The riotous, quick-witted collection of 11 garage-rock bangers provides Ghost Car with a platform to rage against political injustices, as their unified harmonies attack patriarchal inequality, homophobia, racism and toxic relationships. Truly Trash is a call to reclaim autonomy and to revolt against the powers that uphold an archaic nationalist system.

Right out the gate Truly Trash makes its intentions clear. Raw intensity builds toward blistering, riff-heavy noise-outs while frenzied synth drags the sound in a 60’s psych direction. Call-and-response gang vocals permeate the entire record as back-to-back choruses keep energy levels at maximum, boasting huge glam guitars and caustic drums of pure fury.

Originally the album was due to be released by Burger Records, however as accounts of sexual assault and exploitation of women by associates of the label came to light the band pulled out of the planned release. As activists for feminism and members of the LGBTQ+ community, Ghost Car practice what they preach, and aim to spread their mantra of inclusivity and equal rights as loud as possible.

We had a chat with the band all about what they’ve been up to, the making of Truly Trash and more. Read the Q&A below.

Hi guys! How are you? How have the last two years been for you as a band (with the pandemic and shutting down of Burger Records)? This year in particular has seen you gain a lot of momentum. What’s that journey been like?

Cece: “2020 has been the start of everything for me, initially very slowly but I’m glad we had the chance to find our rhythm and our way of writing together before having the pressure of gigging around. It’s been great to have the chance to record our first album together and finally being able to perform it live.”

Clara: “All good! Thank you! Pandemic was scary and frustrating but we managed to write new music and that helped us so much to remember why we are in a band and how much we love playing music. We are over the moon to finally have our debut album in our hands after many years of hard work.”

Maeve: “Regarding Burger, we found it harrowing but sadly not surprising. The punk scene can be very exclusive and abusive, especially for marginalised communities. We’re proud and stand by the people who spoke out, but the one positive to come from this is that it’s starting an honest discussion in order to stamp this abuse out, and make the punk scene a more inclusive space.”

Laura: “The last two years have been amazing and challenging…with lots of time on wasted plans, but we never gave up, and it made us fight harder.. In the last year we had lots of beginnings, we found Ceci, and writing together took time but it was so great Having the band was more important than ever during those times. We then signed to OLI. The past year has been very busy with recording the album/ and creating assets for the campaign. We shot three videos in a month in the end! We did it! We feel very proud!”

For anyone discovering Ghost Car here for the first time, please gave us a brief history on the band, your mission and your influences.

Cece: “I’ll leave the history of the band to the other girls, but to me Ghost Car mission is to create a safe and non judgmental place for everyone in music, where you can just have fun while dealing with important issues. We don’t aim to be the best band in the world, but we hope that we can make the difference for someone that hasn’t seen themselves represented on a stage before.

“We all have different influences, from the 60s rock n’roll to the 90s riot grrrl with a big stop in the 70s and 80s punk and post-punk scene.”

Clara: “Ghost Car started in 2014, I had my keyboard in my room and I asked my best friend who was my housemate that time as well, if she wanted to start a band called Ghost Car. She was in! Bought a bass guitar and the same week, two other friends, Laura and Jessica were in too! Our mission is to change the music industry dominated by men and speak up about life but in particular injustices or things that make us angry, for example dickheads politicians or inequality and one of the most wonderful thing is to hear after a gig people saying we are such an inspiration and they would start their own band and play music.”

Maeve: “For people discovering us for the first time, we’ve been described as anything from garage punk, glam punk to old school style punk to riot girl! Or my personal fav “shouty shit”. We would suggest playing the album loud before a night out!”

You’ve just released your debut LP Truly Trash. What can you tell us about the record? What do you hope fans/listeners take away from it?

Cece: “The album is our way to express what bothers us, from personal interactions to international politics. We wanted to explore different themes in a simple way so that they could be accessible to everyone.”

Clara: “I hope fans can enjoy our album and feel identified with the songs and also have a great time listening to the music.”

Please take us through your songwriting/creative process for Truly Trash. What was your favourite part and what did you find most challenging?

Cece: “Everyone in Ghost Car contributes in equal way, we all write lyrics and our own parts and we put them together giving advices to each other.

“The most challenging part was definitely trying to write during a national lockdown, but we found our way, sending music projects to each other and adding our own layers on top.”

Clara: “My favourite part is to feel the connection we have between us creating the songs together. The most challenging bit is when you ask yourself: Is this good or is it rubbish?”

Finally, what are your plans for 2023?

Cece: “We will start writing again and get ready for a UK and EU tour!”

Clara: “Our plans for 2023 is to start writing the second album and touring.”

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Atlanta-based four-piece Mamalarky have shared a third track and accompanying video taken from their forthcoming new album, Pocket Fantasy which is set for release on September 30 through Fire Talk Records. Following the album’s debut single and ode to friendship ‘Mythical Bonds’, and the more introspective, meandering track ‘It Hurts,’ the band up the ante with latest track ‘Shining Armor.’ Accompanied by a video animated by Alex Futtersak, who is known for several striking visuals he has created for Cautious Clay and Crumb, the track is the kind only Mamalarky could have created. It delivers a tightly-wound blend of jazz-inflected, woozy, intricate math-rock and indie-pop – somehow at once both angular and heady – seeing the band strike a chord somewhere between both their most jubilant and abrasive. Guitarist/vocalist Live Bennett comments: “This one goes out to conveniently anonymous YouTube haters. ‘Shining Armor’ is an invitation for anyone who has shit to say about how I play guitar to go ahead and reveal themselves and play a little song for us! When I wrote this I was getting a bunch of comments about my gender and appearance and how that corresponds with how I play guitar. The only response was to covert that anger into something that’s genuinely so fun to play. Alex Futtersak (@chippy_zone) took this idea and crafted a whole world around it, where our music is essentially breaking a curse over these angry knights in armor. I actually sent him some DIY motion capture from my room so some of the moves are true to form.”

