Cyn releases new video for her new single ‘Losing Sleep’ via Unsub Records. “I wanted to bring mine and Lissyelle Laricchia’s art direction to life!” Cyn says about the video, “I let the lyric ‘it’s a dreamlike reality cuz of you’ inform every artful decision. I wanted to create a dream world, liberated from the logical or familiar. I’m so grateful to the entire team for helping me bring this vision to life.” Maintaining a reputation for show-stopping visuals, the songstress pulled out all the stops like she always does. Once again, she teamed up with filmmaker and New York Times Bestseller, Kyle Newman [Fanboys, Barely Lethal, 1Up] behind the camera for the video. Newman says, “Cyn’s clever lyrics and unique sound elicit strong visuals. The song’s overall playfulness inspired our exploration of the surreal. The collage stylings were a creative and effective way to play with scale akin to Alice In Wonderland and setting by placing her in a multitude of unconventional locations.” The clip co-mingles live action, collage animation, and immersive backdrops to create a gorgeous aesthetic of its own. As she tries and fails to catch some shuteye, it finds Cyn on the moon sipping a cocktail, towering over the pyramids as a UFO circles, overlooking Los Angeles Godzilla-style, and dancing in a cowboy hat on a pasture. It evokes the deliriously catchy melodies of the track with commensurate cleverness.

Poppy has released her new single ‘Church Outfit’. It comes on the back of her newly inked record deal with Sumerian Records. Poppy performed a sold-out show in London last November, and dropped her last EP Stagger in October. Poppy adds: “It’s an artist’s responsibility to always change. I don’t think I’d want to be in my body if I was repeating the same thing over and over again. I’m only competing with myself. I will continue to write the story until I get tired of the book. Then, I’ll write another one.” [via Dork]

This week, the producer Yaeji released her her debut album, With A Hammer. Before that. Yaeji returned with one more album preview: ‘Passed Me By,’ which comes with by a video directed by Enayet and Zanzie. In a recent interview with New York Magazine, Yaeji describes how ‘Passed Me By’ is directed toward her younger self, in particular the Korean-sung lyric “I almost didn’t recognize you”). “She’s always been looking at me, but I was always averting my gaze and rejecting her existence,” Yaeji explains. “And this is the moment I lock eyes with her, and I’m like, You’re there. I see you.” [via Stereogum]

Iraina Mancini has shared her wonderful new single ‘Cannonball’. A retro-pop amalgam, Iraina seizes on the best aspects of the past, blurring those impeccable 60s and 70s influences with a touch of modernity. A full album is incoming, with new single ‘Cannonball’ online now. It feels like the lost theme to a 60s spy film, a kind of Modesty Blaize character updated for the modern era. A female-forward slice of action-packed pop, it was co-written alongside Simon Dine, and produced by Sunglasses for Jaws (with the redoubtable Erol Alkan on additional production). The neat keyboard arpeggios in the background recall the Killing Eve soundtrack work constructed by Unloved, while the loping bassline is sheer McCartney. A psych-pop whirlwind, ‘Cannonball’ finds Iraina yearning for freedom. She comments… “I wrote ‘Cannonball’ about taking a chance in life and following your heart. It’s that moment where you meet someone or something and it knocks you for six! Your intuition kicks in and you’ve got to go with what it’s telling you. I really wanted to write something that grabbed people’s attention, I got lost in my head in an action packed, 60s stylish thriller film.” Equipped with some lovingly kitsch visuals, you can check out ‘Cannonball’ below. [via Clash]

It’s been about two years since the Japanese band CHAI released their last album, 2021’s Wink, and since then they’ve dropped a series of singles. Now, they’re back with a fresh song for us, the energetic and bright ‘We The Female!’ “We are human and were born as female, but we have both female and male aspects in each of our souls, each with our own sense of balance,” CHAI said in a statement. “We can’t just label ourselves into clear-cut, simple categories anymore! I’m not anyone else but just ‘me,’ and you are no one else but just ‘you’. This song celebrates that with a roar! Yooooooooo!!” [via Stereogum]

Indie-rock rising talent Mazey Haze (aka Amsterdam based musician Nadine Appeldoorn) releases her new EP Back to the Start and shares the video for its title track. The EP’s titular, opening track perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the project. Announcing itself like a Californian daydream, awash with synths, heavenly vocal harmonies and jangling guitars, the song’s accompanying video was directed by Pasqual Amade. The EP’s title track captures a certain struggle Appeldoorn has untethering herself from the umpteenth setback. “I’m just being very honest and very real, being like, ‘I went through all this shit for a reason, but now I’m clueless again,’” she explains. “But I think that’s basically what life is: you constantly get over these really hard, big things.”

