Dreamy synths and a gently driving rhythm give ‘Romance Is A Desert’ an easy, swaying quality, with warmth running through its breezy indie sound. There’s no huge burst of energy needed; instead, the track settles comfortably into its groove while Nieve’s effortlessly cool vocal brings plenty of sensuality and sass. Despite the suggestion of uncertainty lurking beneath the surface, little of that tension comes through musically. This feels much more like surrendering to the moment and enjoying it while it lasts.

The video couldn’t suit that feeling better. Nieve dances alone in slow motion against a brilliantly blue sky, sunglasses firmly in place as she moves through a sun-drenched field with suitably carefree confidence. Simple and understated, it captures the song’s warmth without overcomplicating things. ‘Romance Is A Desert’ feels like a long summer day slowly slipping into evening – breezy, flirtatious and perfectly content to enjoy itself.

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It’s a feeling that sits at the heart of Nieve Ella’s anticipated debut album, How Long Will It Take?, announced today alongside its new single, ‘Standing On A Pane Of Glass’. Accompanying the single is a striking video by Millie Jamieson-Pond, placing Nieve at the centre of a visceral visual world that blurs the line between inner turmoil and reality.

Across eleven songs, Nieve explores the messy reality of becoming, navigating identity, relationships and self-worth while feeling like everyone else has somehow got there first. Rather than offering easy resolutions, How Long Will It Take? finds hope in simply continuing forward, embracing the mess and choosing progress over perfection.

Throughout the writing process with producer and co-writer Jamie Rendle, alongside fellow band member and co-writer Finn Marlow an image kept returning to Nieve: an endless staircase. It became both the visual language of the album and an emotional core, a metaphor for chasing adulthood, confidence and success while never quite feeling like you’ve arrived. Every milestone simply reveals another flight ahead. Rather than asking listeners to race towards certainty, How Long Will It Take? celebrates the climb itself, finding comfort in the idea that none of us have quite figured it out.

That journey reaches one of its emotional deepest points on new single ‘Standing On A Pane Of Glass’. Composed during a period of intense self-reflection, the song captures the exhausting cycle of anxiety and overwhelm that so many experience but rarely articulate: the quiet calm, the sudden crash, and the guilt of struggling when life appears fine from the outside. Beginning in fuzzy intimacy before erupting into cathartic stabs of guitars, the song mirrors the emotional whiplash at its heart.

“Standing On A Pane Of Glass is my lowest low; it’s the sound of hitting rock bottom,” explains Nieve. “My way of processing my emotions is getting in a room with Jamie and Finn and putting everything down on paper and sounding it out. This song is truly a fearless piece of art I feel very held up by. I hope it can make a difference.”

How Long Will It Take?:

1. 101
2. Drive
3. Standing On A Pane Of Glass
4. Romance Is A Desert
5. Bite Back
6. At Any Cost
7. Angie
8. Love:Hate
9. I’M NOT DEAD
10. Back To Basics
11. How Long Will It Take?

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Out now via Artist Theory, ‘Bite Back’ expands Ella’s sonic and emotional world in equal measure. Built around snarling guitars and biting lyricism, the track simmers with tension, exploring ego, perception, and retaliation through imagery of appetite, consumption, and emotional decay.

At its centre sits the cutting refrain: “I was tender now I am teeth” – a line that feels less like a hook and more like a transformation unfolding in real time, tracing the slow shift from humiliation into instinct, tenderness into threat.

“A man had his ego hurt because he thought I owed him something, and as men often do when their ego is bruised, he ran to try to embarrass me to save face and protect his image,” Ella explains. ‘Bite Back’ is a song about never letting that man win by humiliating you and tarnishing your name to better them. Karma is real and so is everything that I’m saying in this song.”

The accompanying video, directed by Yana Van Nuffel and commissioned by It Girl, expands the emotional world of the track into something surreal, hyperreal, and strangely beautiful. Emotionally messy and cinematic in equal measure, the visual blurs glamour with discomfort, exploring the uneasy push-pull between rage, desire, femininity, and consumption. A psychological fever dream, it captures a moment when Ella’s artistic identity fully crystallises.

