It’s been a few years since Alexandra Drewchin’s last full-length album as Eartheater, 2020’s Phoenix: Flames Are Dew Upon My Skin, but she’s kept busy, popping up as a featured guest on tracks by LSDXOXO and Rabit, executive producing the debut EP from Madonna’s daughter Lourdes Leon, and putting out a few songs tracks of her own, ‘Scripture’ and ‘Mitosis.’ But Eartheater now has two albums ready to go. The first of those, Powders, will be released next month; its follow-up Aftermath will be out next year and is described in a press release as a sister album to Powders. Now, she’s sharing lead single ‘Pure Smile Snake Venom,’ a bright, breezy, and sickeningly catchy co-production with her frequent collaborator Sega Bodega. [via Stereogum]

Sans Soucis has shared new single ‘Lost When I’m Around You’. The Italian force is a master at blending superb pop melodies with intriguing lyricism, daring to cross boundaries nobody else would go near. ‘Lost When I’m Around You’ is a glorious summer bop, a carefree song for the summer months. Beneath this, however, lie some of Sans Soucis finest lyrics yet – they dare to tackle menstruation in a pop song format, while broadening the scope of the song to discuss body politics in a patriarchal society. Quietly groundbreaking, Sans Soucis crosses lines of gender, opening up some bold discussions while remaining true to their pop principles. Sans Soucis comments… “‘Lost When I’m Around You’ is a song I wrote to complain about my PMS and period, when I was at the cusp of both. It’s a catalyst for a wider reflection around how and why bodies get censored in a patriarchal society, how that affects my work ethics, relationships, the perception of my body as a gender non-conforming person, and ultimately my mental health. Complaints aside, I hope people will shake their soggy pAdSS (!) to this song and that we all get to be more vocal about periods and considerate towards people who menstruate.” [via Clash]

Tele Novella‘s new single and official music video for ‘Eggs in one Basket’ is out now. This is the latest track off their forthcoming album Poet’s Tooth out October 6. Watch the surreal video directed by Vanessa Pla.

Orla Garland has released a video for ‘Kiss Ur Face Forever’. Following up on 2021’s ‘Woman On The Internet’, Orla explains: “This song is about being in love and split down the middle by it; one side embracing it full throttle and the other side like some evil cynical twin trying to ruin it all. It felt only right to mirror that meaning in a crazy parent-trap esque music video, with both sides of myself fighting it out in the karaoke battle of a lifetime. This video was shot and edited by Alex Evans (FlowerUp) – it was our first time working together and I absolutely loved it. We conceptualised the video together, assembled a small dream team and got to work. The track has gone nuts since it’s appearance in Heartstopper series 2 and I can’t wait to put this music video up & give everyone more of the story behind the song.” [via Dork]

Fusing elements of classic house sounds with bouncy underground club vibes and irresistible pop vocals is Mo•Louie on her new single ‘Hold You’, which alongside a video that explores the concept of “eroticism & suffocation” is out now. Following on from recent single ‘Signs’, ‘Hold You’ sees Mo continue her personal approach to songwriting, being inspired by daily life experiences as she explains, “‘Hold You’ represents me being suffocated by my everyday life, being completely burnt out and knocked down, just wanting to go out and get messy. Rather than put this suffocated feeling aside and go out, drink, dance and have a good time, I would use the frustration to elevate my free and reckless experience. Using that energy with someone I don’t know and feeling it with them sexually. So the pain and pleasure coincide.” ‘Hold You’ comes alongside a music video that saw Mo collaborate with fellow Naarm-based designer Something Shit, with the clip filmed by Bonn Creative and edited by Mo herself, as the video literally reflects the suffocation through being wrapped in clear plastic, complete with smeared lipstick. [via Pilerats]

