“‘Turns out my brain’s a bit different”, Dixon divulges on ‘Loose Change’ as she delivers a bold, unflinching celebration of her neurodivergence that serves as both confession and anthem. Channeling the raw, ethereal power reminiscent of Florence + The Machine’s Lungs, the single weaves haunting strings and layered vocals through shifting time signatures that mirror the beautiful chaos of an ADHD mind with startling accuracy.

Dixon’s production brilliance transforms the metaphor of coins rolling around in a wallet into a sonic experience that’s both deeply personal and universally moving. “My therapist said, ‘you should be kinder in your head…you’re just wired a bit different, a design in a system that wasn’t made for you’”; Dixon isn’t just sharing her story, she’s creating a musical sanctuary for everyone whose mind operates outside of conventional boundaries. Dixon says:

“‘Loose Change’ is the closest thing to a look inside my brain – a twinkling, humming engine falling over itself. It was a splurge of consciousness when I had locked myself away in the studio during a difficult time of my life. I was going through therapy at the time and learning a lot about myself and how to understand and forgive myself for the way I am wired.

“It’s the closest I’ve come to capturing how my ADHD feels. I wanted to capture the feeling of the world changing under your feet. Jumping time signatures while still feeling like one logical path. I am completely in love with this song. I’ve never been more proud of something I’ve made.”

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Invigorating and experimental, Dixon’s new chapter is pulsing with vigour and intention. ‘Guts’ is the heaviest sound we’ve heard from the young artist yet, with a guitar riff that jolts the listener into submission. Self-described as “a samba-rock-dnb-pop fusion painting the frustrations of the anxious mind”, ‘Guts’ formed from Dixon’s realisation that her nervous disposition meant she’d had much less reckless fun as a teen than her adolescent counterparts.

Now in her 20s and with immensely inspirational self-awareness, self-acceptance and ownership of her narrative, Dixon wears her heart on her sleeve and offers up a new kind of bravery and ‘guts’; “I’m brave for just being here”…“I’m not made of guts, made of different stuff”. Dixon elaborates:

“’Guts’ was born from a conversation I had with some friends who were sharing stories from their teenage years. As everyone told tales of parties and dates and rebellions I had nothing to contribute. As a nervous kid I wasn’t going out, wasn’t dating, wasn’t having the same sorts of adventures. In that moment I saw all of these experiences I had missed because of my anxiety and I felt a welling of anger. ‘Guts’ is a therapeutic outlet for that anger. A party song for the people who weren’t at the parties. A song to shout out loud for the people who didn’t shout.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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The style of charlieeeee’s music defies easy categorisation, but blends elements of indie with the relentless energy of jungle breakbeats, all seasoned with an infectious, hyper-pop-inspired top line. Their sound is delightfully playful, which translates seamlessly into wild, high-energy live performances.

‘BUMPED IN THE HEAD’ is charlieeeee’s second single, and features Ellie Dixon. Speaking about the track, charlieeeee says: “The song is about not fitting in, and having that pounding voice in your head that says ‘you’re not quite doing it right!’ I want people to remember, ‘this time, it might be different!’ You will find your people and you will have the fun you are craving. The aim of the song is to bring a lighthearted side to what can feel like quite a serious world, in or outside your head.”

The single is accompanied by a new video, directed by Lilly Shickle and executive-produced by charlieeeee. The video is the second instalment of the charlieeeee’s world trilogy, following ‘EASY’ featuring piri, which saw charlieeeee crash-land to earth, and develop a blossoming romance with a blow-up doll, Meredith. In ‘BUMPED IN THE HEAD’, charlieeeee and Meredith continue their exploration of the human world, familiarising themselves with everyday earthly pleasures, like dance battles and cake fights.