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Pearl & The Oysters – Juliette Pearl Davis (Juju) and Joachim Polack (Jojo) – met on their first day of high school in Paris, and have been together ever since. The duo’s new LP is their second record for Stones Throw and the result of nearly two decades of connection and collaboration. The duo kick off their tour with Ginger Root, on September 24 in San Diego. ‘Triangular Girl’ was written 12 years ago, when the duo were at jazz school in Paris. They decided to re-work the song for Planet Pearl, this time with a stellar cast of L.A. musicians: Riley Geare of Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Caleb Buchanan, Logan Hone and Andrew Forman, and taking inspiration from 60s and 70s Brazilian waltzes. The influence of Brazilian music is strong throughout Planet Pearl – Jojo’s PhD was on the composer Antônio Carlos Jobim – along with the Brazilian concept of saudade, the melancholic longing for a beloved yet absent something or someone. [via Northern Transmissions]

Exploring the sonic spectrum between funk, soul, and jazz, North West London singer, songwriter, and producer Lynda Dawn’s new single, ’11th Hour,’ is out now via her own First Dawn Records imprint. Now, she reveals the video, directed by Ricky Rxse. Following up on her previous single, ‘Where You Are,’ ’11th Hour’ is the second track to be taken from Dawn’s forthcoming, highly anticipated eponymous EP, releasing on October 4 with a limited vinyl run to follow. Co-produced by Lynda Dawn and JACKUM, the single is an empowering exploration of time, longing, nostalgia, and hope. She explains: “I wanted to capture the fragility of relationships and the pressure we often feel from society, all while being aware of time slipping away. Although it’s written as a love story, it’s really about those critical moments we all face in life. I hope the lyrics can encourage listeners to never give up on what they love and to seize the moment for a new dawn.”

Change can be an unpredictable force—both exhilarating and disorienting. For rising WestMidlands songwriter and guitarist Nieve Ella, the past few months have been a whirlwind, propelling her into a new chapter. Emerging from this period is the 21-year-old’s biting new single, ‘Ganni Top (She Gets What She Needs)’, out now, on AWAL Recordings. The single is the final glimpse from Ella’s transformational new 8-track EP, Watch It Ache and Bleed, arriving on October 17. An ode to ripened self-awareness, the EP contours melancholy and mischief across gritty 90s indie with a refined pop edge. It encapsulates the essence of a young artist who has redefined her understanding of ambition and desire. A rip-roaring highlight produced by Jamie Rendle and Hugo M Hardy (Nick Mulvey, Col3trane, Obongjayar) new single ‘Ganni Top’ presents a hedonistic take on fresh starts, with Ella envisioning the exhilarating escapades that follow her liberation. “You can fill me in the back of your limousine,” she quips on this playful, grunge-inspired tribute to newfound singledom. Complementing the single is a rousing official video directed by REBEKAHBCREATIVE. Adorned in her signature heart-jewelled necklace and corset, the video is a sassy exploration of ‘getting what she needs.’. Reflecting on her new single, Ella describes: “Ganni Top is a glamourised celebration of being young, fun, wild, and free, while also highlighting the needs of a woman. She gets what she needs!”

Today, Ruby McKinnon, AKA Flower Face, is back with the riveting ‘If I Beg You.’ “I knew ‘If I Beg You’ was going to be the last song because it felt like the turning point,” McKinnon explains. “I built this really beautiful, incredible, inspiring life that I would never give up to go back to what I had before. It starts out sounding like a tape disintegrating, like, audibly falling apart. Then the big part comes in, and it’s this moment of triumph and healing.” ‘If I Beg You’ proves the versatility that makes Girl Prometheus so hypnotic. Plus, the lyrics are wonderfully scathing, serving as the perfect album closer when she sardonically sings, “Is this a worthy goodbye?” Below, watch the music video directed by McKinnon and Boy Wonder. [via Stereogum]

Cody Frost has unleashed a brand-new single and video, ‘PROCESS.’ The alt. punk star calls this newest banger “a spicy brain rager that begs for a pit”, adding that, “It’s about feeling like I’m pretending to be something I’m not. I act like I have it all together, but in reality, I don’t. I made this song for my younger self, who needed to hear this.” [via Karrang!]

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Winning over a slew of devout fans with her potent indie-pop confessionals, seamlessly melded with the ambiance of 90’s guitar, Nieve Ella’s latest single, ‘The Things We Say,’ marks an evolved next step. As comfortable in her own skin as one can be at 21 years old, her new single is simultaneously heavy and light yet dense and playful.

Collaborating with producer Iain Berryman (Beabadoobee, Young Fathers, Wolf Alice) and co-writer Joel Pott (Joy Crookes) she continues to demonstrate her knack for pairing knockout choruses with potent elements of her broader indie-pop palette. Frothy crash cymbals and slanted guitar lines lay the architecture for Ella’s distinctive raspy vocal, as she navigates the complex feelings of a platonic fallout.

Speaking about her new single, Ella explains, “I wrote ‘The Things We Say’ after an argument with a best friend. These conversations can be painful at the best of times, but even more so when it’s with someone you love deeply. Expanding further, Ella describes her evolved approach to songwriting: “Being able to write something so raw and honest, and not being afraid to express how I feel, has made me feel strong and empowered.”

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