After her October 2022 LP no roof no floor contemplated the concept of home, Brooklyn-via-Kansas-City songwriter Scout Gillett returns with news of another new release taking these ideas further. Slated to arrive on September 5, the Imagination, MO. EP suggests a lighter approach to such heavy subject matter while keeping its focus on the importance of one’s upbringing. Gillett cites The Cars and Pat Benetar as primary influences, while also enlisting her father to contribute vocals to the EP’s closer, a cover of Deftones’ ‘Change (In the House of Flies).’ “People who don’t know my background and upbringing may not understand me,” Gillett shares as she explains the deeply personal roots behind the new project. “I have to let them in and show them who [I am] and what I’m about. People might think it’s cute or feel sorry that I had to work so hard to get here. I think my upbringing and its surroundings were remarkable and irreplaceable and I wouldn’t take any of it back. It completely shaped me to be independent and experimental.” Arriving with the news is the EP’s first single, a breezy pop-rock nostalgia track that focuses on turning heartache into something that’ll chart. “I never had the guts to tell them,” she notes of the song’s subject matter, a crush she never pursued. “So I just wrote a song about it and I never got a kiss—so I figured I’d try to make a hit.” Below, check out the video Gillett created for the track, which was inspired by more of her early musical heroes: MTV royalty such as No Doubt, Amy Winehouse, and Lily Allen. [via Flood]

Continuing to push the boundaries of her creative freedom and transcend the limitations of generic songcraft, Miso Extra returns with a euphoric, UKG-infused single, ‘Slow Down.’ The London-based singer, producer, and rapper of mixed heritage co-wrote the song with DJ Boring, who also handled production duties. The release includes two versions: the single and the original extended version, the latter infusing over five minutes of added energy into this unforgettable track. Both are out now on Transgressive Records. Speaking about the release, Miso Extra comments: “When DJ Boring first came to me with this beat I knew it was special and that we had to work together to develop this idea. This track for me evokes a feeling of exhaustive euphoria at the end of a night out, coupled with that trance-like state of desire to want to get home. When I was tracking the vocal for the song I was getting really frustrated that I wasn’t getting the delivery and intonation quite how I wanted it so much so that in one of the takes I blurted out “I didn’t get it” which eventually ended up being used as a sample on the track.” The song was conceived during a period when Miso Extra felt isolated and disconnected from friends. During this time, she often went for walks, capturing the bird noises you hear within the track as field recordings from those moments. Accompanying the song is a bright, fast-paced and conceptual video from her prior collaborator Claryn Chong, who Miso worked with on the creative for her single ‘2nd Floor’. Talking about their partnership, she muses: “I adore working with Claryn Chong and we frequently align with each other when it comes to visual references. When discussing the concept for this video our shared love of Wong Kar-Wai came up a lot and you can see traces of that in this video. I really love how Claryn and her team were able to find a way to visually interpret the motion of the song.”

MOTHICA is back with the seventh track and music video from her upcoming record Kissing Death, ‘Afterlife.’ Of her new LP, available August 23 via Heavy Heart Records, MOTHICA notes, “This is for the younger version of me who romanticized death for a decade, and the lasting impact it had on me as I searched for an easier, softer way to exist.” In ‘Afterlife,’ MOTHICA rides shotgun with Death in his bright red car on desert roads and through a vortex. “I wanna know what it’s like/To feel your heart beating from the inside/Take your soul for the night/Lose control, end up in the afterlife,” she sings in the chorus. [via idobi]

Pom Pom Squad returned last month with the ominous pop banger ‘Downhill.’ Now, the indie rock project helmed by New York’s Mia Berrin is announcing their sophomore album Mirror Starts Moving Without Me. The lead single ‘Spinning’ is out now. “The song represents a moment when I was learning to cope with painful memories of the past and how they’ve shaped my future,” Berrin said. “In accepting them, I’ve been able to find more freedom and forgiveness within myself.” ‘Spinning’ comes with a music video directed by Berrin and Benjamin Lieber, about which Berrin added, “A lot of the lyrics on the album have to do with watching/analyzing yourself, so I knew I wanted to create a surveillance room setup for something. It turned out to be a really fun home-base for the ‘Spinning’ video.” Mirror Starts Moving Without Me follows 2021’s bombastic Death Of A Cheerleader. “I took a lot of inspiration from my younger self on this album,” Berrin explained about the new one, continuing: “I wanted to get back in touch with my creative roots. After hitting a particularly rough bout of writer’s block, I challenged myself to make a playlist of my all-time favorite songs from childhood to adulthood. It was healing in a way I didn’t expect! Before we went into the studio I made my bandmates and Cody [Fitzgerald] do the same, then we all listened to each other’s and had a long conversation about them. Through the sessions for Mirror we were all pulling references from our collective playlists more than anything else.” [via Stereogum]

The formidable trio that is Queen Cult (Maisie – founder and vocals, Brodie Carson on drums and Piers Jarvis on bass) take no prisoners when it comes to exploring topics that are typically less explored in rock music. Unapologetically queer, on their new single ‘To Be A Boy’ Maisie explores themes of gender dysphoria and expectations of AFAB people growing up in a small town, and in the music industry as a whole. Speaking of the track, Maisie says, “This song is super personal to me and based on my experiences growing up, I hope this resonates with anyone who had similar experiences. It was written about growing up with the confusion of wanting to be a boy, when in reality I came to the realisation that I just wanted the freedom that boys had growing up. It’s also about the misconception that when I hung around boys, I should fancy them – but I just didn’t! Navigating a world as AFAB was, and still is, pressured with multiple expectancies in behaviour followed by rules. This is my experience of that. I hope it sticks with you.”

