Sister Gemini materialized within LA’s rock scene back in 2022 with a pair of singles that saw the project’s creator Remy Jean testing the waters of indie-rock songwriting. Now, she returns with her first new recording in two years, ‘One Room Apartment,’ alongside murmurs of a debut album cooked up while enrolled in the School of Song program, taking on assignments from modern indie icons Phil Elverum and Robin Pecknold. The first taste of these songs sees Jean spreading her wings significantly beyond what she accomplished on those prior tracks while, ironically, singing about the cooped-up feeling we all experienced at the height of COVID. “‘One Room Apartment’ is about attempting to rely on external comforts to pull you out when you’re in a funk,” she explains of the tune, which is an amplified version of her previous work that recalls the grunge-pop compositions of Bully or Palehound. “I start by calling my friends but when they aren’t available, I turn to casual sex to try to numb the loneliness. I wrote this song during the pandemic, when the world really did feel as small as my apartment at times. It’s a pretty vulnerable song for how upbeat it sounds, I love that contrast.” Check out the music video below, which reconfigures the track’s titular studio unit as an eerily lit tent as Jean ultimately finds a more healthy companion to ease her loneliness. [via FLOOD]

Matilda Mann fans are sure to rejoice, as the London born and raised singer-songwriter unveils two brand new songs that showcase her diverse musical talents. The lead single, ‘Meet Cute,’ features sultry pop hooks layered over soulful, groove-infused drum beats and captivating melodies. Her other offering, ‘Tell Me That I’m Wrong’ is a folky track woven with delicate guitar patterns, telling the story of two souls tentatively taking the leap into love. These tracks mark Matilda Mann’s first new releases of the year, with the promise of a body of work to come. Speaking about ‘Meet Cute’, Matilda muses “You know how you love your favourite book so much when you give it to someone, you say, “I wish I could read it again for the first time”…this song is about wanting to meet your favourite person, over and over again.” The song is accompanied by an enchanting video, directed by the talented young UK director Ben Harris, who specialises in conceptual music videos, commercials, and narrative films. The video features Matilda and her love interest experiencing various first encounters, all set within the confines of a tiny dollhouse. Matilda shares, “Meeting someone for the first time is such an adrenaline rush. The possibilities of what could happen run around your head like crazy. You wish you could meet them over and over again. So we made a video where you do! You meet them at a party, a train station and then in the style of classic movie “meet cutes”, all carefully set and orchestrated by… yourself”

Ascendant alt-rock/pop artist Towa Bird debuts the playful video for her latest single, ‘Deep Cut.’ The visual goes a long way to capture the singer, songwriter, and guitarist’s one-of-one personality and talent, both of which are on full display in Towa’s just out debut album, American Hero. Powered by driving punk-pop and nonchalant vocals, ‘Deep Cut’ is a scathing kiss-off that begs to be blasted from car windows. The video comes courtesy of director Haley Appell (Remi Wolf, Blu DeTiger, Tyler, the Creator), who places Towa in a series of overtly green-screened scenes. Towa appears in an oversized pinstripe suit — running through the suburbs, in a bathroom stall, being harassed by a twister, fishing a lagoon, and fronting a band full of Towas.

Portland indie rock artist MAITA has released a devastating new album called want via Fluff & Gravy Records. Led by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Maria Maita-Keppeler, the band’s third full-length release is their most crystallized work thus far. With the album’s release, the band also shares the official music video for ‘waking up at night,’ a tender anti-lullaby about depression and self-improvement. As Maita-Keppeler says, “Sometimes all you can do is research every vitamin, tackle every deficiency, gain control of some aspect of your life that perhaps might be improved upon.”