Garage rocker Olivia Jean has shared ‘Raving Ghost,’ the title track of her third solo album arriving via Third Man Records on Friday, May 5. The track is accompanied by an official music video directed by Olivia Jean herself alongside Erica Salazar, a perfect complement to the slinking, noirish quality of the music.

Breaking up with a friend is a tricky scenario to navigate, not least because the moment of realization that the relationship isn’t working can take so much longer to come into focus. That is the central tension at the heart of ‘Aspartame,’ the latest single from New York-based May Rio. Named after the artificial sweetener that can cause digestive issues and increased blood sugar in some people, ‘Aspartame’ compares a friend whose company slowly reveals itself to be a similarly toxic influence on her life. Themes of co-dependence and low self-esteem are laced through the song’s lyrics as Rio sings “You’ve got a lil problem, It’s not my job to fix it” and “Maybe the problem, Was I just felt so lucky, Just to have anything.” The words are the main focus here, with a minimal percussive backdrop putting thoughts of how voids get filled front and center. Speaking via email, Rio says: “I wrote ‘Aspartame’ in one day. It was born out of an important but complicated friendship that I needed to exit. The song has a melancholy, but it’s also angry. In the midst of that crossover, I found empowerment. Like I said I wasn’t going to take this shit anymore, and here I am, not taking it anymore.” [via The FADER]

After teasing fans over the past week, via their social media pages, Dorian Electra has officially made their comeback. When an artist wipes their socials and updates their profile picture, it’s safe to assume that they’re about to enter a new era. Singer-songwriter Dorian Electra did just that, at the end of the March, leaving fans speculating as to what may be happening behind the scenes by asking them to “pledge to Freak Mode” via a link to their website. Now, Electra debuts their first release of the year with ‘Freak Mode’. Co-produced by Clarence Clarity (Rina Sawayama), the single comes with a music video which was co-directed by Electra and Weston Allen. [via Line Of Best Fit]

Nikki Lane has released the video for her single ‘Denim & Diamonds,’ the title track of her latest album, directed by Desert 5 Spot’s Wade Crescent and Chase Manhattan. Filmed in Los Angeles, the video is the result of a crafty production, emphasizing the underlying theme of women’s empowerment that the song conveys. The video has a vintage feel, with scenes of casual glamour following several women’s unique yet unifying experiences. The set design and styling consist of custom Western apparel with one-of-a-kind pieces from Nikki Lane’s new Nashville vintage shop, High Class Hillbilly. Amongst Black Leaf Flower floral arrangements, the singer-songwriter wears a Catherine D’Lish gown, a custom hat from Ben Kennimer, with diamonds and jewelry by Esteembale Objects. [via Flaunt]

Caroline Polachek has unveiled a new live performance music video for ‘Smoke.’ In the clip for her Desire, I Want to Turn Into You song, Polachek performs with her band amid volcano sculptures, smoke, and glowing red scenery. Polachek’s band comprises Maya Laner, Matthew Horton, and Russell Holzman. Watch the Matt Copson–directed visual below. [via Pitchfork]

American singer-songwriter Eva Grace has dropped a new music video for ‘always be a fan’ directed by B. It was written by Eva Grace and produced by Josh Nabors. Eva Grace shared on social media, “this song always hits harder in the car”. She planned to release one new song and corresponding music video every month for a year, starting in August. Eva Grace told Tucson Weekly about her music, “I love the idea of creating visual art that represents all of my auditory art. I’m extremely excited to have music videos to go with everything. I think that it brings new life to the songs and really illustrates the kind of feeling that I want people to get from the songs.” She continued, “I’m always writing songs and trying to beat myself and make better songs than I did previously. It’s really just picking my favorite ones that I’ve done. I only want to put out my best work.” [via pmstudio]

The post appeared first on She Makes Music.