Korean-American singer Audrey Nuna has returned with a new single entitled ‘Locket.’ Following her 2021 debut album, a liquid breakfast, and last year’s deluxe version, she’s preparing to put out another full-length project. Last month, she kicked off the roll out with the punchy ‘IdgaF.’ The eclectic, trap-inspired ‘Locket’ arrives with a music video directed by the late French director Valentin Petit, who tragically passed away in a plane crash earlier this year. Nuna first encountered Petit’s work in A$AP Ferg’s ‘Floor Seats’ video years before ever meeting him. When it came time for ‘Locket’ to get the visual treatment, she reached out to Petit directly. After two months of corresponding and preparing online, the two met up in Paris in April to shoot the video. Set in an art gallery, Nuna performs as the world moves on at high speed around her, occasionally pausing to dance or snap a selfie with her friends. “Even though I only knew Valentin for a sum of three months, I found in this short time that everything that drew me to his videos clearly stemmed from the blueprint of his soul and who he was at his core,” Nuna said of their partnership. “I’m honored to have worked with him and been inspired by him as a fellow artist. I’m just as honored to have gotten to know him as a person; his honesty, the undying and selfless passion he had for the craft, his free spirit and anti-gravity, his love and respect of people and adventure. He was gifted in all the ways his work vividly illustrated, and with such a sense of refreshing humility towards his collaborators and crew that can often times feel rare to find in this industry.” [via Hypebeast]

Catie Turner has released her dramatic new single, ‘Someone That I’m Afraid Of’. The track is taken from Comedy & Tragedy: Act 2, the eagerly awaited second installment in her ambitious new project, coming October 27. [via Prelude Press]

Rising pop artist, Madeline The Person has released her angsty yet upbeat new single, ‘Tantrum’ via Warner Records. Packed with witty wordplay and charming melodies, the track is the kind of introspective ear-candy Madeline has all but perfected. It marks her first release since 2022’s CHAPTER 3: The Burning EP, which features her breakout viral hit ‘MEAN!’. “‘Tantrum’ is my ode to escapism,” Madeline says of her new track. “It’s a glimpse into a moment of genuine consideration of the coping mechanisms that my therapist would probably steer me away from. No more meditation and journaling, I just wanna lose my absolute shit!” [via Prelude Press]

Brooklyn-based soul singer Kendra Morris has unveiled her fifth full-length album, I Am What I’m Waiting For, along with a DIY music video for the single, ‘Dominoes,’ which warns us right off the bat that “what you are about to witness is all based on true events.” “’Dominoes’ was written in a blur of pet peeve explosions I was in the midst of with my partner,” Morris tells us. “When I decided to make a video for it I knew who the star needed to be: the culprit himself. I know I’m not innocent and do my share of annoying things too. We get through it because we can laugh about it—and get even from time to time. “The video was shot at my house using my old Magnavox VHS camera and a couple of weird ideas that my friend Julia Haltigan and I came up with,” she continues. “Talking food? No problem. Give us an idea and we’ll throw it against a wall and watch it drip.” [via FLOOD]

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Following the extra-curricular electronica of her Projections EP for Technicolour released earlier this year, Polish techno misfit VTSS takes another sharp turn as an artist in ascendance with the vocal-led mutant pop of her long awaited and highly speculated debut for Ninja Tune, Circulus Vitiosus. Across four tracks, her musical character steps further into the light, backed up by razor-sharp production. VTSS (real name Martyna Maja) shares hypnotic new single ‘Incredibly Annoying’ alongside a striking video directed by Furmaan Ahmed and Vasso Vujovic (who have previously shot Willow Smith, SOPHIE and Dorian Electra).

Los Angeles punk-leaning four-piece Reckling (led by Kelsey Reckling) is back with the announcement of their forthcoming EP, Human Nature. The new project is introduced with the release of its first single, ‘In My Hair,’ released alongside an accompanying music video directed by Ambar Navarro. Following their raw and scuzzy self-titled debut release in 2018, Reckling went into an actual recording studio this time around to record their still raw, but louder and more energetic EP Human Nature. The goal was to showcase how the band’s sound has evolved since their 2018 release, and to more accurately reflect how they sound during their live shows.

Claude—the Chicago based existential dream pop solo project of Claudia Ferme—has shared ‘roses’, their second and final single off their upcoming debut full-length, a lot’s gonna change, produced with Michael Mac (Tenci, Tasha, Devin Shaffer, Mia Joy) and out August 12 via American Dreams Records. The single ‘roses’ arrives alongside a Reilly Drew-directed music video. On the track, Claude issued the following statement: “‘roses’ was inspired by a line in Love in the Time of Cholera where the protagonist starts eating flowers and roses because of how obsessed with someone he is. I think in the novel it’s supposed to symbolize how his obsession became all-consuming but I thought about a rose and the thorns on its stem and how someone eating a rose was a perfect metaphor for how as humans we’re so self-torturous, mentally and emotionally, and very unforgiving of ourselves. In the video, we wanted to show this imagery in a more abstract way while still including actual roses – I made the purple top and gray dress and am wearing other pieces that have peaks and spikes and that play with the making and release of tension to show the back and forth we have with ourselves in certain situations.”

