Irish indie rock band Pillow Queens dive into intoxicating feelings with punchy, cathartic track and official video ‘Heavy Pour’. ‘Heavy Pour’ is a track that lays the foundation for a story of unshakable conviction in the face of doubt and feeling inadequate. Sonically, lead guitarist and vocalist Cathy McGuinness shares, “It feels like a bit of a bizarre journey or a fever dream.” Opening with a 90s grunge vibe, twangy distorted guitars and open strings, it gets progressively heavier before a cathartic release. McGuinness says, “The guitar becomes more palatable in the middle eight, totally contradicting the previous section of discordant chaos. It then falls into a glorious half time with ‘oohs’ to support the instruments, giving a feeling of clarity and resolve before snapping back to the chorus.” Lyrically, lead vocalist, guitarist and bassist Pamela Connelly adds, “A lot of the lines in this song could convey the typical sweetness of a love song, but it has brief moments of outside perspectives that cast doubt over the conviction represented. The song tries to show the “heavy pour” as a compulsion that while having moments of joy, ultimately heightens personal insecurities.” The band also touches on gender and common misconceptions with the line, “I want more, but I’m not man enough.” Vocalist, guitarist and bassist Sarah Corcoran says talk regarding that line has sparked conversations about gender, particularly the tendency to equate masculinity with bravery. “Intrigued by this dynamic, we wanted to delve into and dissect the idea that one’s gender expression is impacted by their perceived level of courage. Spoiler: it’s not. All genders can be courageous and/or scared.” The track’s accompanying video, directed by Kate Dolan, is inspired by old silent films like The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari, Faust and Nosferatu. The idea for the video came immediately to Dolan upon hearing the track. Dolan says, “The song felt like a haunting and I felt the video needed to be something quite stylistic. I came up with the idea of the music video being a long lost silent film that has never been seen, a haunted piece of art buried in an attic somewhere. Then, as the band performs the cursed film is purged, burning up. The band are always up for having some fun so the shoot was a lot of fun and we played a lot on set.” The spooky video was aptly shot at Glenmaroon House in Dublin. The Tudor-style Edwardian mansion, dating back to the 1850s and once owned by a member of the Guinness family, exuded an eerie charm perfectly suited for the video’s aesthetic.

Babe Club says they were inspired by Mark Ronson and Lykke Li’s song ‘Late Night Feelings’ to make a new dance groove beat. While ‘Late Night Feelings’ is about heartbreak, Babe Club’s new single, ‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,’ is about uncovering your deep dark secrets. Here’s what the band had to say about their new song: “We wanted to make a dance song that inspired people to get weird and mischievous. We abandoned the idea for a year, picking it back up while being inspired by how interactive and hype Chappell Roan’s songs get with the audience. Singer Jenna Desmond recalls channeling her inner weird Barbie-the damaged one- for the lines, ‘let’s just have fun, kill the lights now turn it up,’ in hopes people will be sweating out their demons with strangers on the dance floor. It’s murder on the dance floor.” [via Holy City Sinner]

Australian trio Telenova returns with their latest elegant, disco track ‘Power.’ The song comes with an official video directed by frontwoman Angeline Armstong that is brimming with vibrant colour and otherworldly imagination. In a day of big announcements, the band has also shared news of their debut album Time Is A Flower (to be released on August 16 via Fiction) which will be played live across their forthcoming European tour which will see them touch base in London on October 1st at The Outernet’s The Lower Third. The track was co-produced by the band and Styalz Fuego who has also produced tracks for Troye Sivan, Tate McCrae, Odesza, Imagine Dragons. Speaking about the song’s creation Angeline explains “The song is a fable-like story of a flower in love with the sun, but the sun is setting. And the flower is afraid of being left alone in the darkness without the very thing that gives it power and strength. Of course, the flower unaware that the sun inevitably always rises again. The more we kept building out the lyrics the more Josh and I realized its a fairly multi-layered metaphor for love. Inevitably (and beautifully) people will hear different things in the meaning of ‘Power’, it resonates on a romantic-love kind of micro level, but can really extend out to a divine kind of love and existential longing – whatever your idea of ‘God’ or the universe or something ‘bigger’ it’s the cry of a human being out to whatever is out there, to like, not be abandoned basically, not be left to our own devices all on our own. And then we shroud that all in a big fun dancey disco tune – because why not.”