Frankie Rose shares ‘Sixteen Ways,’ the second single from her forthcoming new album, Love As Projection. Frankie worked with choreographer Neil Schwartz and director Scott Kiernan on the video. “I wanted to make a dance video choreographed by 80s Baby (Neil Shwartz) but with the ESPTV (Scott Kiernan) aesthetic. I trusted them completely and just let them create a world for me. The result is a video that feels like a fever dream in the black lodge complete with my very own machine elves,” says Frankie. Neil Schwartz, the choreographer adds, “I wanted to make sure that the movement matched the aesthetic and wanted to create clean lines focusing more toward the upper body. We focused on the arms to create flowing pictures that would match and compliment the synths, beats, and Vocals, and overall musicality of the track. I wanted to give individuality movement to each dancer while still including a cohesive sea of flowing colors that complimented each dancer to bring about a visual harmony of pictures and shapes”

Margo Price’s fourth album Strays is an early highlight of 2023, with the alt-country songwriter infusing elements of ’70s psychedelia across the LP. Seems like the time period was also a visual influence on Price, as the new music video for the Sharon Van Etten–featuring album cut ‘Radio’ borrows heavily from that decade’s cinematic output—even if the most explicit reference point is Risky Business. “To me, this song is about turning down the noise and opinions of my haters and people who try to tear me down. It’s about having confidence in yourself and your vision,” Price shared about the single. “It’s also a pun about being naked that I lifted from Marilyn Monroe,” she adds, commenting on the song’s repeated line “The only thing I have on is the radio.” The visual captures Price engaging in a self-care routine involving shutting the (rotary) phone off, shedding clothes, and ordering a pizza, all while joint smoke fills the air. Speaking of which, the new video arrives along with the unveiling of Margo Price x Mom Grass, a new cannabis line in collaboration with Dad Grass that includes CBG joints, handmade tie-dyed t-shirts, and embroidered hats which aim to “invoke the free-spirited, psychedelic nature of this latest LP,” per a press release. [via Flood]

On March 10 songwriter, musician, visual artist and writer Shana Cleveland (La Luz) will release her new solo album, Manzanita via Hardly Art Records. Now, she drops the album’s opener ‘A Ghost’, a gorgeous, Mellotron-backed, angelic second taster of the upcoming LP. She wrote Manzanita while pregnant and shortly after giving birth with that experience informing a lot of her songwriting. Of the single Shana says, “I never really gave pregnancy and childbirth very much thought, and when I did become pregnant I was surprised by how much of a psychedelic experience it was. A subtitle for this album could be: ‘What to Expect When You Are Open to the Mysteries of the Universe.’ When I sat outside the house looking out across the field, the chemistry and shape of my body constantly changing, I understood that I was no different than the plants and animals around me.” The video was directed by Vice Cooler and aesthetically was inspired by the show Just for Laughs: Gags, a weird, wordless prank show that Cleveland loved and first saw on hotel TVs when traveling outside the U.S. She shares, “depending on your comfort level for symbolism, it’s a story of someone coming back from the dead to haunt their bff through cheap gags OR a metaphor for pregnancy OR a cautionary tale about colonialism.”

Multi-award-winning artist and Milk! Records co-founder Jen Cloher is sharing the third single ‘My Witch’ from their forthcoming fifth album I Am The River, The River Is Me which will be released on March 3 via Milk! Records / Marathon Artists. On the new single, Cloher said “I went to a party in 2022 where a friend had hired a portable cedar spa. They had set it up in the backyard and after a big feast people started to pile in. As the night progressed things became more and more debauched, bodies tangled together, laughter and booze, like a Bacchanalian scene in a forest… cut to 6 months later when I’m trying to think of a way to tell a funny (but sexy) story to accompany ‘My Witch’. I had been attending Pony Club Gym in Preston for a couple of years and I thought it would make the perfect setting for a pair of babes to be flirting during a steamy workout. Then to casting.. if there’s anyone who reps body positivity and owning their deep hotness it has to be Georgia Maq from Camp Cope. I had my Witch slash Personal Trainer cast! The gym scene needed to be about holding back though because the suggestion of something happening is sexier. Then it came to me! The explosion the song needed during the mega raunch guitar solo could take place in a spa cauldron. Georgia would lure me to her coven where things would turn wild. . Now to casting a coven of hot witches.. Seeing as me and Georgia are songwriters and performers it made sense that her coven would be overflowing with iconic Naarm based songwriting witches – Mo’Ju, Alice Skye, Kira Puru and Lay the Mystic all said yes to my invitation to spend an evening in a spa eating a lot of watermelon. The rest is history.”