New York City-based indie-pop singer-songwriter, Aubrey Haddard shares an electrifying fourth single, ‘Future Boxes,’ along with its stunning black-and-white, Jean Cocteau-inspired video. Haddard’s second full-length album, Awake And Talking, will be out August 19 via Beverly Martel Records. On dense, electric ‘Future Boxes,’ Aubrey Haddard peers into her future, attempting to imagine what lies ahead. She ponders the idea of going through life the way others expect one to, and aims to avoid making life all about checking boxes rather than living in the present. Haddard sings, “Future boxes Make you feel good / Doing things everyone says you should / My four sides are more like suggestions / Maybe I’ve got too many questions.” The track begs the question, though it feels good to do things in a conventional way, might there be more fulfilling alternative paths? “We all have, at some point, an idea of what our lives could look like. We take the steps we can to get there, checking some boxes, with or without that bigger picture in mind,” says Haddard about ‘Future Boxes.’ “At the end of the day, none of us are uniquely ambitious but some will find more fulfillment in carving out their own paths.” The Josh Rob Thomas-directed black-and-white video, between quick shots and an array of angles, zooms and kaleidoscopic effects, shows Haddard alone inside a house, often breaking the fourth wall and examining her own reflection, and conceptually lends itself to the primary themes of her forthcoming LP. “I had a lot of fun making this video because we got to take every tiny detail of my Jean Cocteau obsession and see if we could pull it off. It’s a total testament to the concept of the record as a whole,” shares Haddard.

Clocking in right under the two-minute mark, morgen’s new single ‘Mom Jeans’ is straight to the point fun. As a first taste of her upcoming second EP, ‘Mom Jeans’ arrives alongside an official video that feels like a page ripped from a Lisa Frank coloring book. A lighthearted jab at anyone who has ever told her how to dress, morgen unleashes all the creativity that has been bubbling up in her as she, like many others, had to watch her adolescence speed by while trapped at home. morgen’s second EP is slated to arrive this Fall via Avoca Drive and Sony Music Australia. “’Mom Jeans’ is the first time I’ve truly spoken out in a song,” says morgen. “It’s about body image and how people’s opinions shouldn’t affect the way you present yourself, because you deserve to wear whatever makes YOU feel good.”

The video for November Ultra‘s ‘Come Into My Arms’ encapsulates the song’s themes in a story that’s as touching as it is tender. A young girl is woken by falling rain, which prompts her to head out on an adventure. She leaves home, catches a train, and then glances upwards as she reaches her destination. At this point, the rain stops and a twist emerges: the girl is a drawing by her creator, another young girl, and their reunion stops her tears – the rain – from falling. Visually, it was inspired by animations which blend big emotions with a palpable sense of nostalgia, such as Bambi or the work of Studio Ghibli. The video was produced by the renowned French creative team Remembers. Headed by Felix de Givry and Ugo Bienvenu, Remembers’ previous work includes striking animated visuals for CHANEL’s Métiers d’art show, the Opéra national de Paris, and the music video for ‘At The Door’ by The Strokes. Tamerlan Bekmurzayev says, “When I draw, I am to go in search of what is magical and beautiful in our world. To be a child again; to find magic in every moment and to be amazed by everyday life, by the sight of a tree or a cat. November Ultra sent me some photos of her as a child and I was able to imagine a character who looked a bit like her, so that her voice could blend into my universe and this visual could be ours. I wanted to create a dream-like memory which might seem ordinary for an adult, but which is new, adventurous and therefore significant for a child. My goal for this video was to create a light, poetic comfort – one that helps us find and console ourselves, just like the little girl does.”

Philly-based punk rockers Vixen77 return with their newest single and video ‘Record Store,’ distributed via Megaforce Record. This rowdy jammer is about discovering that your seemingly well-cultured ex is now dating someone with terrible taste in music. What conversations could they possibly be having? The accompanying colorful video sets the scene, complete with an unexpected outcome at the end. Guitarist Elizabeth, who initially came up with the concept of the song, expands, “It’s about when you first start dating in high school, making mix tapes for each other, and you find someone who loves music as much as you do. If you break up with someone, at the very least, I hope you got a couple of new bands to listen to. That’s what ‘Record Store’ always comes back to — loving music.”

