual that feels in tune with the song, featuring nods to her Irish heritage and Celtic witches. “’Fai Fighter’ is a sort of homage to the chaos of vulnerability,” yunè tells The FADER. “I imagined it existing in a metaverse arena or a futuristic realm of some sorts. I think for me I struggle to articulate the meaning of this track because it’s much more of a feeling than a specific word. But it’s sort of a phoenix rising, an embrace of femininity.” [via The FADER]

Creating tracks that feel both catchy and feeling honest and vulnerable seems to be second nature for Madisyn Gifford, an artist who’s lush pop sound continues to earn her plaudits both for its creative potency and her unerring level of consistency. The latest release from the artist is her new single ‘Hospital Beds’, a track that sees the artist aiming criticism at herself for her tendency to sabotage things and then mope around in the aftermath. Everything from it’s forthright lyrics to the upbeat and energetic alt-pop styling of the track feels vibrant and exciting, with the creative young artist showcasing boatloads of personality and appeal, as she always does. Madisyn is a potential star who reaffirms that fact every time that she releases something and reminds us of her immense potential. “The song ‘Hospital Beds’ is a really interesting one for me and also a song that I’m insanely proud of.” Madisyn says of the track. “I originally wrote it in October of 2021 as a slow melancholy acoustic song and it wasn’t until August 2022 that my producer and co-writer Jared Manierka and I decided to take a completely different approach and turn it into the tongue and cheek alternative pop song it is today. Essentially throughout the track I am making fun off and calling myself out for my own victim complex and tendency to self sabotage my own relationships. Although I think the song is really funny and fun lyrically I also think it manages to be very vulnerable and honest at the same time which is something that I am very proud of. I’m so excited about this track and for it to finally be out in the world!“ [via Clout]

Multi-platinum recording artist RAYE continues to evince herself as a powerhouse star with the release of her ‘Escapism.’ music video. Giving an emotional, adrenaline-rushing performance, RAYE reenacts her darkest days of numbing her pain with temporary fixes. The visual includes a rare, special appearance from featured artist 070 Shake and is the latest offering from RAYE’s upcoming debut album, My 21st Century Blues., set to release on February 3, 2023 via Human Re Sources / The Orchard. “We worked really hard to create an honest depiction of where I was at that time in my life,” RAYE shares. “It was fun and wild. We shot it over a couple of days and wore point-of-view cameras during a wild night out at many different clubs. I pushed myself outside of my comfort zone and I ran 150 meters in 5 inch heels. We really took it there! I am really proud of it and hope everyone enjoys the visuals.”

Multiplatinum pop singer, songwriter and Academy® Award-nominated actress Hailee Steinfeld releases the highly anticipated music video for ‘Coast’ [feat. Anderson .Paak]. Shot in California as an homage to the artists’ roots, Anderson .Paak also directs the video, which sees Hailee daydream about a psychedelic surf competition in which she and Anderson feature as the main event.

‘Addicted’ is the debut track and music video from Chloe Jane, a 19-year-old pop singer, songwriter, and DJ who grew up in the club scene in NY and Ibiza. This track is a perfect representation of Chloe’s artistry – fun, dancey and infectious while also tackling real life problems – being ‘Addicted’ to our screens. Chloe says: “I wrote ‘Addicted’ about how in today’s society, people seem to be totally reliant on their phones and are losing touch with reality. I hope ‘Addicted’ inspires listeners to put their phone down and live in the moment.”

Izzy Camina has released ‘Alprazalam’, and announced that her new EP ANG3L NUMB3RS will drop early next year. ‘Alprazalam’, which Izzy co-produced with Aaron C Harmon, sees the LA-born artist continue in a new direction since her debut EP Nihilist In The Club was released back in 2020. The single drop includes a brand new video by the artist, which sees her take on the role of a crab to speak to the otherworldly quality of the track. [via Dork]

Critically acclaimed singer-songwriter and actress Sabrina Carpenter releases the music video for her hit song ‘Nonsense.’ A fan-favorite from her newest album emails i can’t send, ‘Nonsense’ is a playful earworm that chronicles all the nervous, exciting, and nonsensical feelings that come along with a new relationship. The video, directed by Danica Kleinknecht, perfectly complements the lighthearted track as viewers watch Sabrina and her friends embark on a night out where they cross paths with a few familiar looking men at a house party. [via Broadway World]

Honey Revenge have shared a catchy and relatable new single, Rerun. A very timeless release, the duo – guitarist Donovan Lloyd and vocalist Devin Papadol – explain of the song: “We’ve all struggled with things not going the way we planned. It’s not easy to bounce back from being let down. ‘Rerun’ dives into the hopeless experience of feeling like you’re living the same bad day over and over again and trying to stay positive in spite of being at your worst. I wrote the song in a state of severe impatience wondering when the hard work would start paying off. It’s cathartic to know it’s finally making its way into the world especially now that I’m in a much better place.” [via Kerrang!]

HALFLIVES have released a new music video. The new music video, for the track ‘sorry mom x,’ is the brand new single from the French melodic alternative rock band and follows on from their last single, ‘Dynamite,’ which was released back in April. Speaking about the new single, vocalist Linda Battilani says, “the writing of sorry mom was incredibly natural and fast. I started singing on a guitar riff and the lyrics were somehow immediately right. I was particularly inspired by how I was feeling on the moment and it quickly became a stream of consciousness. The whistle you hear at the beginning of the song is actually me!” [via Distorted Sound]

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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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