North London indie-pop singer-songwriter Natalie Shay recently returned with a new single entitled ‘The Edge,’ a track about the painful breakdown and complete blow up of her friendship with her best friend. Now, Shay shares its official music video. Speaking on the new visual, Shay wrote: “The video was directed by Eleanor Grace Hann. It’s our first time working together on a music video. I had made the concept for the video myself. I wanted the video to be quite literal, ie. actually dancing on an edge of a cliff with a ‘friend’. It was mostly shot at Beachy Head (in the UK), in one day, (a very cold day). It shows the emotional tail end of a friendship breaking down and the comparison to how far it had fallen. My main reference and inspiration for this video was the movie ‘Thirteen,’ one of my favourite movies of all time since I was about 13 myself. It’s a movie about two troubled girls forming an inseparable bond and friendship only for it to go sour and destroy them both.” ‘The Edge,’ alongside its B-side ‘everything’s been happening,’ tells the story of how, once you finally come out of something that had grown bad for you, you reflect and realise so many cracks showed long before you accepted that as the case. Shay reveals, “Despite missing her and the good parts of the friendship so much, I know in order to still respect myself, I have to honour the power of an apology, and in this case, the lack of one.” Both tracks voice the understanding of the power that someone’s dream can hold over their well-being and happiness. Shay admits, “I am guilty of this myself, a lot of my mental health, personality and entire identity are completely wrapped up in my work.” She continues, “This is the same for a lot of creatives and people with a dream or goal from a young age in general. On realising that these goals may not happen the way you’d always planned, or realising things are going to be much harder than you ever expected, this can cause trouble for some people who lack the courage. I think me and my friend are guilty of this, and subsequently this triggered the downfall.” Staying true to her irresistible indie pop sound, ‘The Edge’ shines with kaleidoscopic synths, a contagious beat and energetic melodies. Despite the song’s melancholy theme, sonically it’s the ultimate get up and dance track, allowing you to lose yourself in the music.

Dutch/British artist Someone (aka composer, producer, and visual artist Tessa Rose Jackson) shares the final single ‘Guess I’m Changing’ from her second album Owls, both released now on Tiny Tiger Records. A lush, enveloping psych-pop track recalling the stirring emotional heights of contemporaries such as Feist or Sharon Van Etten and accompanied by a sci-fi visual telling the tale of an android’s awakening, created alongside up-and-coming Hollywood director David Spearing. “This song and video are about rediscovering yourself”, explains Someone “Daring to break a pattern, to accept a chance in yourself and feel free in the journey.” Heavily inspired by the work of Stanley Kubrick as well as Netflix’s ‘Maniac’ and Apple TV’s ‘Severance’ series, the visual follows an android working in a postal factory. “She lives the same loop every day,” explains Someone, “until she a postcard with a picture of a beautiful beach and she starts to realize there may be a bigger, wider world out there. Bit by bit, she starts to break the rules of her rigidly structured life, until finally she manages to break free.” “We wanted to say something about being caught in the mundane routine, whatever that is, and how to break free of that” adds director and long-term collaborator David Spearing. “How the smallest, most seemingly insignificant thing could pull your whole world apart (in a positive way). A nice melancholy idea… set to the most beautiful song.”