La Shana Latrice has dropped visuals for her latest song, ‘Say No More’. Throughout ‘Say No More’, La Shana focuses on self-love, mentioning that if she had a choice to be anything she wants La Shana would be herself. With the assistance of Regina ‘Regg’ Smith, La Shana packages a great song with her euphonious vocals working well alongside the beat. The visuals come in the form of a colourful public service announcement which La Shana uses to speak to the ladies and fellas to hammer in her important message on loving yourself. [via GRM Daily]

LA indie pop act Jazzie Young drops ethereal track ‘wonderland is wonderless’, capturing the sweet, honeymoon stages of a relationship. With a slow-burn piano-led soundscape built around Young’s sultry yet bold vocals, the soaring track is all about the initial sparks we feel in a relationship before the fairy tale romance crumbles and falls away into gritty reality. Taken from her forthcoming sophomore EP, ‘wonderland is wonderless,’ is infused with vibrance and vulnerability equally, accompanied by a lush, rose-tinged music video paying ode to the Alice In Wonderland references in the song writing. Shot and directed by an all-female team, helmed by Jazzie herself as executive producer, creative director, and stylist, the music video has empowerment at its base despite themes of heartbreak and pain framing it. [via Earmilk]

Confronting dark themes sparked by a turbulent past two years on new album We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong (released in its entirety in May with no advance singles), Sharon Van Etten has unveiled suitably unsettling visuals for standout industrial-pop anthem ‘Headspace’. Directed by Ashley Connor, the leather-clad US songwriter is joined in her stylishly minimal video by dancers Coco Karol and Miguel Angel Guzmán — writhing around on a bed as Van Etten is consumed by the omnipresent white glow of a monitor screen. “When I was writing this song, I wanted to talk about domesticity and intimacy frustrations under the tensions of working at home and seeking connection while being tied to our devices and still trying to reach each other as lovers, parents, humans… Reminding each other that there is still a primal attraction even in the midst of the mundane and repetition of everyday life,” she says. [via Under The Radar]

Willow Kayne has dropped a video for her new track, ‘White City’. “White City is an interesting place to live,” she explains. “Everyone’s experiences are completely different to one another, like many places in London it seems. Gigantic new buildings appear constantly, old buildings are being destroyed everywhere I look. When I walk down the street here, it is a complete mixture of people. I don’t know any of them and I like it here because they certainly don’t know me. We are simply all out here for ourselves.” Of the video, she adds: “Since moving to London, a lot of my music revolves around this idea of my inner child’s perspective. Finally I got to bring this idea to the table for White City, bringing out the mini Willow. The video is taking the lyrics in another direction, creating a surreal version of London. We covered the city in weird monsters and gave the buildings eyes in the process. I found Hati (@hatti.hatti.mas) on tiktok a while ago and just knew he was the perfect guy to bring that to life for us. I love nothing more than juxtaposition so that’s exactly what we went for with this video; a child’s perspective on a scary scary world. Like my other videos, we always crank up the saturation to add to the child’s perspective. When I was a kid, the world was a lot more colourful… I still chase that in a way. I love working on videos with my friends and Tommy Davis is one of my favourite people to do that with!!” [via Dork]

After years and years of sharing protest bangers, Pussy Riot’s first full-length project is finally on the horizon. The Russian pop group/art collective have announced that their debut mixtape MATRIARCHY NOW will be released on August 5 on Neon Gold Records, and as a preview, they’ve shared its lead single ‘PLASTIC’ featuring ILOVEMAKONNEN. MATRIARCHY NOW includes a handful of collaborators, including Slayyyter, Big Freedia, and Tove Lo, the latter of whom also executive produced the project. Its release date comes just ahead of the 10-year “anniversary” of when three Pussy Riot members were found guilty of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred,” and spent two years in jail for protesting Russian president Vladimir Putin. On ‘PLASTIC,’ Pussy Riot parody society’s unrealistic expectations for women to be demure, reticent, and submissive at all times: “I don’t shit, I don’t eat/ I don’t even fucking breathe/ If you cut me, I don’t bleed/ You’re the only thing I need,” the band’s ringleader Nadya Tolokonnikova raps over a bouncy pop beat. In the surreal, Haley Bowman-directed music video for ‘PLASTIC,’ Pussy Riot are miniature versions of themselves dressed in frilly lingerie, waiting to be deformed and dismembered by a young boy — think an R-rated version of Sid’s bedroom in Toy Story. [via Consequence]