Last year, the Los Angeles electro-pop duo Magdalena Bay released their much-acclaimed debut album Mercurial World. Next month, they’ll release a deluxe edition of that album that’ll feature a bunch of unreleased tracks. Magdalena Bay have shared the squelchy stop-start pop song ‘Unconditional.’ In a press release, the band describes ‘Unconditional’ as the “weird little cousin” of their Mercurial World single ‘Secrets (Your Fire),’ and they say that the ‘Unconditional’ video is their “dream birthday party.” [via Stereogum]

Ghost Car, the London-based international punk quartet, announced their debut album Truly Trash following their signing to One Little Independent Records. The riotous, quick-witted collection of 11 garage-rock bangers will be released on October 28. The album provides Ghost Car with a platform to rage against political injustices, as their unified harmonies attack patriarchal inequality, homophobia, racism and toxic relationships. Truly Trash is a call to reclaim autonomy and to revolt against the powers that uphold an archaic nationalist system. Of biting new single ‘Selfish, Spoiled’ they told us that “we’d definitely found our groove writing together collectively, this one’s about that person in the creative industry (I’m sure everyone knows someone) who is so overly privileged getting pay outs from their mega rich parents, while other artists from working class backgrounds have to work so much harder for any type of ‘exposure’ while doing their day job. 16% of people in creative jobs come from working class backgrounds according to PEC”. Ghost Car worked closely in the making of the satirical video with art director Claudia Torán who tells us; “The story behind the video is that dinner guests played by the band represent ‘the system’ itself, (politicians, bourgeoisie, etc. portrayed in an exaggerated, ironic, sarcastic way) whilst ‘enjoying’ what appears to be a lavish dinner party. With fake attitudes and ungrateful behaviour. They don’t want to face any problems or injustices. Only interested in their egos. It’s later revealed that the dinner party, like ‘the system’, is rotten. Nothing is what it appears to be. Everything is now chaotic and the characters destroy everything, transforming into crazed guests, challenging the camera, trying to get the message through “will you ever open your eyes?” They continue; “This feels particularly relevant in the current climate, in recent times what feels like a nationalistic fervour has been unleashed. An oppressive media imposes its own narrative, and doesn’t reflect a country where millions of people are not able to eat and heat their homes.” The video also sees them teaming up again with videographer Simon Eaves and artist Maria De La O Garrido who created the extravagant props and set design.

Anna B Savage is sharing her new single ‘The Ghost’, which is out now via City Slang Records and was produced by Mercury Prize winning producer Mike Lindsay (Lump, Tunng). Speaking about new single ‘The Ghost’, Savage said “Exhausted from years of being haunted by an ex-partner, this song is a plea to let go, or be let go of. Exploring the particular cruelty of the human brain, that love can be felt so deeply, hurt so essentially and so much, and still feel so present many years later.” The video for ‘The Ghost’ was directed by Savage with creative direction from Sophie Hurley-Walker. It was shot by Katie Silvester & Sophie Hurley-Walker over multiple days on location in North Yorkshire and was then edited by Louis Hemming-Lowe. On the visuals, Savage offered “We wanted to explore a narrative where uncomfortable meets beautiful, and everything is alternately comforting and immediately strange and uncanny, like the tendrils of old love, once so joyous turned sour and frightening.”

It’s been five years since we’ve gotten a new Alvvays album, but we won’t have to wait much longer now. Next month, the great Toronto indie-pop crew will follow their 2017 LP Antisocialites with their new long-player Blue Rev. Thus far, Alvvays have shared two early singles, ‘Pharmacist’ and ‘Easy On Your Own?’. Now, they’ve broken us off with two more tracks at the same time. ‘Very Online Guy,’ the first of the new Alvvays songs, is a chilly, rigid synth-rocker with its vocals artfully blurred. The sound matches the subject matter, since ‘Very Online Guy’ is a song about the whole culture of reply guys. (If you don’t know what a reply guy is, you might be one! Don’t be one!) The song has an extremely pixelated music video, and Alvvays members Molly Rankin and Alec O’Hanley co-directed it with Colby Richardson. “We directed a mosaic-mode vid for ‘V.O.G.’ with our videoguru friend Colby,” say the band. “This was easily the funnest thing we’ve ever shot. Enjoy our clunky low-bit collage of aliased key clacking and step-dance scramble on your CRTs.” [via Stereogum]

Singer songwriter Bellah has once again delivered with her brand new track ‘Garden.’ The mesmerising track was produced by Grammy-nominated producer Jonah Christian and serves as the lead single of her new EP Adultsville. Opening up on the project on social media, the performer told fans, “Adultsville is place I’ve found myself in without remembering how I got here or what to do now that I am here.” Watch the enchanting visuals Ray Fiasco-directed visuals above. [via GRM Daily]

Not just an affectionate pet name to call someone but also an acronym for ‘Break Up Band’, Tāmaki Makaurau’s BUB tackle the hurly-burly world of relationships head-on in their fuzz-pop anthem ‘Dreams’, out now with news of a nationwide single release tour. The project of Priya Sami (The Sami Sisters, Trip Pony, Dateline) with bandmates Daniel Barrett, Alex Freer (the mastermind behind A.C. Freazy) and Jana Te Nahu-Owen, BUB’s super catchy song is more than a little bittersweet, as Sami opens up about yearning for a soulmate but feeling a mite unlovable, coming to the conclusion “let’s blame society.” Bleakly relatable yet wryly fun and upbeat, the single’s spiralling new wave melodies operate on the earworm level of their 2021 debut tune ‘King Of Wands’, rammed home in director Liv McClymont’s video starring the group fishing for love off the sunny coastline of Maraetai — but do their fresh catches measure up? [via Under The Radar]

Five-time GRAMMY Award-winning legend and the best-selling female artist in country music history Shania Twain has unveiled her first new single since 2017, ‘Waking Up Dreaming’. The single serves as her first release with her new label partner Republic Nashville, a division of Republic Records. Shania also released a video for the single, which was directed by Isaac Rentz.