New York City/Los Angeles-based alt-pop group MisterWives finally share Nosebleeds: Encore, the highly anticipated deluxe version of their 2023 album, Nosebleeds, out everywhere now. Alongside the full project, the band shares the cathartic, empowering female rage anthem and official video ‘Vultures’ featuring PVRIS. The 17 track album is complete with an astonishing list of all-female collaborators and reworked tracks, including appearances by Betty Who, Pom Pom Squad, Meet Me @ The Altar, Against The Current and more, and a remix by The Aces. The powerful ‘Vultures’ featuring PVRIS channels the spirit of Nosebleeds–high energy, unapologetic feminine rage. The cathartic collaboration sees two friends put their strong female bond on full display. When writing, lead singer Mandy Lee says, “I knew we needed someone with as much teeth as the music and there was no one better to do the job than the iconic Lynn Gunn–who didn’t just bring the energy but took the song to a whole new level!” Gushing over Gunn’s artistry, Lee continues, “Her talent is genuinely one of a kind and having been a fan of her killer voice, songwriting, production, creative vision and love for cats for years finally getting to create together was such a privilege! Bonding over our experiences as women in this industry and getting to channel that divine feminine rage into ‘Vultures’ was as cathartic and empowering as it gets.” On the video, director Matty Vogel says, “The video for Vultures centers on the crux of the song, being “stuck inside of a game” where we encounter Mandy, Lynn and the audience all lulled or hypnotized into normalcy, falling in line, and becoming part of a system. We shot most of this video in an endless white cyc with clinical overhead lighting and combined it with rotating and moving shots to make you lose your bearings and feel ungrounded. The beat of the Newton’s cradle suspends reality from the first shot, and the viewer is invited to be entranced into an environment where the ground’s not always beneath your feet!”

Kate Pierson has been busy with the B-52s and selling her airstream compound. Now, the legendary musician is announcing a new solo album, Radio And Rainbows, and sharing the lead single ‘Evil Love.’ “Sometimes evil love is the only love you need,” Pierson said in a statement. “A not so true tale of obsessive possessiveness and righteous revenge. I started out writing a song with the amazing Bleu McCauley with the idea of a song about forgiveness; but when our creative chemistries collided, the result was a noir thriller of a song set on the coast of Maine. And it’s one hell of a storm — so hang onto your hats for Evil Love !” About the album, she continued, “It’s an eclectic group of songs, anthems, dance things, a disco song… Overall, the album has an upbeat vibe because I wanted to put out something positive in these dark times. I wanted to make it fun!” She added that for a while she felt like “it would’ve been a betrayal if I’d done something on my own outside the B-52s,” she said. “It was a prison created by my own mind.” During the band’s brief hiatus in the late ‘90s, she wrote and recorded enough songs for a solo album. “But our manager put the kibosh on it,” she explained, “because he worried that our label Warner Bros. would object.” Radio And Rainbows features Sia, Chris Braide, Jimmy Harry, Tim Andersen, Bleu, and Sam Dixon. [via Stereogum]

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Nosebleeds propels the group into all new territory, this time, equipped with bravery, confidence and strength. Through a decade-long career, of tremendous highs and lows, the forthcoming project meets the band at their most evolved as they turn their pain into power. Over ten compelling tracks, the band digs deeper than they ever have before, capturing the nuances of life’s highs and low and re-defining what it means to succeed and to fail.

‘Nosebleeds,’ the title track of the album, sees the band aim to let go of outside judgement and criticism and find a deep-rooted confidence on their own. Mandy Lee says, “Written during the pandemic and right in the thick of numerous sucker punches, ‘Nosebleeds’ was one of the first songs I wrote for the album before realizing it would later become the song to spark the overarching theme of the record. Being kept high up in the nosebleeds and on the outside of where you want to be has been a recurring dynamic in my life, especially in an industry that has profited off moving the goalpost or cutting ties if you don’t conform to how they see fit.”

It was the creation of the track that unleashed newfound energy, freedom and creativity, leading to the powerful forthcoming project. Lee continues, “‘Nosebleeds’ was the first step in letting go of all the naysayers and letting in uninhibited acceptance of myself without outside approval. Not shying away from that radical feeling we matched the music in tone with distorted guitars, gritty synths and a pulsing beat that helped give my voice the confidence I needed to start this next chapter and to keep going.”

Alt-pop singer-songwriter K.Flay, who helped write the track, was thrilled to contribute and join Lee in unlocking new creative freedom and confidence. K.Flay adds, “This song is about shedding self consciousness, about what it feels like to watch yourself, to know yourself, but hold back judgment. To be in the moment. I think Mandy is in a space of freedom right now and it was so exciting to tap into that. I absolutely love working together!”

The accompanying bold music video, directed by Jax Anderson, follows Lee as she comes face to face with her inner child, a version of Lee who was free from the weight of others’ opinions, before life left scars, and aims to protect her. Providing insight into the striking music video, Lee says, “The ‘Nosebleeds’ music video takes you on the journey of trying to protect and get back to your inner child–the person you were before life dragged you through the trenches. Being thrown around through obstacles and suffocated by the endless spiral of suffering, doubt, and opinions of others, I find a younger version of myself I’ve been chasing amidst the chaos.”