On her brand new single ‘Comic Trip’, Sylvie Kreusch nosedives into a fantasy world where anything is possible. It is a song that buzzes with colors, sensations and Big Emotions – with a stylistic nod to bands like The B-52’s and Stereolab. “On ‘Comic Trip’, I wanted to create a world where everything is possible, where reality and fantasy intertwine.” Kreusch says about her latest song. “The inspiration came from the nostalgia for my childhood, when I could lose myself for hours and hours, reading vintage comic strips in my grandmother’s attic. I was immediately reminded of those Roy Lichtenstein-sounds, which I added in both the arrangements and the lyrics.” With its bright, sparkling arrangements, ‘Comic Trip”’resonates like the pop music version of a retro sixties comic that’s brimming with spectacle, intrigue and suspense. Kreusch turns into a superheroine protagonist who jumps kinetically from panel to panel. “’Comic Trip’ harkens back to childhood, the days when you still looked at the world with wonder. I think we as adults can learn a lot from that.” Kreusch adds. “I am now in my thirties and everything is becoming slightly predictable. I now have a little more control over my life, so it is sometimes shocking when you lose that spontaneity. Being a bit more naive in the world, especially as a creative person, is a very important thing to keep doing. So that’s what I’m looking for now.” ‘Comic Trip’ is a very visual song, so there really had to be a video. The things I wanted to do weren’t that easily executed either. It is about children who completely lose themselves in comic books and look in amazement at a world in which everything is possible. I tried to put that world visually in a video. It turned out really cool, and it required a lot of preparation. It’s very conceptual, even though I don’t normally write like that. You constantly bump into things that are not feasible. There is certainly something of a Western influence in it: comics and Westerns are two worlds that often go well together. There was a lot of shooting in terms of choreography on a treadmill. The world I am in is a kind of desert landscape, in which things travel my way. And the children act as a shadow of me. Sometimes they follow me around and then they disappear again. That was maybe the hardest part: finding children in which gender and age looked fluid. That there is something very playful and young about them, but they are also very mature in how they move, in their way they imitate me a little bit. Part of the video for ‘Comic Trip’ was actually filmed on location, and partly animated. The idea behind it is that you’re not supposed to be able to tell the difference between what’s real and what’s fantasy.”

Kate Nash has shared ‘Space Odyssey 2001’, as the latest single from her forthcoming album, 9 Sad Symphonies. The track sees Kate nash recount a first date with her now-partner and pokes fun at her own movie choice. “It’s the wrong film for a date, but I love the film. I like making jokes in songs. I like that there’s this beautiful love song but it’s also complaining about this critically acclaimed film being too long. I don’t recommend it for a first date,” she explains. “‘Space Odyssey’ is a love song about my partner who I was friends with for many years, but we met up at just the right time in the summer of 2017, both single and very unexpectedly fell in love,” Nash continues. “Romance came back into my life in this effervescent, joyful and healing way. I’d been through so much pain and toxicity. In the video, I arrive at this homestead having been through hell, exhausted and at the point of no return. I am rescued by a half man/half donkey. It’s inspired by Shakespeare and the way his plays use surrealism, fairy tale and classic love stories, but also the genuine complexities of human relationships. I’m taken into this homestead as I’m ready to give up and am healed by sunshine, friendship, food, joy, animals, nature and falling in love with someone you really don’t expect, which transforms me from a broken, bloody mess to a higher level self (in this case, a fairy).” [via Line Of Best Fit]

MOTHICA has shared another new single and video from her upcoming album Kissing Death. Following last month’s first single ‘Doomed,’ the artist unveils a song attached to her name, ‘Curiosity Killed The Moth’ – and as such, she says that it felt like an especially “daunting” one to write. “I thought of the phrase ‘curiosity killed the cat’ on the way to a session with David Burris and Alexandra Veltri, and we twisted it to be about a moth,” MOTHICA explains. “Like a moth to a flame. Icarus flying too close to the sun. “I’ve always wanted to write a song about moths, but of course, it being my namesake that felt like a daunting task. I wanted every song to feel like it was from a soundtrack since I knew I was going to do a music video for every song, and so it turned into this dark cinematic feeling that I really love.” [via Kerrang!]