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London-based neo-soul artist Pollena has released the video for new single ‘Diamonds’ starring acclaimed writer and actor Jack Holden. Star of the critically acclaimed West End show ‘Cruise’ and BBC’s ‘Marriage’, Holden performs as a theater technician on the cusp of exploring his true passion. His first steps into his own limelight represent the journey we’re all on to find ourselves, and is reflected in the other characters we see – parents, families, children, all trying to express themselves in love and creativity. Each story embodies the track’s core message of fighting against societal pressures that force us into lives and roles we don’t fit: “I’m tired of society dictating how we should live our lives. With ‘Diamonds’, I want to encourage listeners to fight for what makes them happy, for a better, truer life.” Pollena. Jack Holden and cast in video for ‘Diamonds’ Holden stars alongside a cast of dancers and families in the piece conceptualised and directed by Georgia Rajah, best known for her work on the BBC documentary ‘Learning To Grieve.’

It was Halloween earlier this week and Yeah Yeah Yeahs are howling at the moon with their new music video, ‘Wolf,’ starring Britt Lower of Severance. The visuals were directed by Allie Avital, and open with Lower seated across a table from veteran character actor Will Brill. After a blue jay sings to her — in Karen O’s voice, no less — Lower’s character heeds the call of the wild. She hunts, changes hair color, and generally enjoys her feral life. As the song breaks down into the repeated phrase, “Into the wild,” she even runs into Yeah Yeah Yeahs performing in a seedy bar. At the end she meets again with her housebroken former partner, with unexpected results. “It was our great fortune to collaborate with the powerhouses Allie and Brit on this video for ‘Wolf,’” Karen O said in a statement. “Allie casts a spell with the gorgeous world she weaves — always with teeth that bite, and Britt embodies all the contradictions in the themes of ‘Wolf,’ so enamored with her performance that’s got as much heaven as it does hell. We were beside ourselves with excitement when Allie cast Brit as the lead in the video, YYYs are serious nerds for Severance, what luck when the stars align.” Lower added, “When I heard the title of the song and description of the role were both ‘Wolf’ it was a full body ‘yes.’ To get to work on a story about a woman discovering the wild within and without was a dream. And to do so alongside legend Karen O… I mean, I’m speechless.” [via Consequence]

New York Korean-American artist Margaret Sohn, who performs as Miss Grit, has announced their debut album, Follow The Cyborg, out February 24 via Mute. The album is deeply conceptual, “following the path of a non-human machine as it moves from its helpless origin to awareness and liberation,” as a press release lays out. Follow The Cyborg follows Miss Grit’s two EPs: 2021’s Imposter and 2019’s Talk Talk. Along with the album announcement, Sohn is sharing the title track, which is below and comes with a video directed by Curry Sicong Tian. Recorded entirely in Sohn’s home studio, Follow The Cyborg features the already released single ‘Like You,’ plus contributions from Stella Mozgawa of Warpaint, Aron Kobayashi Ritch of Momma, and Pearla. Opening up about ‘Follow The Cyborg‘s many cinematic influences and its accompanying video, Sohn says: “I wanted to place my body in the cyber world, allowing the different variations of my ghost to move about freely. I wanted to look a little freakish, unrecognizable to myself to avoid my instinctive filtration.” [via Stereogum]

Last year, the London-based musician Eva Liu released her debut EP as mui zyu, a wonderful thing vomits, which was fronted by the lead single ‘pour a brain.’ Now, she’s back with news of her first full-length album, Rotten Bun For An Eggless Century, which was co-produced with her Dama Scout bandmate Luciano Rossi. ‘Ghost With A Peach Skin,’ the first we’re hearing from it, is a warm and interior burble with sticky synths and a lullaby-esque melody. “This song is about leaving your former self and entering your new peach skin. Peaches are considered a symbol of longevity and even immortality in Chinese culture,” Liu, who was born in Hong Kong, said in a statement, continuing: The protagonist has overcome enemies and has bruises to prove the damage. However the bruised peach becomes stronger by overcoming them. The song features guzheng samples that have been highly edited and mangled. We liked the idea of having an excellent musician improvise on the traditional Chinese zither and ‘bruising’ their performance with distortion and effects to create a new stronger sound with little of its former self present – much like the meaning of the song. The ‘ghost’ inside refers to the ghost we used to be, the ghosts we carry with us and the ghosts we have to overcome too. Watch a CLUMP Collective-directed video for it above. [via Stereogum]