Lee’s inner child ultimately attempts to guide her back to who she once was as the twisting and turning visual mirrors life’s trials and tribulations. “Through symbolism of movement she teaches me how to get back to who I was before the world told me who to be.” Lee aims to escape through a doorway that looks like an escape from the madness only to find herself thrown into a never-ending staircase symbolizing the journey to healing will always be a continuous one. We chose to end this scene dressed in the same clothes from the crowd of people to represent how often we feel isolated in our pain when in reality our struggles are a lot more similar than we may think.”

Anderson was thrilled to team up with the band, stating, “I’ve always been a huge fan of MisterWives and I was crazy excited when they asked me to direct this video. Their lyrics are so personal and they’re absolutely incredible live. ‘Nosebleeds’ is such a banger, I just wanted to do the track & their band justice!”

Nosebleeds:

1. Out Of Your Mind
2. Dagger
3. Nosebleeds
4. All The Same
5. Sideways
6. Trigger Pull
7. Too Late
8. Silver Lining
9. Trip Around The Sun
10. Flower Moon
11. Broken Glass
12. Other Side
13. End Of My Rope
14. Ultraviolet

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‘Out Of Your Mind’ also comes with an empowering video that acts as a metaphor for giving that much needed permission to embrace the parts of self that aren’t sunshine and roses. Breaking out of the mental cage takes tenacious strength when alchemizing pain into power.

The latest track sees the band step out of their comfort zone, embrace uncomfortable feelings and take more artistic risks. They’re choosing both “truth” and “dare” — something they haven’t had the full autonomy to do previously. In an interview with PAPER Magazine, frontwoman Mandy Lee says, “Stepping out of our comfort zone and not masking uncomfortable feelings with arpeggiated synths and sweet progressions was a pivotal moment needed to let go of pain and anger that was no longer mine to carry, while also giving us creative freedom to not feel boxed in to what might be expected from us.”

Delving into the context of the track’s subject matter, Lee continues, “‘Out of Your Mind’ came from a time when I experienced devastating betrayal from people I trusted. This paradigm shift sent me into a deep spiral of self-doubt–one that gave weight to scathing comments and made me question whether or not it was time to give up on music.” Lee was able to channel this uncertainty into personal power, reclaiming her own self-sovereignty and full expression. She continues, “Instead of succumbing to the doubt, I finally began my journey with therapy and a new, emboldened sense of self emerged that fueled what became this album.”

Set in a rage room, the accompanying video directed by Matty Vogel sees lead singer Mandy Lee break free from the confines of harsh expectations and regain her artistic liberty. Explaining the idea and inspiration behind it, Lee says, “Heavily inspired by ‘Severance’ and ‘The Matrix,’ we wanted the ‘Out of Your Mind’ video to represent the division of your brain and unlocking parts of yourself that have been conditioned to conform.” The viewer is introduced to several versions of Mandy all existing on different planes. One is hypnotized into a lull by an industry that sets tight boundaries and strips the artist of their agency. Another version of Mandy represents her subconscious repressed pain and anger towards these confines. These multiple selves live within Mandy’s physical body that has been kept dormant and unaware of the perpetual loop in which she’s been trapped. Her pain finally wakes her up and sets her free from the restrictive limitations that she’s existed within, revealing a new era for MisterWives.

Director Matty Vogel says, “Mandy and I wrote the concept for the video together, and it’s a really transparent and honest representation of the journey she’s been on. It was important to show that your pain can become your power and used to set yourself free, which is the crux of this song and album.” Vogel continues, “The message of ‘Out Of Your Mind’ is that you can absolve yourself from doubt, fear and pain, and convert it into empowerment. With plenty of Easter eggs and visual symbolism we are excited for this next world to unfold as the new album begins.”

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‘Easy’ explores difficult themes of change, loss, and moving through turbulent times with strength and hope. The song features the band’s signature mix of explosive synth pop complete with glittering melodies, driving guitars, and soaring vocals.

Infectious, cathartic, and embracing darker notes, ‘Where Do We Go From Here’ is a slight departure for the band sonically and lyrically. MisterWives further explains, “it’s what happens when trust is broken and rather than running from the anger, fear and jealousy that comes with that, we made a 4 minute soundtrack for those complex and uncomfortable emotions.”

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