Calva Louise has revealed the extraordinary cinematic Sci-Fi video for their new song, ‘Under the Skin’, and the news they have also signed to Mascot Records—home to P.O.D., VOLA, Defects, Conquer Divide, Dragged Under, and Oxymorrons,. ‘Under the Skin’ was co-written by Allanic and Pendulum’s Gareth McGrillen and is a mesmerising blend of raging metal riffs, swirling electronica, and Allanic’s extraordinary ability to flit between ethereal vocals and demonic howls. It swoons in and out of a stunning narrative, with melodic twists along the way that are penetrated by an attack of hypnotic aggression. ‘Under The Skin’ follows a complex Sci-Fi narrative and is the introduction of a conceptual storyline about the characters and their counterparts called the Doubles. Talking about the song, Allanic says, “The lyrics deal with the obstacles that arise between them as one is looking for freedom and the other is looking to perpetuate their consciousness, but the expectations are not the same for both sides.” The video is a feast for the eye and was directed and edited with VFX by Jess Allanic. This first single release is accompanied by Calva Louise’s most ambitious music video production, including a Sci-Fi movie-style short film telling a story about parallel dimensions where the characters are looking to perpetuate their consciousness beyond the real world.

Shannon & The Clams release their latest single ‘Big Wheel’ and its accompanying music video. The song will be featured on their upcoming album The Moon Is In The Wrong Place out May 10 via Easy Eye Sound. Kicking off with resounding Moog synthesizer instrumentals and vocals from guitarist Cody Blanchard, ‘Big Wheel’ chronicles the unavoidable passage of time and life’s impermanence. On the track, Shannon & The Clams showcase their remarkable knack for making big, devastating feelings more tangible through upbeat melodies and creating a place for listeners to celebrate life. In August 2022, singer and frontwoman Shannon Shaw’s world was turned inside out: with mere weeks to go until their wedding, the singer’s fiancé, Joe Haener, died in a horrific car accident. It was a devastating loss that hit Shannon & The Clams — who were all incredibly close with Haener — with cataclysmic force. Cue ‘Big Wheel,’ guitarist Cody Blanchard’s response to Joe’s death — a meditation on how time and reality become distorted in the face of sudden loss. The lyrics ruminate on the feeling of helplessness as time marches on after someone dies, like the feeling of being strapped into a ferris wheel seat that you don’t want to be on — as if you have accidentally gotten on the wrong ride and everything has “gone off the track” and you desperately want to pull the stop lever. The song also explores the impotent desire to rewind time and to keep the gap between “now” and “before” as small as possible, like the urge to keep a child at a certain innocent age before the harshness of the world turns them cynical. “See the boy waiting in line, weep for him on the other side.” The accompanying music video, directed by Vanessa Pla, is an eerie exploration of time visually reminiscent of silent era films. [via Concord]

Following last month’s single ‘Maverick’, self-styled brat punk Delilah Bon has unleashed another ferocious single in the form of ‘Finally See Me’. Taking inspiration from her school days, it’s a raw and riotous exploration of Delilah’s teenage school experience, and the mental health struggles she faced, feeling lost and alone as a free-thinker in a system that didn’t understand her. “This song is about craving recognition and validation,” says Delilah. “I receive messages from so many young people who feel just like I did back in school. They tell me they use my music to get through the day, which hits close to home for me. I remember spending lunch breaks hiding in the school toilets, listening to P!nk, just trying to escape the world.” [via Kerrang!]

Cross Dog is a noisy, experimental, bass-driven hardcore punk band from Peterborough, Ontario. Their music is played at ear-splitting volumes, but the band’s socially conscious messaging cuts through the noise loud and clear. Formed in 2013, the intentional omission of a guitarist from the lineup leaves Cross Dog lacking absolutely nothing. Affirming the power in the rule of three, Tracy A (vocals), Mark Rand (bass), and Mikey Reid (drums) explode with a multiplicative force that betrays the finite bounds of their instrumental limitations. Cross Dog’s newest album (and first for Stomp Records), All Hard Feelings (out June 7), sees the band maintain the sonic onslaught they’ve become known for, but with a few tweaks. ‘Hard Feelings,’ the first single to be shared ahead of the LP’s launch, is a pseudo-diss track that stemmed from Tracy feeling blindsided and betrayed. It encapsulates the moment when you are all pure and reactive emotion before you calm down and view your current situation through a healthier, more balanced lens. It’s the perfect “scream-it-in-your-car” song, so you don’t end up screaming it in someone else’s face.