Izzy and the Black Trees bring raw punk energy with their noisy psych guitar riffs, strong beat, and feisty melodies: we hear the likes of Patti Smith, Debbie Harry, and PJ Harvey channeled through the lyrics and delivery of this passionate political anthem. “‘Kick Out the Damned’ is a simple message for those who long overstayed their unwanted welcome, for those who unrightfully claim what’s theirs, particularly authoritarian leaders whose golden statues will tumble and fall eventually,” says Izabela “Izzy” Rekowska. It calls for a shift change in society; an uprising of the suppressed, oppressed, and depressed. Mariusz Dojs animated the gorgeously-nightmarish Tim Burton-esque stop-motion video, whereupon we witness the toppling of historic statues in a frenetic run-for-your-life chase. Izzy and The Black Trees blast through the spiritual veil with an infectious, fuzz-ridden punk soundtrack. [via Post Punk]

Art-Pop trio, Stealing Sheep, have just released a mesmerizing video for ‘Never Gonna Live Up’ alongside new UK tour dates for November. Mixing electronic pop, disco, Italo, 80’s synths and ethereal vocals, the single is featured on their latest LP Wow Machine, an esoteric collection of ‘computer based’ compositions inspired by female electronic pioneers. The tracks include a ghost member, the legendary electronic trailblazer Delia Derbyshire, as her sci-fi samples weave their way through the audio landscapes of the LP. Most of us will know Delia Derbyshire from the Dr Who theme tune. Stealing Sheep’s album is threaded together with concepts such as ‘invisible women’ and ‘humans vs machines.’ Emily said, “It’s about the overwhelming feeling of wanting to give up and the anger and frustration that arises as you keep striving but never get anywhere, wading through the mud pushing against the machine”. Their new video depicts floating human heads lost in the ether, malfunctioning, glitching out and losing their humanity. “Synthetic everything’ surrounds us, face filters, virtual realities, perfected avatars…we’re living in the deep fake. How is this affecting our mental state? How does it control our next move? How will our mortal imperfections ever live up to that of the machines?” said Bex. Although the depiction is dystopian, the overriding feeling is of empowerment and that nothing can replace the idiosyncrasies of humanity. True beauty lies in imperfection. “We released this LP with a femme ran label called Both Sides Records, it felt like the perfect pairing for this music. The label manifesto for rebalancing gender in the music industry rang true to the messages we’re writing about,” said Bex. [via God Is in the TV]

PRIESTESS, the alt-pop artist hailing from London, releases her bewitching new single ‘Holy Flesh’. An evocative music video lands also, co-directed by fellow artist and friend Ana Lemos in the vast isolated British coastal setting of Fairlight Glen. ‘Holy Flesh’ is the first track to be released from PRIESTESS’ debut EP set for release before the year closes out. ‘Holy Flesh’ draws us in from the outset, with haunting piano melodies and the artist’s rich alluring vocal. The atmosphere builds with woozy electronics and finally explodes with an epic instrumental to striking effect, reminiscent of something akin to Nine Inch Nails. Kate said about the single “’Holy Flesh’ is about the sanctity within the feminine and the rage felt when violence in words and actions are inflicted against a person, when at the core they are a sacred being. It was written at a time when I felt ‘weak’ and undermined for showing emotion. For centuries, women have been made to feel like this and I wanted to write a song about that silent anger, which can often be left without anywhere to be released or placed within society. For the video concept. I wanted to create something similar to a Gothic Folk Horror short, using witchcraft and murder as the main themes.”

The post appeared first on She Makes Music.

Nothing could’ve prepared us for what a beautiful couple Lizzo and fashion supermodel Tyson Beckford would make in her new music video for ‘2 Be Loved (Am I Ready).’ Making her wildest dreams come true, she brought the 51-year-old heartthrob to the desert for her self-titled album single. The visual follows Lizzo as a runaway bride, recreating scenes from her breakout ‘Truth Hurts’ music video in 2019. After leaving herself and a shirtless pastor at the altar, she speeds across the desert highway in a red convertible and stomps through sand hills wearing white platform combat boots. When all hope seems lost, Beckford appears on a motorcycle. A sight for sand-filled eyes, it seems almost too good to be true. The two get cozy and Lizzo goes in for the kiss, more ready than ever. Just as she does, her friends arrive to retrieve the runaway bride. What they find, though, is not a pretty picture: Lizzo making out with a tree, no supermodel in sight. But she doesn’t let biting on a little bark get her down. Quickly bouncing back with a bottle of Patron, nonetheless, Lizzo and her bridal party pull out all the stops. With choreographed numbers, campfires and blinding blinged-out lingerie, this party is decidedly better than Lizzo’s wedding, anyway. The ‘2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)’ video is an unapologetic ode to taking your time and loving yourself. So don’t settle for anything less than french kissing a supermodel on a motorcycle in the desert, even if it is a mirage. [via PAPER]

This week, THICK released their sophomore album, Happy Now and they’re also back with one last single, the gleaming and spiky ‘Happiness.’ “This song explores the ways we seek validation and how it motivates the way we interact with the world around us,” the band said in a statement. “Whether you look for it externally or internally, it begs the question, ‘Who is this all for and is it ever enough?’” [via Stereogum]