One of the UK’s most exciting rising stars and dance-pop icon in waiting Rose Gray has shared her brand new single ‘Ecstasy’, which premiered as Clara Amfo’s Hottest Record in the World on BBC Radio 1, in celebration of her new EP Higher Than The Sun also out now. Speaking about new track ‘Ecstasy’, which is Rose’s biggest floorfiller yet, she explains “’Ecstasy’ is a club banger moment for me. Much like most of my favorite 90’s dance records there’s just this explosion, pure ecstasy, pure anthemic ravey bliss. I played this at Printworks supporting Shygirl and just from how the crowd reacted, I knew I had to lead the EP with this as a single. I wrote it with frequent collaborator Alex Metric, in the studio I became obsessed with the lyric ‘Higher Than The Sun’, it was written in under an hour and felt just so right from the offset. It’s a club record. It undeniably makes you want to dance.“ The track is released alongside a sci-fi chic video, starring Rose and directed by Rauri Cantelo. “We wanted it to feel like a 1990’s meets 1960’s sci-fi,” explains Rose. “I was never very good at science at school, but put me in a Gucci lab coat and it seems I’m able to clone myself into hundreds of Roses.” Director Rauri says, “It’s essentially mad scientist meets uncanny valley, and what better way to show that than by having Rose conduct atom-altering experiments on herself.”

Ahead of the release of her new EP Back to the Start on April 7 via LUSTRE, indie-rock rising talent Mazey Haze (aka Amsterdam based musician Nadine Appeldoorn) has revealed her new single ‘Kill Me I Got You’ – accompanied by a black & white 16mm music video, shot in Hervelinghen, France by Wietger Mosch; inspired by the Swedish film ‘Kärlek 65’, and Mr. Bean. Written about sacrificing your own personal authenticity to appease someone else’s desires, the prowling, 60s psych-rock rhythm of ‘Kill Me I Got You’ is an exercise in recognising patterns within herself in relationships. With this song, Appeldoorn feels she has at last gotten to know herself, no matter how uncomfortable those moments of self-reflection may be: “I’ve learned that I should never force things with other people and be honest with myself and others – and I shouldn’t be afraid to communicate that.” Speaking more on the lyrical inspiration of new single ‘Kill Me I Got You’, Appeldoorn said: “It’s about how the search for a profound, real connection with other people can be confusing, lonely and complicated. Why do I ‘kill’ myself to be who someone else wants me to be just so I can be with them?”

Jonnine Standish of HTRK shares the self-directed video for her new track ‘Tea for Two (Boo)’, a haunted and whimsical ghost story taken from Jonnine’s new album Maritz, out later this month. [via Gorilla vs Bear]

Lizzo just dropped her newest music for her song ‘Special’— a glorious start to Black History Month, if you ask us — where she turns into a badass superhero with lengthy flowing waves, vibrant purple eye makeup, and very long nails. She stars as a waitress named Melly (a nod to Lizzo’s legal name, Melissa), who leads a secret double life as a superhero named Lizzo. Unfortunately, in this universe, Melly nor Lizzo are beloved by the general public. Despite that, Lizzo does still have a few fans including a little Black girl with curly hair who adores the superhero. [via Glamour Magazine]

Mol Sullivan isn’t going to let us off the hook. ‘Bury the Hatchet’ is an earworm built around unexpected structures and inventive pop-infused melodies. The Cincinnati-based songwriter’s new EP, A Little Hello, took a circuitous path through struggle and recovery to find its footing in a space where hard questions don’t get buried, and her voice is ready to, as she puts it, “howl a bit.” ‘Bury the Hatchet’ explores how avoidance and intimacy conspire to bring on longing and heartbreak. Sullivan is pointed, asking in the opening verse over emotive guitar leads and buoyant keyboard arrangements, “How can we bury the hatchet when you’re keeping it hidden? How can we unearth the truth and still find room for forgiveness?” Presented through a narrative that sees a wide-eyed version of Sullivan dressed as a cowgirl, navigating a bright-hued world where the cracks are beginning to show. It’s an incredible, strangely-moving video directed and produced by Sullivan. As she repeats the chorus, “What a shame,” over and over, the realization that this desire for openness isn’t going to be returned sets in. Her expressions heighten the lyrics’ emotional impact. “I was just trying to get through to you,” she croons, “But it turns out, I guess, that was too hard to do.” It’s straightforward, but the lilting timbre of her voice makes it hit so hard. When scenes shift to Sullivan’s other side, we are wide awake. A sharp-edged guitar solo and classic “Yeehaw!” send us into the distance. Sullivan tapped into something timeless and unforgettable on ‘Bury the Hatchet,’ using grit and courage to show so much vulnerability that it’s impossible not to feel a deep connection. [via Foxy Digitalis]