Twenty-year-old Zoe Wees returns with her new single, ‘Third Wheel.’ While upbeat and infectious, the highly relatable song explores the heartbreak of loving someone who’s still obsessed with their ex. The track was produced by Patrick Pyke Salmy and Ricardo Muñoz, who helmed Wees’ debut EP, Golden Wings. The official video for ‘Third Wheel,’ which was directed by Gabriella Kingsley (Fireboy DML x Ed Sheeran, ArrDee x Aitch), scales the song’s musical highs and plumbs its emotional depths as the singer is taken from a sunflower-packed room to a darkened bedroom to an exuberant performance with vibrantly-clad dancers. Speaking about the song, Zoe Wees said, “It’s so awkwardly heartbreaking to be the third wheel in any relationship. Although this song’s meaning comes from a really tough moment in my own life, I hope this song will make some people reminisce about their own similar experiences as times when they learned to grow.”

OAKMAN have released a new music video. The new music video, for the track ‘Murder’, is the brand new single from the French pop-rock trio and follows on from their last single, ‘Fantasy,’ which was released back in May. The new music video was directed by Aurélien Mariat. Speaking about the new song and its accompanying music video, the band says, “this song pictures sexual harassment and abuse. It tells how it can affect a person’s life and continue for the rest of their life and grow into pure hate. So in the music video, the victim, represented by Marine, finally becomes the murderer and the murderer becomes the victim. We are inside Marine’s head, in her revenge. But at the end we realize that she is still imprisoned and stuck in it and that she can’t escape this trauma.” [via Distorted Sound]

Award-winning French pop trio Hyphen Hyphen share the official music video for their new song ‘Too Young’. The video, directed by Daniel Zak and Hyphen Hyphen with styling by Pierre Cardin, is taken from the band’s forthcoming new album C’est la Vie due this fall. The video was shot at the Observatory of Nice, their hometown. “There is a light. You are not alone,” says Hyphen Hyphen. “When we crafted this song, we dreamt of an anthem that could combine all our energy and hope. For the music video, we pushed our imagination up to the stars!” [via Broadway World]

Jack River has returned with her first new music of the year, sharing a sunny new single titled ‘Real Life’. The summery track sees the singer-songwriter pivot to a dance-oriented sound, with hints of disco, funk and soul. Its upbeat production comes courtesy of Xavier Dunn and The Belligerents‘ Lewis Stephenson, who helped River create the song. An accompanying music video also arrived with the cut, as vibrant as the single itself. Directed by W.A.M. Bleakley, its use of bright, neon colours radiates ’90s energy, featuring clips of River, butterflies and some old men sunbaking in their budgie smugglers. “One sunny afternoon in the depths of lockdown I was over feeling feelings,” River explained in an Instagram post. “I just wanted to swim with strangers in some sparkly foreign sea, see a mariachi band walking by on the sand, and maybe have a conversation with a friendly dolphin underwater. Anything to get me away from death scrolling and endless headlines about how awful the world is. I wanted to get back to Real Life. Whatever that was.” [via NME]