Canadian singer-songwriter Olivia Street and her band King of Foxes are the makers of delightful yet peppy indie-pop. Their recent single release of ‘Pleasant Solutions’ is a perfect demonstration of why her music connects with fans in such a unique way. She has a unique artistic method, that’s versatile and has the ability to create old-school retro sounds with a modern twist. There’s no lack of tongue-in-cheek throughout her music, with each music video bringing a playful vibe, the latest takes place in a dull office, before the staff take matters into their own hands. The lyrics and meaning throughout Only Here On Loan is about being confident, and holding on. The band writes, “When it comes to writing lyrics, I love finding universality in the specifics. I hope that people see themselves in the song — we’re all hurtling through space on a rock together, trying to hold on to what we think we know. There is beauty in realizing that nothing really belongs to us, that everything we have is ‘only here on loan.'” Taken from their forthcoming album, ‘Pleasant Solutions’ offers a rustic sound to modern indie. It’s full of quirky and catchy hooks that’s rich with a nostalgic touch. [via Earmilk]

Chloe Moriondo will release new album Suckerpunch on October 7. Moriondo takes full control of proceedings, augmenting her vision with contributions from Oscar Scheller (Rina Sawayama, PinkPantheress, Charli XCX), David Pramik (Machine Gun Kelly, Oliver Tree), and Teddy Geiger (Caroline Polachek, Olivia O’Brien). A 13 tracker, Chloe Moriondo will preview the album with a night at London’s iconic Heaven club on August 24. New single ‘Fruity’ is online, blazing a trail for the full length, her first since 2021’s ‘Blood Bunny’. The single bursts out of the traps, future-pop stylings with a punk-like sense of defiance. She comments… “’Fruity’ and this album in general are going to be a slap in the fucking face!! I liked the idea of naming the album for something that means an unexpected hit—something you never saw coming. It means the world to me to have the creative means to explore different shiny sounds and work with people I love so dearly on a project that is so new and exciting for me.” [via Clash]

Returning with her sassy pop sheen to prowl over the R&B scene, DEJA releases latest single ‘Boom Boom Bah’. DEJA’s badass and feisty female energy comes in with ‘Boom Boom Bah’. Empowering every girl with that whining and grinding confidence, DEJA shows appreciation to her body heritage in this atypical ode to her mother. Loaded with radiating hip beats and audacious elation, ‘Boom Boom Bah’ is a sass-soaked single. In her own words, DEJA explains;“Even though all the women in my bloodline were, I was not blessed with ample booty. In my family, this has been a running joke for as long as I can remember! Mama blessed me with no nyash, still every single man want that. ‘Boom Boom Bah’ pays homage to my mama and our heritage but in the most light-hearted way. I’ve written ballads about my love for my mother but I wanted this one to make her smile and shake body!”

Possessing a natural knack for genre-bending, Oregon-born artist Haley Johnsen has lent her musical magic to her retro new single ‘Renegade’. Indie-pop and folk-rock join forces here to create a unique sound, underpinned by soaring vocals and introspective lyricism. Having already built up an impressive fan base after her critically acclaimed debut album, Golden Days, the universally loved star’s return has been a sweet one, wrapped up in a nostalgic 80s and synth-laden tinge. Assembling the ultimate dream team on the new project, Johnsen brought to the mix award-winning, time-travelling filmmaker/ TikTok star, Maris Jones, for the track’s accompanying music video. The two creatives transport us to an entirely different decade in the new cut, flaunting all things 80s. Proving that self-love is a global currency when contemplating her newest cut, Johnsen explains, “‘Renegade’ is about fully stepping into who you are and what you’re meant to do in this life, which I believe is one of the most badass, rebellious things we can do. I needed to write this song to remind myself that even though I still struggle with my self-esteem and trust in myself at times, that I am still brave enough to be continuing to push through and follow my dreams. In this video made by the incredible Maris Jones, I get to become the superhero I always hoped I’d be for myself. Saving the world from evil storms of self-doubt and battling it with self-love and courage, one day at a time!” [via Wonderland]

Following the release of their first album in six years Radiate Like This, Warpaint are sharing the video for LP cut ‘Hips’. “’Hips’ has a scuttling intensity to it,” director Jim Hosking says. “It sounds like someone desperately trying to find something. Or at least that’s what it seemed to me. I listened to it repeatedly and kept seeing women desperately searching for each other in a seaside town. Ideas present themselves and it’s not about logic or reason, it’s about emotion. And here the emotion suggested identically dressed women finding each other in an old seaside town in England called Southend On Sea.” “We are thrilled to share this strange and beautiful video for ‘Hips’ from the brilliant mind of Jim Hoskins,” the band add. “Give it a watch.” [via DIY]

Artist on the rise, EMELINE returns with her strong-minded and sensually charged new single ‘Strut’ and its accompanying video. Co-written by EMELINE, ‘Strut’ finds the Los Angeles-based artist fully owning her sexuality and turning the track’s chorus into a supremely catchy statement of freedom: “I don’t do the walk of shame, I strut.” A dance-ready anthem of self-celebration, ‘Strut’ follows the Rhode Island-born singer-songwriter’s viral smash hit ‘cinderella’s dead’. In a departure from the slow-burning dark-pop of ‘cinderella’s dead,’ ‘Strut’ brings EMELINE’s breathy vocals and sophisticated wordplay to a high-energy backdrop of diamond-hard beats, glistening synth, and retro-flavored horns. Both playful and unapologetic, the result is the latest proof of EMELINE’s gift for transforming self-reflection into spellbinding songs with a powerful impact. Co-directed by EMELINE and Kate Zamudio, the video for ‘Strut’ follows the free-spirited phenomenon as she struts along city streets, endlessly turning heads with her unbridled confidence. A glorious explosion of pink, the visual also captures EMELINE making out in a vintage car and an old-school phone booth, ultimately inspiring the scandalized bystanders to shake off their inhibitions and dance along with her.

