Katy gives some background on the song: “I needed to write a song about the ideal version of myself who wakes up very early, is very productive, and looks amazing all the time! It’s about the way women compare themselves to each other in all aspects of life, and the ways that womanhood has never really felt right to me. Embracing my non-binary identity has freed me somewhat, but I’m still susceptible to the expectations that society places on women, both at work and in workout classes.”

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The band gives some background on the song: “This song about an anticlimactic love affair was revived from the archives. I originally produced it as a slow/sleepy beat with just the chorus lyrics “all I got from you was a book and a cold/I’m tired of maybes to soften the blow.” Five years later, Wil turned it into a big glittery disco song, which was great, but it meant I had to go back and write some verses. As someone who normally starts and finishes the lyrics of a song within a few days, it was an interesting challenge to complete something I had started so long ago.”

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The band gives the background on where the song came from: “I wrote this song about a year ago when I was feeling particularly glued to my phone. I am frustrated by the addictive and invasive nature of smartphones and I hate that resisting your phone is an individual exercise in self control, especially since phone overuse is so common. My fantasy is for my smartphone to break irreparably so I can’t be so easily reached, my data can’t be tracked, my face won’t be recognized by my front-facing camera, and I would do something better with my time when I’m lying on my couch,” says Katy.

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Portland band foamboy shares another new single from their upcoming sophomore LP, Eating Me Alive, out on March 8. The video for ‘COOL!?!’ is centered around a run-in with a unnamed rival band on the kickball field. Katy Ohsiek on the track: “‘COOL!?!’ is meant to be fun and tongue-in-cheek. Wil’s instrumental here really reminds me of Sure Sure: groovy but also a little silly and a little cheeky? I was inspired to write lyrics from a more petty, whiny place for effect. My favorite part of the song is the half-step modulation up at the end with the lavish guitar solo. It always makes me think of the final lap in Mario Kart, when the music speeds up. It also makes me think of the rippin’ saxophone solo on the Dolphin Shoals track in Mario Kart 8.”

LA-based singer-songwriter and experimental pop auteur Angélica Garcia further cements her ethnic and spiritual prowess with the cumbia-inspired, avant-pop single ‘Juanita’ about a limitless woman. The official video for ‘Juanita,’ also out on Partisan Records and starring Angélica, was directed by Sonia Malfa, an award-winning documentary filmmaker from Puerto Rico, and explores liberation from restrictive gender roles through its dualling characters. Steeped in Angélica’s love for her culture and passions for visual poetry and storytelling, the black and white video further explores spirituality and Angélica’s Latin heritage. “Your voice, the sound of stars/Not even the gods can draw you,” Angélica sings on ‘Juanita,’ an expression of beauty in a song that also probes the chaos inherent in cycles of generational trauma, and the possibilities of breaking them. Or as Angélica puts it: “I wanted ‘Juanita’ to feel like the story of my life, but one that was also true in a past life. I wanted the song to have a never-ending quality.” The track has its roots in 2020, as Angélica was sitting before an altar that she constructed in her bedroom, a culmination of her new inquiry into ancestral veneration: looking into the past to inform the present with familial knowledge. Raised by an Episcopal priest father in a traditional Latino family structure, Angélica has devoted her recent years to the process of deconstructing religion, spirit, heritage, and womanhood, confronting grief and healing. On the production style and lyrical weight of the song, Angélica adds, “Many cumbias have lyrics about pain and longing… My intention was for the tension and confusion in the song to feel like remembering a past life. I wanted to capture what the shadow side of grief does to us.”

Australian trio Telenova have shared new single ‘Teardrop’. The band have caused a whirlwind of hype in their native Australia, and seem poised to breakout in 2024. Snapped up by Fiction, new single ‘Teardrop’ opens a fresh chapter, and it’s a gloriously inspired piece of pop songwriting. The loose yet contagious drum beat points to those vintage Saint Etienne singles, while there’s a 90s sheen to the production. It’s all done from a fresh vantage point, however, with the fuzzy guitar break shattering the song into pieces. ‘Teardrop’ has a wonderfully visual quality, and it leans itself natural to the beautifully shot video – directed by frontwoman Angeline Armstrong, and fellow director Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore. Angeline Armstrong says… “We wanted to capture the volatile nature of our ever-changing human emotions in this song. I have this innate longing and hope for stability and joy, but in tension to that, I often find myself doing and saying things I don’t mean to say or feel. Josh and I were interested in exploring that tension in the lyrics, how sometimes even the journey towards happiness and light can be tinged with a sadness or darkness, ‘a teardrop on the sunshine”. [via Clash]