Doll Spirit Vessel’s second single ‘Something Small,’ taken from the band’s forthcoming debut album What Stays, is out now. The Philadelphia-based trio of Kati Malison, Max Holbrook, and Lewis Brown debuted just last month with ‘Train Brain Rot,’ a captivating indie rock song full of rollicking grooves, angular guitar licks, stirring, emotive vocals. ‘Something Small’ is decidedly dreamier in nature, with its slower beat and hypnotic, reverb-laden guitar creating a summery sun-drenched beach vibe. A welcome haze, the song invites us all to take a step back from our bustling lives and find our inner peace: A state of balance and bliss. “I think it’s pretty common for songwriters to want to express something specific or profound through a particular song, and that does happen, but you often can’t decide what’s there at the surface and ready to come out,” Doll Spirit Vessel’s songwriter and lead vocalist Kati Malison explains. “‘Something Small’ came about a couple of summers ago when I was doing a song-a-day project with some friends – the day before I wrote it I had really toiled over an old song shard, trying to make it something it wasn’t ever going to be. It felt similar to how trying to remember my past sometimes can feel, like I’m grasping for something I both know is there and know I won’t find. ‘Something Small’ is the answer and antidote to that frustration.” Doll Spirit Vessel’s accompanying music video invariably captures the spirit of ‘Something Small.’ Made by Malison along with Jon Cox, Veronica Magner, Priyanka Padidam, and Mark Morley, the visual stars Malison’s dog, while also creating a sensation of space, ease, and circular motion. Interspersed about a primary shot of the dog playing with a large ball in an open cemetery, we see Malison spinning on a playground merry-go-round, a light bulb being screwed in, a hamster in a ball, globe spinning ’round, a basketball twirling on a finger, and so on… It’s a lightly dizzying experience, and one that simultaneously captures the weight of needing things to be perfect and just as you want them to be, and the act of relinquishing said weight and letting things be. “My dog’s favorite activity is herding playballs, and I thought it would be fitting to capture the simultaneous playfulness and intensity of her playing with them for the ‘Something Small’ video. After spending so much time and energy on the video for the first DSV single, I kept insisting this one would be simpler. But when we all got together to plan for the shoot, a whole world organically emerged for the song. We started by brainstorming cyclical things and then thought of all the ways we could have them invade each other’s space.” [via Atwood Magazine]

Nashville power-trio The Foxies recently announced the September 23 release of their debut LP, Who Are You Now, Who Were You Then?. Now, the band is thrilled to share their cinematic new single and accompanying Ryan Sheehy-directed video for ‘If Life Were A Movie,’ which follows on the heels of the euphoric ‘Headsweat.’ Their full-length debut is the sound of a band boldly embracing their wildest and most unpredictable impulses. Speaking on ‘If Life Were A Movie,’ vocalist Julia Bullock reflected on the song’s themes: “When I listen to this song, I see a horror rom com. It’s built around the cynicism I have from giving so much love and somehow never being able to have it reciprocated. So, In a movie… all my exs would be killed off first, and nobody wants to be that guy.” [via Music Existence]

Alt-pop artist Madeline The Person has released her new single, ‘Why I Broke Up With You,’ an endearingly honest peek at a relationship going down in flames. The song arrives alongside a video, which finds Madeline reflecting on her past relationship through a doll-like lens, frustratingly watching as the zombified version of her ex-partner tears down the house they built together. The track is taken from her upcoming EP, CHAPTER 3: The Burning, out July 15. On the song, Madeline focuses on the liberation that can come from a particularly painful breakup. “Growing up, I dealt with my father’s addiction, so I have known from a really young age what an absent mind looks like. I knew how it felt to be talking to a completely different person, who you knew wouldn’t even remember what you were saying. My ex’s dependence on a substance uprooted the trauma of having to take care of an addicted adult as a little girl. I just couldn’t be that little girl again, so I left. That was what was healthy for me.” [via Prelude Press]

Isabella Manfredi has announced the release of her debut solo album, izzi, alongside the release of a sizzling new single titled ‘Naive’. Teaming up with rapper PRICIE, who delivers a fierce and commanding guest verse, the sultry track sees Manfredi take command of two equally important aspects of her life – motherhood and music. Throughout ‘Naive’, Manfredi shares a sparkling tale of colliding worlds with a solid confidence and smooth melody. izzi is set for release on Friday September 2 via Island. In a statement, Manfredi said of her debut solo album: “[It’s] unique in that it felt like an exploration and development of a new artist and also the culmination of a decade’s vision. It is like a beginning and an ending in that sense. That’s why I called it izzi. “I wanted to capture her essence but also create space for my true adult self to have longevity and move beyond her if I needed to. I am ‘izzi’ but she is not me.” [via NME]