Steady Holiday’s Dre Babinski has announced a new album, Newfound Oxygen, her follow-up to Take The Corners Gently, which came out in early 2021. This one will be out in early 2023, and today the Los Angeles-based musician has shared its lead single, ‘Can’t Find A Way,’ a sweepingly sad track about not feeling the same way about someone else as they do about you. “Can’t find a way to fall in love with you/ You worship everything I do/ But I know I can’t find a way to fall in love,” Babinski sings. The track comes with a music video directed by Isaac Ravishankara. “I wanted to make a video that was far less literal than the song itself, but externalized the same emotional core – that the world as I know it is suddenly disoriented,” Babinski explains. “We brought to life the scene from the single’s artwork with fishing wire, blowdryers, and a platform that shifted to a 45 degree angle that the camera and table/chair was mounted to. I had to hold on for dear life.” [via Stereogum]

indie-pop wonderkid Ellie Dixon releases satirical new video ‘Swing!’. The hyper realistic clip plays on Ellie’s experience receiving unexpected online negativity last year. Directed by Jasmine De Silva, the video sees Ellie bounce from set-to-set tackling hurtling baseballs and intrusive microphones. Responding to the incessant nature of trolling, Ellie finds the confidence to swing back when times get tough. With intelligently balanced wit, Ellie taps into the damaging impact traditional feminine stereotypes and impeccable beauty expectations (bright lipsticks, baseball hair curlers, bleach-blonde barbies) have on women today. Speaking of the video, Ellie says, “For this video, I had this idea where I was being bombarded with baseballs and ended up on a baseball pitch against my will. It was a visual metaphor for when you find yourself in unexpected, unpleasant situations and you have to learn to get through them. The director instantly understood the sense of humour and surreal imagery I wanted – I love blending real life with elevated fantasy. The styling brought such a playful, retro feel to the whole video. You have no clue what decade you’re in, but you want to stay.”

Global pop icon P!NK releases her new single, ‘Never Gonna Not Dance Again,’ out now via RCA Records. Produced by GRAMMY-winning hitmakers Max Martin and Shellback, who also co-wrote the song with P!NK, the vibrant pop single is a euphoric and joyful ode to dancing through the hard times. Accompanying the song’s release is its playful music video, co-directed by P!NK and creative duo Nick Florez & RJ Durell. Set in a grocery store, the visual finds P!NK dancing and skating through the aisles, joined by a colorful cast of characters.

Following the release of their second EP, Modern Millenial, LibraLibra return with their utterly unique fusion of pop, electro and punk with an immense new single. Lulling us into a false sense of security with a sweeping orchestral intro, ‘Frenemies‘ soon builds with a haunting majesty into an epic frenzied cacophony. Reflecting on the comfort we may find in fake or damaging ‘friendships’, the track fizzes with a chaotic energy that’ll blast into the ears with a fierce sense of urgency. As it rages with a colossal magnificence, front woman Beth’s vocals simmer with a sultry allure before exploding into a riotous anthem seething with dark undertones. Of the track, Beth explains: “‘Frenemies’ is for all the fake friendships out there. Those friendships bound together through getting f**ked up, losing yourselves, your keys, your phone, blacking out and ending up a shell of your former self in a random kitchen at 4am with no way to get home. Your frenemy is your ride or die, you both should and could be each other’s saviors, but instead the chaos is calling and annihilation feels really good.“ ‘Frenemies’ is accompanied by a brand new video. Directed by kink photographer Sorry Jonny Died, it offers an eerie insight into the wonderfully sordid underbelly of LibraLibra’s world. [via Get In Her Ears]