Taylor Swift has released her first Tortured Poets Department music video. The visual is for the album’s opener, ‘Fortnight,’ featuring Post Malone. Watch the new video, written and directed by Swift and co-starring the musicians with Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles, below. [via Pitchfork]

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Melbourne four-piece Parsnip recently announced details of Behold; their new album, set to be released April 26 on Upset The Rhythm. Now, they share brand new single ‘Turn To Love’ backed by a cinematic music video filmed on the lands of the Wurundjeri People. In the video, there’s a Wizard of Oz-esque transition as the chorus bursts with colour, with further influences drawn from Serge Lutens photography, the Oskar Schlemmer Triadic Ballet, Yohji Yamamoto campaigns, Art Deco costumes (à la Ziegfeld Follies) and American Circus attire from the 1870s-1950s. Of the song, Paris Rebel Richens says: “Imagine what the world would be like if everyone stopped for a moment or two every day and fixed their attention on the heart. All anyone really wants is love. This song is a plea, for everything that you do in the outer, the most profound changes must be made within. It is not a weakness, if anything, choosing love is courageous and wise.”

Maya Hawke has released her new single ‘Dark’. Following on from ‘Missing Out’, it’s the latest cut from her upcoming third album Chaos Angel, set for release on May 31 via Mom+Pop. This latest work sees Hawke collaborating with artists such as Christian Lee Hutson, Benjamin Lazar Davis, and Will Graefe, continuing her exploration into the intricacies of love and life through music. Maya explains: “‘Dark’ is a cut and dry love song about a relationship struggling to find its footing. It’s about trying to sort out the mixed bag of history and pain two people bring into a new love to find the path forward. “The chorus was written a few years ago when I was going through a particularly debilitating bout of bedtime anxiety: I would lay in bed with the fear that if I let myself fall asleep, my brain would forget how to breathe and I would die in my sleep. I saw a doctor who told me that I had to become okay with dying. He said if I accepted it, I would be able to sleep and would likely… not die. He was right, I didn’t die. And I wrote this song to celebrate it.” [via Dork]

With fierce energy and flirtatious charm, pop-rock songstress Zoe Ko has quickly become a musical force to reckoned with. Last November, she released her EP Baby Teeth, which featured a succession of acclaimed singles like ‘Rib Cage,’ ‘Petri Dish’ and ‘Pink Noise.’ The energetic performer has just released her newest single, ‘DIRT,’ a gritty dance track that doubles as an ode to New York City, with accompanying music video. “I’m from NYC baby,” says Zoe, enthusiastically. “I was raised there. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be the crazy, bad-ass bitch that I am. It’s the often looked down upon elements of NYC – the grit, the grime, the garbage, the hustle and bustle, the roaches, rats, and pigeons – that shaped me into an adaptable and adventurous person. When I moved to L.A., I missed all the grit and all the dirt back in NYC. I missed its rawness. There’s a fake showiness in L.A. that I just wasn’t used to. So, a few weeks into living here, I walked into the studio and started ranting about how much I miss NYC and its dirt. I loved the word ‘dirt’ so much that I turned it into a song – the kind of song that I might hear in one of my favorite New York clubs. I’ve learned to love L.A., in case you’re wondering,” she adds. “When I wrote ‘Dirt,’ I was homesick. And I was being a bit dramatic.” The official music video for ‘DIRT’ was directed by Brea Lynn. The ‘DIRT’ music video is an electrifying journey into the heart of New York City’s nightlife, capturing the essence of a wild night out in one of the city’s iconic clubs and Zoe’s favorite. With a gritty warehouse setting, booming speakers, and a touch of the unexpected—a Halloween rat head cameo—the video pulsates with the energy of a carefree evening with friends. About the video, Zoe says, “I have my girls with me, there’s a dirty grungy warehouse with huge speakers and a gross bathroom, what else do you need for a fun night out?! I wanted to have lots of dancing in this video because to me, going out is dancing out all your stress from that week. This music video was my favorite to make in my career so far! Everyone’s vibe was amazing on set and in a way it did actually feel like throwing a party!”