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Zolita has delivered the sapphic romantic comedy of our dreams, and it comes in the form of a trilogy of music videos. The latest of these videos, ‘I Fcking Love You,’ is out now, and it certifiably rules. “The Trilogy,” as she simply calls it, started with ‘Somebody I Fcked Once,’ a pop-punk infused single set in the halls of high school where cheerleader Zolita fell in love with a bad girl named Gia (played by Tatchi Ringsby, who was originally one of Zolita’s sister’s friends IRL). Next, we saw ‘Single in September,’ where the girls graduated and broke up. Now, it all comes full circle. In the new video, it’s five years later, and Zolita is a big pop star doing her usual photoshoots when she sees a familiar face. One of the photographers is her ex, the one that got away, Gia! After years of will-they-won’t-they, we finally get the satisfying reunion we’ve been dying for. Zolita talked to us about the new song and The Trilogy of videos. “‘Somebody I F*cked Once,’ that was the first video, and I had always wanted to do a high school video that kind of played on the classic rom-com tropes that I grew up with, but make it gay,” she says. “And when I put that up, and that obviously went crazy, it went viral, and everybody was really connecting to it. I realized that I wanted to expand upon the story,” she continues. “Especially because I feel like there’s such a lack of girl-on-girl storylines with happy endings.” So she decided to write and direct her own. “I think it kind of serves two purposes,” she says. “It both presents a familiar narrative structure to people that may not be as accepting, so hopefully can change people’s hearts and minds, but also it’s really healing for queer people to see the classic storylines that they grew up with, but in a queer way.” Zolita says that as soon as she saw the chemistry that she and Ringsby had on screen, she knew she wanted them back for more.“We just had such an insane, natural chemistry together,” she says. “And then obviously the second one even more so because we had been hanging out so much and had been able to build off of the excitement of the first one. They’re just such an incredible collaborator and such an amazing, truly my favorite person that I’ve ever worked with on a video.” The singer says that indulging in a lesbian rom-com, especially one with a happy ending, was one of the best parts about writing these songs and filming the videos. “I feel like right now, especially just in the world, people want things that feel good and that are positive. And I think I just didn’t grow up seeing a lot of happy endings for queer women. You even see with the Killing Eve ending how, just again, playing into the classic trope of ‘kill your gays.’ So I wanted to do the opposite and wanted to give people a sense of hope,” she says. It was also healing for her personally, as she had recently had a falling out with her first love, the person The Trilogy is loosely based on. [via Out]

Following the release of her emotionally charged singles ‘High Water’ and ‘Art of Survival’, multi-platinum singer-songwriter Bishop Briggs shares the powerful music video for ‘Art of Survival’. Co-written by Benji Madden as an ode to her late sister Kate, the track was written from “a place of choosing to keep fighting to live fully”. Regarding the ‘Art of Survival’ visual directed by Tim Mattia, Bishop adds, “I feel so grateful to be sharing the ‘Art of Survival’ music video with all of you. My hope behind this song was to bring this positive energy into my current headspace. Perhaps the more I sing this song and the more I read these lyrics I will find that power within myself to continue living life in a way that my sister would be proud of me. Thank you for being here.”

Australian band Body Type share the latest cut from their forthcoming album, ‘The Charm’, an assertive call to stand one’s ground. Their debut album Everything Is Dangerous But Nothing’s Surprising ushers in a new era for the band, and will be out May 20 on Poison City Records (Camp Cope, Cable Ties). ‘The Charm’ sees the band snatch back the reins for themselves. Vocalist Sophie McComish shares, “This track is about how women are held to higher standards than men in the music biz. It’s harder for us to get away with being a bit shit or making mistakes. Some guy once told us the ‘charm’ was gonna wear off if we didn’t get better at our instruments, that we had to do our 10,000 hours before we were worthy of the hype. This is our response.” The new track, which follows previous singles ‘Sex & Rage’ and ‘Buoyancy’, brings into focus the fearless autonomy and joyful rebellion that Body Type have come to embrace – empowered by their own strength and independence. ‘The Charm’ is all snarl, bite, and facetious wit in the face of condescension. Advice and authority dubbed as “birth control for rock and roll”, Body Type take that unsolicited advice and shove it down the bin. Contraception stands no chance with over-processed guitars and gruff refrains in control, juxtaposed against retro sweetheart-style backing vocals. The video, filmed on Dharawal country, is a cheeky and rambunctious statement directed by long time collaborator Madeleine Purdy. The clip shows the band stuck in the mud, literally and figuratively. They’re fighting through expectations that see them bogged down in the industry. Purdy says the video inspiration comes from a corner of the internet about Car Stuck Girls, where rev-heads like watching women getting stuck in the mud. “The fantasy sticks in the head of the viewer, once the cameras cut the women get out of the mud easily, have a shower, pocket their cash and go about enjoying themselves. I think this video works perfectly for what ‘The Charm’ is about.”