Los Angeles-based DIY rock band The Paranoyds share new single and accompanying video, ‘BWP’. Alongside the single, the band announces a UK tour this fall with tickets on sale now here, in addition to their North American dates, ahead of their highly anticipated sophomore LP, Talk Talk Talk due out September 9 and available for pre-order now, via Third Man Records. After some audio feedback and a steady guitar loop begins, ‘BWP’ opens the album with an attempt to escape the monotony of daily life. Over warbled vocals, expressing disappointment with how the once-alluring future turned out, guitarist and vocalist Lexi Funston sings, “Up on my bed / I’m looking to mend / I contend I’ve got a case / A fight in my head / I’ve got a ten I’m willing to spend / A day is long when not much is coming in / Cross off 60 more, this future was a bore” Funston explains the fuzzy jam is inspired by feeling stuck in an endless routine for so long, daydreams no longer feel special or significant–they’ve just become the norm. “Every now and then there are those days and sometimes even weeks where it just feels like you’re in a rut–for me they’re usually induced by some sort of gnarly LA heatwave or fire (if i’m really unlucky, it’s both!). All you can really do to escape the heat is daydream, but daydreaming day-to-day…it’s just not the same.” Speaking to what the title’s three letters stand for, Funston adds, “I wrote the demo for the song at a time where it felt like all of a sudden Spotify was overcompensating for years of only boosting male rock bands, in this super disingenuous way (2019). There was this playlist called “Badass Women’s Playlist,” which I thought was such a cringe title for a playlist (looking at the playlist now, they dropped the “Women’s”). “But, on the other hand,” Funston admits, “I wanted our music to be on this playlist…I figured if I wrote a song with that intention in mind and named it after the playlist, we might finally get some subliminal love from Spotify…I guess that makes it a self-referential song about selling out.” Directed by Max Flick, the track’s accompanying video allows each band member and their instrument shine as each shot corresponds seamlessly with each note played. Against a black backdrop, hues of red, yellow and blue along with a single spotlight bring the floating heads of each band member in and out of view. Similar to previously shared visuals, the band brings their retro spirit with them into the future, creating something brand new altogether. Flick, who has previously collaborated with the band, was thrilled to be able to direct the latest video. “Since the first time I saw The Paranoyds play at the original Non Plus Ultra I was an instant fan and knew I wanted to make a video together. We have worked on many projects over the years, but this is my first time directing for them.” After listening to the track, Flick had a clear vision for the visual. “Listening to ‘BWP’ immediately provided me with these vivid images that we were able to make come to life and I couldn’t be happier with the outcome.”

Sudan Archives has shared a new video for her song ‘NBPQ (Topless),’ a track from her forthcoming album Natural Brown Prom Queen. Agusta YR directed the busy, surreal visual. [via Pitchfork]

Annie DiRusso shares her new single ‘Call It All Off.’ “The song is about losing yourself in someone or something and trying to reenter the world once that chapter closes,” DiRusso shares. “This song was born from a time when I was so caught up in a relationship that I didn’t realize I had isolated myself from friends, family and a lot of good things in my life. When I realized how much I missed, I found myself wanting to just give up & ‘call it all off’ rather than reconnect with the outside world because it seemed like too big an undertaking. Releasing this song is a good reminder that there’s life on the other side.” Annie DiRusso also shared about the song, “It’s like me walking out of that relationship and reentering the world and realizing, like, I had a neglected relationship with my friends. Or like, I think often what happens in those kinds of relationships is when someone tells you, like, you should break up with him, then you’re like, ‘yeah, yeah.’ And then you like, just like, don’t talk to that person for a while because I don’t want to break up with your boyfriend. Like, and that was something that had happened with a lot of my friends. And so I think there was that period of kind of getting out of that relationship and being like, Hey, I broke up with him finally. All my friends were so welcoming, too. And it’s just a feeling, like, I think it’s about that fear of, like, I feel so disconnected from everyone, and everyone’s life moved on while I was, like, in this bubble. And I feel weird, like having to reenter now, you know, after missing so much.” [via Guitar Girl Mag]

Ghost Car, the London-based international punk quartet, announced their debut album Truly Trash following their signing to One Little Independent Records. The riotous, quick-witted collection of 11 garage-rock bangers will be released on October 28. The album provides Ghost Car with a platform to rage against political injustices, as their unified harmonies attack patriarchal inequality, homophobia, racism and toxic relationships. Truly Trash is a call to reclaim autonomy and to revolt against the powers that uphold an archaic nationalist system. The jumped-up chaos of their glorious new single ‘Conch Pearl’ perfectly matches its B-movie style visual, by upcoming videographer Cath Shayler. She says that “Ghost Car become collectively entranced by a mysterious pearl object. Obsession quickly turns to possession as the pearl transforms into an all-encompassing hypnotic orb”. The band describe ‘Conch Pearl’ as “a feminist commentary on women/queer community being ‘shrunk down’ to fit a mould. The idea of a conch shell closing up, closing yourself off to the world vs opening up. We wanted to use the obsession with the pearl to represent the possession that is sometimes manifested towards women, something all of us have experienced first-hand at some point in our lives”. [via SoundSphere]

LØLØ’s new single ‘u turn me on (but u give me depression)’ is an excellent summer anthem for anyone who secretly hates their partner. “I wish I fell for an ax murderer instead of you / He’d kill me too but at least he’d make it quick.” LØLØ rolls her eyes, arms crossed over a bright orange bedspread, as she delivers her first line, in the music video, next to a man who is fast asleep. “No he wouldn’t get me hot and heavy / Then pretend he never met me and make me such a crazy bitch.” ‘u turn me on (but u give me depression)’ is a pop-punk battle cry rich with upbeat instrumentals. The music starts off with a bare-bones guitar riff before building up to crisp drum claps and a resonant bass line. Speaking of the new track, LØLØ says, of the lover, “Instead of being dead, I live in a constant state of purgatory – flip flopping from happiness to sadness. I love him, I hate him. He turns me on. He gives me depression. But most importantly, he helps me write the best songs.” [via SPIN]