Alt-pop sensation AURORA has released her brand new single, ‘Some Type Of Skin’. Speaking of the release, AURORA says: “I’ve always been told that I should build some type of skin. I’ve always let myself merge too much with the world, not really knowing where the world ends and I begin. This song screams the muchness of it. And it’s delicious. Being human is really delicious, even though it’s more than any of us can handle. My god it’s a lot.” [via Line Of Best Fit]

Anna Prior is best known for her role as drummer in electronic act Metronomy, though she’s also a producer and DJ. Now, the multi-hyphenate artist is announcing her debut solo EP Almost Love and sharing ‘Fall Back’ with an AI-directed video from Tom Furse. “The song is about when I realized that love from a partner is never unconditional,” Prior said in a statement. “I think it’s where my lack of trust in relationships began, when my hyper independence began and when I started searching for people that I knew could never love me so I would never get hurt again.” Prior worked with James Greenwood, aka Ghost Culture, on the EP. Lyrically, it’s inspired by existential poetry of 19th and 20th century Portuguese romantics, which she found an appreciation for during her time in Lisbon. [via Stereogum]

Shannon And The Clams announced their new album The Moon Is In The Wrong Place in January, and so far they’ve shared the title track and ‘Bean Fields.’ Now, the Oakland garage rock eccentrics are back with ‘Real Or Magic.’ The Moon Is In The Wrong Place was written after the tragic, unexpected passing of bandleader Shannon Shaw’s fiancé Joe Haener. ‘Real Or Magic’ is a soaring ballad about a vision Shaw had, after Haener’s death, of him bathed in sunlight. The dreamy song captures the otherworldly nature of grief and our relentless ability to retain our connection to the ones we love no matter where they are. Below, watch the video directed by Vanessa Pla. [via Stereogum]

Olivia Rodrigo has shared a video for ‘Obsessed,’ which appears on her new expanded version of Guts, Guts (Spilled). Mitch Ryan directed the video, in which Rodrigo hosts a beauty pageant while despairing over the enviable attributes of her partner’s ex. Rodrigo co-wrote the song with Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent) and longtime collaborator Dan Nigro. [via Pitchfork]

London-based artist, Salwa debuted her album, Late at Night, in 2023 to widespread acclaim, delving into themes of guilt, infidelity, love, and the complexities of being a bipolar woman. Now, she shifts her focus to the visual aspect of the album, unveiling the video for its opening track and standout, ‘Oh! Lover’. As the track unfolds, Salwa’s delicate, breathy vocals harmonise seamlessly with the dreamy visuals. Set against a nostalgic backdrop, the visuals for ‘Oh! Lover’ effortlessly transition between mesmerising floral shots, while Salwa sings softly into the microphone, adorned in vivid white attire. As the viewer becomes immersed in the sentimental storyline of the track and the blossoming romance, ‘Oh! Lover’ strikingly portrays – both in its sound and visuals – the abrupt decline of the relationship. Salwa’s poignant lyricism describes the end, alongside the symbolic shift of the vibrant floral arrangements into monochrome, fading blooms. While the track explores the enigmatic dynamics of modern relationships, the music video, helmed by filmmaker and visual creator Ted Clarke, captivates with its allure and charm, offering a tantalizing visual interpretation. Ted describes the concept and approach to the project, explaining “The objective of the video was to craft a piece that was both simple and impactful, allowing Salwa’s presence to command the screen in a manner that complemented the soft, melodic nature of the song without comprising her confident, bold, and playful personality. We aimed for an aesthetic reminiscent of a fashion editorial, incorporating flowers to enhance the visual design and evoke the symbolism of a blossoming relationship followed by its eventual demise.” [via Wonderland]

In a tunefully triumphant return to dancefloor glory, Kiesza is back with ‘I Go Dance,’ the irresistible new single from her hotly anticipated upcoming album Dancing and Crying: Vol. 1, slated for May. In Kiesza’s words, “’I Go Dance’ was a song where the lyrics just rolled off my tongue in a matter of seconds. With about 50% of the lyrics already in place, (Canadian producer) Sugar Jesus had already begun the beat for it in advance, and the second I heard it, I jumped up and started dancing! It’s one of those songs that felt very channeled. It came pre-written from the ether, and it was up to me to fill in the blanks. One day, while working on another song together, I played it for (Grammy-nominated songwriter) K Sotomayor, and we began talking in depth about how everything in life, be it light or dark, is in some way connected to self-healing. With that intention in mind, we wrote the verse together and we’re able to fill in all the blanks effortlessly. It’s one of those tunes that is a bit of a wolf in sheep’s clothing. As simple as it is, there’s more depth than one might think upon their first listen.”