After coming of age in a “chaotic, bohemian household,” and splitting time between Los Angeles and London for the past two years, budding singer-songwriter Grace Inspace Garner has forged a brand new musical alchemy that blends her interests in rock, pop, and “journalistic observations to create a unique, colorful world.” She found her bearings in London while fiddling with dynamic arrangements and experiments alongside a battalion of musicians holed up in her apartment, which presided over a mechanic’s garage. Garner’s single ‘Last Girl’ is a hypnotizing, electronic spark that highlights her infectious pop vocals. The song flutters and flickers, never pausing for a moment. It’s energetic, memorable, and an irreverent-but-earnest take on dystopia, written and recorded in an Airstream trailer while she was decamped near the Jedediah Smith River and Redwood Forest. Ever since her time in London toying with recordings that featured faint clanks of tools in the background, Garner’s had her sights set on making music that’s industrial in how it combines the sounds that populate her own creative psyche with the echoes of the real world surrounding her at all times. ‘Last Girl’ is a product of Garner’s writing blueprint, in which she composed “poems about places and people set to my head music.” “Imagine if you woke up one day and you’d missed the memo about pairing off for the apocalypse and you were left stranded on Earth while all the couples fled to safety in their spaceships,” Garner says. “You’re left roaming the Earth alone, enjoying the freedom and lamenting the loneliness. That’s the tale of ‘Last Girl’; I wanted to write a song that would celebrate the power of being alone as well as make fun of my insecurities about it.” [via FLOOD]

Nashville indie pop artist daena portrays a magician in the video for her new single ‘Disappearing Act’ – and she’s the most magical talent to hit Music City in quite some time. daena grew up not far from Bruce Springsteen’s old stomping ground in New Jersey. You can hear a little bit of The Boss in her music, as well as 2000s Liz Phair, Prince and Taylor Swift. And, like any great magician, daena surprises you with each new single. ‘Disappearing Act’ urges listeners not to be intimidated by the “perfect life” others project on social media. If you look behind the façade of perfection, even folks like Kim Kardashian have their struggles (Pete didn’t work out, Kanye’s gone crazy, etc.). [via Ladygunn]

With its distorted guitars and echoed backing vocals, ‘Love!’ is infused with 2000s pop nostalgia, with Hallie recalling ‘Cool’ by Gwen Stefani as an influence. “Oscar and I listened to ‘Cool’ by Gwen Stefani in the studio and I loved how the main hook of the song was one lyric and that lyric felt almost personified by the energy and sonic world of the song.” Still, the track sits well amongst other contemporaries (Oliva Rodrigo, Clairo), with hints of pop-punk and dream-pop revealing themselves throughout. Initially lamenting a romantic love lost, Hallie was able to re-channel that energy into a song of appreciation for the supportive bubble of friends around them, and the result is a refreshing take on the relatable concept of love. “I initially wrote ‘Love!’ about my then partner, when I woke up on my period feeling irritable but was instantly comforted by the love and depth of connection we had,” they comment. After finishing the writing and production with Oscar Sharah, I found new meaning in the song, and how in my current life it speaks to the platonic love surrounding me. It’s really nice to be reminded that within all the chaos and confusion of my early 20’s, there is so much support and love in friendships that often surpasses the romantic flings in my life.” As the track unravels, Hallie, we get to see Hallie’s witty lyricism revealing itself (“You call my bluffs / Like I call my mom / You hold me still / With a finger and thumb”) before the track blossoms into luscious guitar lines and a euphoric sense of closure and acceptance. In the accompanying video, Hallie is seen with their closest friends, as they explain, “Running lines and dancing around in our lounge room felt so healing for my inner child; it felt like we were 8 again being silly and full of joy while being creative. We’re all working out who we are and what we want at this time in our early 20’s, so it’s really nice to be reminded that within all the chaos and confusion, there is so much love and we can grow and work it out together. I am so in love with my friends!” [via Line Of Best Fit]

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