Adelaide based singer-songwriter Nyassa first came to attention through her work with the Hilltop Hoods, performing vocals on their The Great Expanse album and touring with the band in 2019 and 2022. She has now stepped into the limelight with the release of her debut single, the spectacular ‘Ghost’. Written by Nyassa with Telenova’s Edward Quinn, the track has a gorgeous, minimalist electronica sound which allows Nyassa’s breathtaking vocals to become the focus and drive the song firmly into your heart. Her passionate, multi-tracked vocals powering through the soaring melodies in the chorus make it quite possibly the most powerful and addictive 15 seconds you will hear in pop all year. Lyrically the song tells of the moment when you know you have to leave a relationship even though that carries a huge amount of pain. “I will love you even when I’m a ghost,” she sings. “Making music feels like being in love – you’re in another world, a beautiful one,” Nyassa says. “I want to make people feel something that they can’t explain. I naturally put a piece of my soul into my songs.” A music video for ‘Ghost’ has also been released. Creatively directed by Nyassa, it was filmed at the historic Martindale Hall and Mintaro Maze and showcases Nyassa’s love of avant-garde fashion and art, in particular couture runways from the 1980s and 1990s and classic 1980s silhouettes. “There’s just something so bold about wearing shoulder pads – I feel as if they hold a power,” she says. “I’m drawn to fashion that looks like art. I love having no boundaries when designing. [From a young age] I didn’t care what everyone else was wearing, it was more important for me to wear what I loved, no matter how different I looked.” [via Women In Pop]

The post appeared first on She Makes Music.

On new single ‘I Feel Like a Child’, with its whimsical, bossa nova flavour and euphoric choruses, Mazey Haze finds release in accepting that it’s okay not to be on the same page as someone else. The song was written as she looked out her bedroom window… “The trees are really pretty in the summer, and you can see the sunshine and all the leaves moving”, she recalls. The opening verse follows her trying to articulate the scene through her own lens, finding delight in mundanity, just like a child would. “The song is about the fact that everyone has their own perception, and that’s fine. There’s no right or wrong. There’s no truth. But what’s important is keeping in touch with your imagination.”

Speaking more on the lyrical inspiration of “I Feel Like a Child”, Mazey Haze said: “‘I Feel Like a Child’ is a song about beautiful mundanity in comparison to superficial humanity. I think these two have an amazing contrast next to each other and they’re two things that have always fascinated me. I want to try and understand why I feel so wonderful and calm when I’m alone looking at some birds in the sky, leafy trees or listening to classical music. And why I feel overwhelmed and confused by so many people (including myself) so much. But mostly, I’ve figured out that there’s no sense in thinking about these things, but more so to act upon it and feel it.”

The post Mazey Haze channels Italian film scores and French New Wave on bossa nova flavoured ‘I Feel Like a Child’ appeared first on She Makes Music.

Toning down the more ethereal, synthetic textures present on her debut, Mazey Haze’s new material finds her rooting herself to the earth, together with a little less perfectionism. Organic, acoustic sounds, her love of French New Wave cinema, Italian film scores and 60s psych-rock informs the vein of nostalgia that runs through it, finding its way back to a distant world.

Wreathed in light, cinematic with its gong-like percussion, new single ‘The Weight of the Weekend’ traces the difficult terrain of her childhood. “It’s sensitive for me, so it was a scary song to release,” she shares.

Speaking more on the lyrical inspiration of ‘The Weight of the Weekend’, Mazey Haze added: “This song is about me trying to figure out for myself how to connect with people and wanting to get rid of the part of me that holds me back from being free. Thinking about my childhood, myself and people in general. I find it hard to connect with myself and others, want to know why and how to get better. In this song you could say I’m talking to myself, to certain people around me and to the particular voice in my head that refuses to give me real peace and pride in anything I do.”

The post Mazey Haze takes influence from French New Wave cinema and 60s psych on compelling new single ‘The Weight of the Weekend’ appeared first on She Makes Music.