Whimsical, imaginative and ethereal are all words to describe Arizona born and bred indie pop artist Summy. Now based in Los Angeles, the young social media influencer and otherworldly songwriter crafts music inspired by her personal experiences and her deepest desire to inspire other women to be strong, embrace growth, and to love themselves for who they are. Inspired by a wide array of musical influences including Whitney Houston, Phil Collins, Chicago, Elton John, and Lady Gaga, Summy writes music that is genre-defying and introspective. Her latest single ‘Said It After’ is about “when the relationship ends, the person comes to say all the things you wanted to hear when you were together but now it’s too late, because they said it after.” Summy’s lush and intimate vocals glide effortlessly over enchanting electronic pop soundscapes culminating into a magnetizing musical release. Summy has an uncanny ability to tap into the shared human experience and highlight our deepest emotions for music that is cathartic, tender, and emotive. In addition to her music, she embodies an aesthetic that is creative and vibrant, building a fantastical world for her and her fans. “I’ve always been very drawn to an ethereal and colorful energy for the clothes I wear and the makeup looks I do. I think one of the reasons why I’m more attracted to that kind of vibe is because it really helps me cope with my depression and mental struggles. It’s much harder to cry if you’re in fairy wings,” confides the songwriter. [via Substream]

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In Sofia Dobrushin’s ‘Codependency,’ being codependent isn’t a pathological personality flaw but a rallying cry. The Brooklyn-based actor, director, and musical comedian’s ballad is as smart and original as it is catchy, taking the stack of self-help books we have sitting on our nightstands and building something useful out of them; in this case, a song that celebrates our messy, often ridiculous humanity. The video is a technicolor-dipped, ‘80s-inspired dreamland of violet and glitter hearts, informed by John Waters and public access dating show camp. In the video, Dobrushin, who uses she/they pronouns interchangeably, plays herself and hosts a dating show titled “Attached at the Hip” that goes haywire, to say the least. “Codependency/ Stay in bed from 3 to 3/ Bed sores and monogamy/ The only way I want to be,” Dobrushin sings with a natural performer’s vibrato with a melody that plays on loop in your brain like the comforting, incessant reminder of sticky note affirmation on a mirror, backed by Dobrushin’s own close harmonies and light, glistening guitar from Evan Sites. Dobrushin wrote ‘Codependency’ in 2020 during a time when a lot of their friends were moving in with their partners during the pandemic. Dobrushin and their partner Matt Albani, who is also in the video, ultimately decided not to live together. (They do live together now.) “My Cancer-cusp-Leo brain was like, ‘how do I rationalize this? So I bought like three self-help books: Attached, All About Love by bell hooks and Pleasure Activism. I haven’t finished one of those books,” Dobrushin tells NYLON. “I read the one chapter of Attached, where it was like, ‘Codependency is a myth’ and I was like, ‘oh my god what?’ And then I closed it and put it away and now I’m here. I hadn’t heard about codependency in a positive way of, maybe, you’re not crazy and have attachment issues, maybe you’re just not getting your needs met.” Dobrushin produced the song alongside Sites in the winter of 2021 in a recording studio in their room, and shot the video around the same time with a group of their actor and comedy friends, including rising comedy and music stars Jes Tom, Gara, and Softee. While Dobrushin directed the video, their roommate Caroline Knight assistant-directed and edited alongside Dobrushin’s childhood best friend Gaby Sant’Anna, whom Dobrushin grew up filming sketches with. The video’s behind-the-scenes intimacy and conspiratorial silliness is as crucial to it as its aesthetic. The real breakthrough moment, so to speak, of ‘Codependency,’ isn’t the earnest acceptance of the flawed parts of our personalities; it’s the tongue-in-cheek, poking fun of our obsession with self-diagnoses at all. “Only child syndrome is my scapegoat for never taking any accountability,” Dobrushin sings in one line. “My therapist says it’s from my dead dog,” they declare in another, drawing out “eh” in “dead.” “But that’s not how my brain works/ Believe me I’ve tried/ I’ve read Pleasure Activism 45 times,” Dobrushin adds again at a particularly observant moment. As much as we’d like to read a book or follow an Instagram account to figure out why we’re sad, it’s not that simple; we can’t blame our anxieties on being an only child or having a childhood dog die, and ‘Codependency’ pokes fun at the very real school of thought that suggests reading Pleasure Activism makes you more self-actualized, something someone might want to tell the three separate people Dobrushin saw reading the book Jacob Riis beach last week. “When I write comedy songs, it’s really when I’m just feeling a lot of things and music is easier for me to compartmentalize,” Dobrushin says. “It’s fun to have people come up to you and be like, I did not know this was something other people felt.’ You feel like you’re in an echo chamber and then it starts to resonate with people and you remember why you did it.” [via NYLON]

UK vocalist Chrissi has shared new single ‘Lipo’. Blending soulful songwriting with a tendency to over-share, this Essex riser is the all-too-relatable voice you’ve been waiting to hear. Last year’s Back In The Day EP was a sparkling debut, and Chrissi returns with something new as summer hits its peak. ‘Lipo’ is a tongue-in-cheek ode to a failed romance, with Chrissi musing on male expectations, and body positivity. Out now on her own Listen Generously imprint, ‘Lipo’ has a fun exterior, but there’s a serious message underneath. “​I wrote ‘lipo’ because I was upset with a guy who’s sexualised me and then decided he couldn’t be with me because he didn’t want his friends to know what he’s into,” she says. Transforming a negative experience into something more positive, she laughs: “Everyone has to kiss a few frogs I suppose… Made a banger out of it though!” The video comes from Denisha Anderson of Caviar, and features Chrissi (and friends) engaging in a fun dance routine. [via Clash]