april june has released her 7-track sophomore EP baby’s out of luck again, which also marks an even bigger milestone for the artist. “The last time I recorded something this long was 10 years ago. It’s much easier, psychologically, to let go of a song that you’ve written, as opposed to an EP…This project is very special to me. It just has more weight to it,” april june said of the project. One special highlight from the EP is the project’s closer ‘carry you on my broken wings’. Channeling an ‘80s dream pop sound through layered synths and driving drums, the song tells the tale of a couple that is doomed to fail. One is driven by feelings of lust and danger, and the other is destined to carry them on “broken wings” in her state of unbridled limerence. april june said she was inspired to create the song after falling in love with themes of seduction and danger seen in Italian gangster projects such as The Sopranos and Goodfellas. “[The song is] an exploration of the tumultuous relationship between the protagonist and her dangerous male counterpart. Clad in a tuxedo, he exudes a sexy, enigmatic allure, navigating the shadows with one hand on her thigh and the other on a gun,” april june described. “The lyrics paint a vivid picture of a life where violence and the death drive intertwine. As she carries the weight of her partner on her broken wings, the song becomes a haunting ode to a love that is as sexy as it is wild.” june’s voice is breathy and seductive as she tells this tale of these two people caught in the thralls of euphoria and pain. The track is also accompanied by a highly-stylized music video. Directed by Marco Braia, both the track and video are cinematic by design. “The music video draws heavily from the Giallo genre, with a particular nod to Italian film director Dario Argento. We shot this in Turin, which is a city where Argento made ‘Profondo Rosso.’ Thematically, I was inspired by the idea of creating a main character and a doppelgänger, a sort of a ‘real’ self and a shadow self,” april june explained. [via Line of Best Fit]

Nashville-based artist Ashe has unveiled a new song, ‘I Wanna Love You (But I Don’t),’ with an accompanying video co-directed by Ashe herself. The track, produced by Collin Pastore and Jake Finch (boygenius), is taken from her long awaited third studio album, Willson, set for release September 6. “I just didn’t like myself very much and put on that I was this confident, sort of ray of sunshine and it all made me feel like a fraud,” Ashe says. “Writing ‘I Wanna Love You (But I Don’t)’ was the first time I tried to address all that musically and was so scary and so healing and I’m kinda surprised I’m releasing it at all but here we are!” [via Broadway World]

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High energy from the very first note, the track once again highlights lead singer Maisie Johnson’s gift for telling tongue-in-cheek yet deeply thought-provoking stories through her lyrics that really pack a punch. ‘The Hand Lender’ is a message for sex positivity. It’s about enjoying growth and getting both lost and finding yourself in experiences with other people.

She says, “It’s based around a great sexual connection I had with someone who is gender fluid. It sparked something inadvertently that helped me question my own gender and I found my own definition of being a cis woman. Along with how I like to define relationships with people. It’s sex positive and all about enjoying growth and getting lost in a moment. It’s all about that spontaneity!

“Lyrically, it’s very on the nose and sonically I wanted it to be fun and fast, very much like the situation itself, uncomplicated. A lighthearted ode to the hand lender!”

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‘Be Better’ is the start of a new musical chapter for Queen Cult. With a furious pace and punk attitude Maisie sings “I’m not chasing…Wrecking homes isn’t something that I’d casually do”. The single was co-produced by Queen Cult and Sam Bloor of Lower Lane Studios in Stoke-on-Trent, whose credits include rapidly rising rock bands Graphic Nature and Black Coast.

Speaking of the single, Maisie says, “’Be Better’ is about the love between two friends. The realisation that platonic love can overlap and be confusing at times. Love is not linear. The song highlights the need for boundaries. We can all innocently fancy people we love, but must be careful how we navigate it.”

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The single’s foundations feature a vibrant melting pot of heavy-hitting drums and overdrive soaked guitars. However, the track manages to blend electronic elements within its texture, with understated synth lines creeping into the mix. Lead vocals come tinged with pop sensibilities whilst also having an aggressive edge that cuts through the mix, the tone working hand in glove with hard-hitting lyrics.

Speaking about the single, vocalist and guitarist Maisie reveals: “’Lollipop’ was a very spontaneous song to write. I had the main riff for ages. The lyrics describe how your actions can really stall and affect someone else without realising. So this song serves to vocalise the honest and visceral frustration of not knowing how to approach a changing situation.”

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Discussing the release, Maisie explains: “This song was written for a friend. I wanted to understand it from her perspective and to give her a platform that would radiate with empowerment, after such distrust and pain she had endured. I wanted to show her she is not alone and how undeserving that moment was for her. I wanted her to feel heard, since she felt she had been silenced by that moment. For anyone else unheard or needing that feeling of empowerment in a moment where your femininity or dignity felt stolen. I hear you. You’re valid. It matters x” 

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Starting with a ska/pop beat that builds into a slow and steady storm of rock riffs, front woman Maisie Johnson tantalises us with her recognisable voice and demands attention as she contemplates being dragged into a hole of pervasive energies.

Discussing the track, Maisie explains; “Initially just as a song demo, ‘Beautiful Psycho’ has been around a moment for us. We decided to revisit it because it’s always had a place, we were just waiting for when it would rear its horns at us and demand to be released! You could say maybe the song told us? Haha. It carries a whole tug and pull dynamic within the lyrics forever trying to hold a higher ground, whilst breathing in and out of control.

“We really wanted to show that contrast between the verses and chorus’ by switching from a chirpy, poppier major verse and a darker heavier cry and lyrically questioning chorus. It can be about obsession, being drawn to a whole lot of wrong, toxic energies. Abuse. Passion. However deep YOU want to interpret it. To us, it also stamps the early sounds of Queen Cult and our roots of where it all began to where we are going. It means a lot.”

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