UK producer Anna Prior has shared her track ‘Tech Não’. The musician is perhaps most immediately recognisable as Metronomy’s drummer, maintaining the percussive pulse that fuels the long-running alt-pop outfit. Her own production work – and her skills as a DJ – have made Anna Prior a quietly imposing figure in club culture, maintaining a steady catalogue of glittering solo work. This year promises to be something special, with Anna Prior gearing up to a larger project as a solo artist. Out now, new single ‘Tech Não’ leads the way – supple, tech-edged electronics, her pop instincts transform the melodies into something engaging yet also other-worldly. Released through House Anxiety, ‘Tech Não’ finds Anna Prior cross swords with James Greenwood (AKA Ghost Culture), who has previously worked with Daniel Avery, Kelly Lee Owens, and HAAi. Tom Furse helms the visuals, blending rave imagery with a feeling of melancholy. Anna Prior comments… “On the surface, it’s about losing friends in the crowds, helplessness and vulnerability but underneath… It’s about when the energy in the room starts to turn towards the unfamiliar and you’re not sure if what you just saw was real and when the euphoric highs aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. But this song has a happy ending, which I didn’t end up writing lyrics for directly, but I feel it when I hear it; it’s about the relief of being found and saved by friendly strangers and beloved old friends.” [via Clash]

The latest single from power pop band, Shadow Show, is called ‘On A Cloud.’ Taken from their upcoming LP called Fantasy Now!, that will be out everywhere music is sold on February 16, this electric track channels the band’s love of 60’s psychedelic rock paired with pure pop bliss in their hooks. The band shared, “‘On a Cloud’ is the finale of our upcoming album, Fantasy Now!, With this track we offer a mantra of hope, peace and triumph over adversity. As a personal favorite, we strive to share the joy we felt while creating this song with the listener.” [via chorus.fm]

Zara Larsson has released a new video for ‘You Love Who You Love’. It’s a cut from her new album, Venus. The record is out now accompanied by a spring UK and European headline tour. The track was produced by MTHR in collaboration with MNEK and Danja. Zara explains, “we started writing over PRIDE, and began talking about how amazing it is that anyone can love anyone – but that doesn’t mean you always should! We’ve all had that friend, or been that friend, who keeps going back to someone who’s bad for them, and ‘You Love Who You Love’ is saying enough is enough.” [via Dork]

Klypi’s latest track, ‘Kiss Me,’ emerges as an exquisite snapshot filled with tender expressions, blossoming amidst the desolation of self-doubt. It serves as both a beacon of hope and a gentle reprimand to the reticent beloved, articulating through its poignant lyrics a readiness to surrender for a simple touch, a kiss, an opportunity. Captured by LA-based videographer Vik Grossling, this video piece stirs a sense of nostalgia reminiscent of Kate Bush and Enya’s music videos, the kind once discovered on bootlegged cassettes. The transitions, crafted by Dennis Stein from Introvertmusic, give the impression of a message being transmitted through fragile, old technology. This effect is intensified by Klypi’s skillful montage editing, alongside the deliberate preservation of incidental audio-visual glitches that occurred during production, adding a unique layer of authenticity to the work. Klypi explores the myriad facets of self-identity through an ever-changing tableau of silhouettes, poses, outfits, and layered images. Drawing inspiration from the unique blend of cult-smut-sci-fi seen in films like Liquid Sky and Brazil, along with the ethereal vibe of those late-night, as-seen-on-TV Pure Moods compilations, this dynamic visual expression celebrates the coexistence of Klypi’s multiple selves in all their glory. The video’s nuanced choreography resonates with the aching void of longing for an absent partner, reaching into the space they should occupy. With a determined expression, Klypi seeks a direct confrontation with the lover, demanding their full attention and engagement. Klypi dazzles with their exclusive eyeshadow palette, “You See Me,” presenting themselves openly to the gaze of the audience and provoking the poignant inquiry – if this is truly love, then why the hesitation to express it? [via Post-Punk]

Following the announcement of her forthcoming second album, I’M DOING IT AGAIN BABY!, girl in red shares the album’s lead single, ‘Too Much’. “I’ve always been told I’m too much. Throughout my whole childhood and in my adult years. Getting shut down when I’m at my happiest or most excited made me feel self-conscious, alienated, and weird,” shares Marie Ulven. “It wasn’t until I encountered the same feeling in my relationships, that I realized how much it actually hurt me to never feel fully accepted for who I am. As well I think culturally people tend to be too cool to have fun or to show true excitement and emotions, and I’m so tired of that facade.” [via Line Of Best Fit]