With her new album Hold The Girl set for release on September 16 via Dirty Hit, Rina Sawayama is releasing the video for the title track. Directed by Ali Kurr, the video acts as a “metaphor for Rina’s emotional breakthrough in therapy” which inspired her to write the song. “’Hold the Girl’ was the first song I wrote for the record at the end of 2020–I had gone to therapy and had a revelation, so I decided to write this song…that was the start of it,” Rina explains. “I was crying before going into the studio to write about it.” [via DIY]

Former IZ*ONE member and soloist Choi Yena has released the music video for ‘Smartphone’, the title track of her sophomore mini-album of the same name. In the vibrant visual, Choi is a gamer who guides an avatar of herself through a playground filled with whimsical mascots, eventually stopping at a shooting game inspired by the Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise. “Mix and match as you like / Airplane in my hands / No matter where you’re going or what you’re going to do, get connected / This star is too narrow to contain me,” Choi sings. [via NME]

Stella Donnelly’s new album Flood will arrive at the end of this month, and now she’s promoting it with one more advance single following ‘Lungs’ and the title track. The brisk ‘How Was Your Day?’ taps into the talky vocal vibes that are all the rage these days, but in a way that reminds u of Blur’s ‘Parklife’ turned wistful. It’s an approach Donnelly’s been rocking since her 2019 breakthrough Beware Of The Dogs, and it sounds incredible here. Donnelly on the lyrics: “This is my attempt at building a song out of a very specific dynamic between two monogamously involved people. The verses are just excerpts from real conversations, fragments of what two people talk about when they both know they need to have a real talk but neither wants to be the one to bring it up. This song came out of lockdown and seeing a lot of friends break up or get married.” As for the video, by Nick Mckk and Claire Giuffre, Donnelly writes, “This video does a really good job of portraying how annoying I am! We shot it from opposite sides of the world which was a little bit stressful but a lot of fun.” [via Stereogum]

Ahead of their debut album, Truly Trash, due October 28, London-based international punk quartet Ghost Car are sharing their new single and video, ‘Sex’. Ghost Car look to make the most of their diversity by exploring different writing styles, all the while expressing themes of openness and empowerment. Their new album provides Ghost Car with that platform, as they rage against political injustice and attack patriarchal inequality, homophobia, racism, and toxic relationships. The album was originally planned to be released by Burger Records, though the band pulled out of the release as accounts of sexual assault and exploitation of women by associates of the label came to light. Ghost Car say, “This album is our way to express what bothers us, from personal interactions to international politics. We wanted to explore different themes in a simple way so that they could be accessible to everyone.” Of the video, they say: “We asked our good friend Simon Eaves, who is a director and also in the band Pleasure Complex, to direct this. We’ve always loved his style and knew he would send the song into another dimension, literally. The idea originally was to have Maeve as Kuntessa’s character but we all loved Kuntessa’s style as a performer and thought she brought a different kind of energy we really needed. She is that annoying person you’re stuck in a lift with, no awareness of personal space but also doesn’t give a sh*t. The concept is really just all of us slumming it in a lift: Clara, late for an interview, Laura, the psycho boss from hell, Maeve, the nonchalant grocery shopper, and Cece as a depressed mechanic working in the building, and then Scott, the weird, male architect no one asked for. The idea was contextually different than the content of the lyrics; Simon’s idea was to really go into that feeling of headbanging to your favorite pop banger. There’s something really jumpy about the staccato chords we like. Then when we all hit the ground, we all lose it and get that euphoric, full-body feeling. I suppose it’s about feeling really uptight, going to work, then clocking off, going to that gig, hearing music really loud, incredible. The euphoric part when the music goes a bit more extraterrestrial was so fun to shoot; look at our hair! Our make up! Our outfits! The making of it was pretty wild; Simon managed to pull it all together in two weeks, even sourcing a real elevator, real buttons to push, the ‘sex’ lift panel, real posters made by Maria De La O Garrido, etc. The attention to detail was just incredible. So they rebuilt it for the set, and that’s us, in a real elevator, having existential breakdowns.” The grungy pop-punk anthem and lead single ‘Sex’ channels names like Stiff Little Fingers and The Undertones, mixing the band’s ’60s girl-group influences with the explosive rock sound of iconic acts like The Runaways. The band say that the track is, “about having an interaction with someone once and thinking more of it than it actually was. Especially with social media, being able to see that person all the time, thinking you have a connection when really you just snogged them at a party once. It made us so happy to be a band formed by women from different parts of the world but with the same feelings and frustrations!” [via New Noise]

Whether your head is in the clouds or your feet are planted firmly on the ground, you’ll find ‘Balance’ with Aaria Tae’s new track. Mixing 70s soul with Kendrick Lamar-esque flutters, her distinct melodic tone pierces across dark soulful basslines – effortlessly dancing between sonic spectrums. The stunning self-directed video is in her own words a ‘London meets Egypt’ fever-dream, an offering of self-acceptance as she realises she doesn’t need to be boxed into one culture. “At first, I found it hard feeling like I did not belong to just one specific culture but I have now come to see how it is what makes me and my art stand out” – and thanks to visually captivating drops such as this, we are waiting on tenterhook for her next move. [via Wonderland]