Ama Lou has accompanied the release of her latest track, ‘Same Old Ways’, with a clean set of visuals. Taken from her 2021 EP At Least We Have This, ‘Same Old Ways’ is an upbeat offering from north London’s Ama Lou who flexes her versatility by both singing and rapping over Maestro The Baker’s production. Ama’s creativity is evident in the visuals too – which she also directs – where we see her joining a private school filled with good vibes. [via GRM Daily]

Breakout alt-pop star Madeline The Person has returned with her empowering and honest new single, ‘MEAN!’. The song’s raw, relatable message is reflected in the Tess Lafia-directed video, which showcases the young artist’s inspiring outlook on otherness. ‘MEAN!’ serves as the introduction to Madeline’s much-anticipated upcoming EP, Chapter 3: The Burning. The video finds Madeline dressed as a clown at a party. Outcast by the cool kids, the singer-songwriter ultimately connects with another like-minded soul — also rocking clown makeup. “One single event, or even a couple of words, can literally impact your whole life and crush your self-esteem,” Madeline says of the song and video, which she made “in the hopes of letting others know they’re not alone in the sinking feeling that rushes over you when you hear hurtful words. The cool part about it all is that you will find people that love every part of you.” [via Prelude Press]

Ava Max is back, and teasing the follow up to her debut album, Heaven And Hell. After popping up in late 2021 with the dark and rebellious banger, ‘The Motto,’ a collab with Tiësto, Ava is back out on her own and thinks ‘Maybe You’re The Problem.’ In the lead single for her second album, Ava takes on the old adage that “it’s not you, it’s me,” and turns it on its head. Swapping out her short/long blonde hair for some fiery red locks, Ava finds herself agreeing with a former partner’s ex-girlfriends opinions on this breakup anthem. “Everyone always says ‘it’s not you it’s me’ but sometimes the problem really isn’t me, it’s you!!” Ava said of the song. “’Maybe You’re The Problem’ was so much fun to create. This new music I’ve been working on is the most personal music I have ever made. I can’t wait to share it with you very soon.” In the Joseph Kahn-directed clip, Ava sunbathes in the snow, gets inserted into a video game, and reflects on a relationship she couldn’t be happier to be out of. [via UPROXX]

Teenage Joans have returned with their first release for the year, a belting new single titled ‘Terrible’. Landing this week as the first song to follow the Adelaide duo’s debut EP, Taste Of Me, the track builds on that record’s jaunty punk-pop flair and self-deprecative themes, with more bite in the guitars and a slightly more optimistic spin put on the narrative. In a bridge that starts off gently and builds into a flurry of screams and distorted riffing, the duo chant: “It’s terrible, but it’ll do / I’m terrible but I’m not you.” ‘Terrible’ comes alongside an eye-catching video by Lemonade City, with direction via Tom Parolin and Kamryn Henschke. It starts with Teenage Joans being drawn to a VHS copy of an old horror film, A Terrible Tragedy, which the band themselves appear to star in. They soon find that the tape is cursed, and are chased down their street by a horde of possessed townsfolk. After finding refuge in a house, they’re compelled to venture down into its basement, where satanic clones of singer/guitarist Cahli Blakers and drummer Tahlia Borg use their instruments to brutally murder their innocent counterparts. [via NME]

Damn The Witch Siren has released the lead single ‘Vulture Culture’ from their new album Gold Magic (out July 29 on their own label, Baddest Bitch Records). The song precedes the release of the feature film Poser, produced and directed by Loose Films (the movie is getting a national theatrical release on June 3, distributed by Oscilloscope Labs). Bobbi Kitten and Z Wolf co-star in the film as themselves, and it features several of the band’s songs as well as some original score by Z Wolf. ‘Vulture Culture’ and its accompanying self-directed music video are a searing look at social media and celebrity culture, and how something that should have helped us through the pandemic had the unfortunate side effect of making many of us feel even more isolated. As the wildfires burned and the Capitol was sieged, it was hard not to feel like we’ve all locked ourselves into a virtual prison and thrown away the key.

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