Zolita is a movie maker. Her cinematic queer experiences, like the viral ‘Fight Like a Girl’ and ‘Somebody I F*cked Once,’ are the cherry on top to her already lush sonic universes. “I tell sapphic love stories through my music videos, and I’m always brainstorming new settings and environments to tell those stories in.” Her new music video for ‘Bloodstream,’ premiering on PAPER, is maybe the best yet. Featuring Kyra Green of Love Island US fame It tells the story of two contestants in a beauty pageant who, through the craziness of the whole pageant circuit, end up falling in love. “In 2022 when I heard the news of Miss Puerto Rico and Miss Argentina getting married, my gears started turning,” she says. “I couldn’t stop thinking about their story. I was flooded with so many images of what must have went down.” The track itself is a moody alt-pop number all about wanting to be connected with your lover in the deepest, most visceral way. “I wanna be in your bloodstream, run through your veins / I wanna know how it feels to be in your DNA,” she sings over glimmering guitars. “I love making music that invokes nostalgia and I am endlessly inspired by early 2000s romcoms and the soundtracks that go along with them,” Zolita says. “Someone recently commented that ‘Bloodstream’ was very Michelle Branch and Liz Phair coded and that’s exactly the energy I was going for.” At the end of the day, Zolita says her “greatest strength is telling authentic stories that resonate with queer audiences.” There’s only more to come from the budding pop star and we can’t wait to hear where she’s going. [via PAPER]

Kacey Musgraves has announced the new album Deeper Well. The Texas-born singer will release her Star-Crossed follow-up on March 15 (via Interscope/MCA Nashville). The album’s first single is the title song, and it comes with a music video made by creative production studio London Alley and director Hannah Lux Davis. “Sometimes you reach a crossroads. Winds change direction. What you once felt drawn to doesn’t hold the same allure,” Musgraves said of ‘Deeper Well’ in a press release, “you get blown off course, but eventually find your footing and forage for new inspiration, new insight, and deeper love somewhere else.” Watch the new video below. [via Pitchfork]

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Katy Ohsiek on the track: “One of the main ideas of this song was the feeling of a groove that’s so behind the beat it almost sounds sloppy, but in a cool way. Another big idea was for the main vocals to sound like they are going through some sort of processor/harmonizer (but they’re not!). There’s lots of interesting contrast in this track. Lyrically, it’s meant to evoke the feeling of being bored at a bar with your friends- you’re supposed to be having fun with them, but you’re just checked out and thinking about other things.”

About the new album, Eating Me Alive, Katy continues: “I am so happy with how this album turned out. Unlike our last release, which we created over email during the first year of the pandemic, this record is much more informed by our live shows and the incredible instrumentalists we get to work with. It’s still distinctly foamboy, it’s definitely still fun, but a little darker than the last album. Lyrically, this album details the entire rise and fall of a very complicated and crushing relationship. It’s also about reckoning with the aftermath of your public art, discovering your own queer identity, rejecting heteronormative narratives, surviving grad school, and giving up in a good way. I am so grateful to Wil, our recording engineer Justin, our bandmates, and all other musicians involved in this project.”

Eating Me Alive:

1. Smoke Machine
2. Yours or Mine
3. Burnout
4. Not A Go
5. Sarah
6. Take My Place
7. He Fucking Texts Me
8. Song About You
9. imtryingimtryingimtrying
10. COOL!?!
11. Can’t Fall In Love With You If You’re Not There
12. Exit Sign
13. I Wish You The Worst
14. Don’t Let Me Wear Your Sweater
15. Eating Me Alive

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Katy describes the song’s origins: “This song is about being in math grad school, being amongst people who are better at and more committed to academics than I ever could be. The love and community I found while I was in that environment was stained with the truth that we were all competing against each other, and I was losing. It was impossible to love anyone when there were big, consequential exams to study for.”

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Katy describes the song’s origins: “‘Song About You’ is a very meta song. This guy kept bugging me about a song I had written about him in the past, so I wrote this song about that experience. I really like that it’s a sexy slow jam about a very uncomfortable situation! I’m worried that this dude will try to talk to me about ‘Song About You,’ which would be even more meta. Like how the reflection of a mirror goes on forever.”

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