Jazzie Young’s melodic charisma could have easily been inherited. The LA-based indie pop artist is the daughter of Jesse Colin Young whose band The Youngbloods and their iconic anthem, ‘Get Together’ was a major influence in the 60s movement. Jazzie herself looks like a page out of a 60s magazine and sounds like the soundtrack of a long drive up in Malibu in a vintage Ford convertible. For her second EP 27 Club, Jazzie showcases her evolution of sound and further experimentation as an artist providing the listener with velvet smooth vocals and music to float away to. She has just released the title track and it’s accompanying video. Jazzie tells Ladygunn of the song: “I love this song because I feel like the lyrics are very real, but there’s a really cheeky, funny attitude layered on top of the song that keeps it lighter and more tongue-in-cheek. The upbeat piano and production definitely help with that too. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the idea of the “Saturn Return,” but it’s basically this concept of completing these heavy cycles in your life and that’s said to happen around the age of 27. And the strange thing for me was it really hit me like a semi-truck as soon as I turned 27 last year. The whole year was just filled with so much learning and digging through trauma and growing. It was like a year of emotional spring cleaning, which is rough, but also so liberating once you’re through it! So about half way through 27, I really just wanted to write about how I was feeling, but in a way that wasn’t too heavy. I wanted honesty and humor, and that’s where ’27 club’ was born. [via Ladygunn]

Aotearoa all-stars Dateline share the final single from their upcoming debut album Dumb For My Age, out on August 27 via Sunreturn, plus a video directed by Olivia McClymont. The talented foursome of songwriter Katie Everingham, Callum Devlin (Hans Pucket) Priya Sami (BUB) and Ruby Walsh (Lips) feature in the new clip, with a cameo from Annabel Kean (Sports Team and recent UTR Assistant editor). Recorded by Callum Passells (also of Hans Pucket), the visuals for ‘Love Hertz’ show the band in a doctor’s waiting room, where Everingham’s pining for the healing touch of an alluring doctor (Geo Bidois) becomes extreme (and extremely relatable). The grungy pop-infused distortion electrifies Everingham’s delicate vocals and attentive lyrics in a suitably fuzzy blur of infatuation… “I think I was just being a bit moody when I wrote this… It’s me kind of complaining while acknowledging that actually life and love is good and I wouldn’t change anything, but I may just go “humph” from time to time,” Katie Everingham explains. Olivia McClymont adds: “‘Love Hertz’ was an extraordinarily fun music video to make… the premise for the Love Hertz is a bit literal! It’s about how far you’ll go to be with your ‘true’ love… even if that love isn’t reciprocated. Sometimes love truly hurts! Perhaps this is a bit of a warning to anyone who might think otherwise? Self-love before all other kinds of people! In the video, Katie figures the only way she can be with the Doctor she’s enamoured with is if she has legitimate reasons to go to the hospital… but is it all worth it in the end? (short answer – no, haha).”” [via Under The Radar]

Tāmaki Makaurau via Pōneke duo Earth Tongue, aka Gussie Larkin (Mermaidens) and Ezra Simons (Soft Bait), have unleashed their first official new tune since 2019’s debut long player Floating Being. Entitled ‘Miraculous Death’ and recorded with Jonathan Pearce (The Beths), Earth Tongue have created a self-directed cinematic masterpiece in miniature for the single, visually channeling the lurid spirit of ’70s European horror and suspense, while pushing the over the top elements of their own heavy-psych / prog-rock sound to delirious heights. Shot by Simons on French 16mm cinema camera and ’80s lenses, star of the clip Larkin explained Earth Tongue’s commitment to conveying the true feel of classic horror in their stunning visuals, made with support from NZ On Air. “When I went to the states a few years ago I visited The Stanley Hotel from The Shining – not the one they shot the film in, the ACTUAL hotel that Stephen King stayed in which inspired the novel,” says Gussie. “That was a cool spooky experience that lingered in my mind for a few years after. I’d been daydreaming about finding a location like that and had even looked into filming at The Chateau Tongariro, although that didn’t work out. I found this house on a shoot location website and it felt like striking gold! It literally ticked every box – the mini hedge maze, the fountains, the winding staircases and OTT dining room. It’s usually a wedding venue but the people who owned the place were very generous with letting us run wild for a day.” [via Under The Radar]

HYRA is throwing it back to the early days of hyperpop with her new single, ‘REM (No Sleep).’ The energetic track draws upon the ever-looming impact of PC Music on today’s cultural landscape and marries elements of its production with that of more mainstream EDM, morphing it into a musical framework that’s as synthetic as it is real. That realness comes through HYRA’s songwriting: “The track is about falling in love with somebody to the point that they’re present in your dreams,” she tells PAPER. “It’s the romanticization of being with someone so adamantly that the ‘person of your dreams’ becomes your reality. REM paints the picture of fast nights infused with energetic and numbing love.” HYRA comes from a long lineage of pop songwriters who combine their emotive side on the lyrics with boisterous electronic production, with Charli XCX and Lady Gaga having been two of her biggest influences. She’s bounced back and forth between all of the US pop capitals — LA, NYC and Miami — and brought with her a full deconstruction of the genre. As a filmmaker herself, HYRA has a keen eye for visuals, waking us up in a futuristic hospital-of-sorts painted in full white. It’s a scenery that normally serves to sterilize — sucking the life out of anything that enters its four walls — but it can’t stop HYRA and her guests from partying the night away before we’re blasted into the real world, color and all. [via PAPER]

Almost two years since the release of the critically acclaimed Conscious Control, KAYE releases her latest EP Neon God. In a new era of freedom from former relationships, societal expectations of women in their thirties, and self-restraint, KAYE has created a masterclass in bridging rock, disco and pop. The EP also arrives with an official video for ‘Respect Me’. On ‘Respect Me,’ she allows her bass skills to shine through on the funk-driven anthem. The official video was directed by KAYE’s sister Liann Kaye. This marks their 15th video together; a testament to the creative identity the two sisters have crafted over the years. In the video, KAYE and her girl band of clones shred and seduce, all with her signature style of kooky choreography.

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