K-pop girl group YOUNG POSSE have officially dropped their sophomore mini-album XXL, alongside a music video for its title track of the same name. A music video for ‘XXL’ was also released in conjunction with the mini-album, featuring the members of YOUNG POSSE driving to a fast food restaurant’s drive-thru only to find out they’ve got a flattened tire. While trying to fix the tire, they press the ‘XXL’ button on a mysterious remote control, which transformed their car into a monster truck, causing the restaurant’s giant mascot to fall into the building. [via NME]

Unique, unapologetic artist CHINCHILLA has dropped the official music video for new empowering single ‘MF Diamond’. The video depicts a London diamond heist carried out by CHINCHILLA and her four accomplices of unsuspecting mature women, celebrating them for who they are rather than focusing on their age. The incredible video, directed by Ben Cole and CHINCHILLA, goes hand in hand with the song’s lyrics, representing CHINCHILLA’s ethos of authenticity as seen throughout all of her work. Speaking on the new video, CHINCHILLA says: “I wanted to make something inclusive without being corny or cliché. Something about elderly/older women makes me think of diamonds. I’m obsessed with Iris Apfel, who recently passed in the lead up to this video. She has always been on every one of my style mood boards, as well as Vivienne Westwood. They are awesome and I think ageing is beautiful – wrinkles only a reflection of every ounce of life we’ve had. I wanted to make a video that didn’t type-cast older women as frail and sweet, but powerful, strong, sexy, intimidating… and then obviously we all had to be doing choreo in the midst of a diamond heist because that’s just iconic. I didn’t want there to be any reference to their ages in the video – no gimmicks, they’re just fucking hot!”

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Lucy Rose swoops back into view with new single ‘Whatever You Want’. The English songwriter has really been through it, becoming a mother and enduring health issues. With her mobility restricted, a sense of isolation creeped in, as well as an enduring awareness of the beauty of small moments. New album This Ain’t The Way You Go Out will be released on April 19, preceded by the introductory tracks ‘The Racket’ and ‘Could You Help Me‘. New song ‘Whatever You Want’ is endlessly beautiful, the softness of her approach matched to a calm assurance. Lyrically, she explores parenthood, the feelings of watching her son grow during a time of real uncertainty. Lucy Rose explains… “I think a lot about my son Otis’s future, and instead of having a grand, extravagant life, I just want him to be happy, it’s very much how I feel about my own life now. The things I really dream of and care about are so different now, so many people I know are struggling in different ways, a lot with their own mental health and I just want them to be happy. I think the pressures of society can be a real contributing factor to their unhappiness. I paired this idea with my own personal experience of suddenly feeling so helpless during the time my back was most in disrepair, and then the moments when I was able to walk down the road to my local cafe again and the huge amount of joy that gave me, just being able to do the small and simple things in life again. I distinctly remember thinking, if this is all my life is from now on, just being able to get out the house and doing these small things then I’ll be happy.” Shot alongside film maker Zach Scheiwiller, the video takes Lucy on a night-time stroll around Brighton, with “no plan at all, all instinct based…” [via Clash]

South Korean singer BIBI has released the music video for ‘Sugar Rush’, featuring appearances by (G)I-DLE‘s Soyeon and Choi Yena. In the clip, BIBI performs the song in a colourful, candy-covered set, while wearing outfits that resemble sweet confectioneries. Meanwhile, Choi Yena and (G)I-DLE rapper Soyeon make special cameos as controllers of a claw machine that feed BIBI candies. “I’m sweet, like candy / You could look don’t touch / Don’t try to get handsy / You get sugar rush,” BIBI sings on the chorus of ‘Sugar Rush’. The song was originally released on on February 13 as part of her special single album Bam Yang Gang. [via NME]

Los Angeles based EVOCAPOP artist R E L has shared a new music video. Entitled ‘Intuition’, the emotionally raw and powerful track delves into the profound journey of self-discovery, emphasizing the importance of embracing vulnerability and truth. Her poignant lyrics tell the story of her own recovery, one of healing from a desensitized and overstimulated culture that many of us experience in the modern western world. She confides, “We are conditioned to believe that we need validation or likes or certain status markers, or a certain amount of money or body type to be successful, to be likeable, to be valuable, when we really are all so valuable inside- underneath the facade we’ve built is a society aching for authenticity.” In the accompanying music video, R E L takes on the persona of a pierrot, symbolizing the facade we often wear. As the video unfolds, she sheds her costume and mask, revealing a newfound freedom and inner strength. The cinematic visual beautifully captures the essence of the song’s message, that by stripping away our protective layers, we can discover resilience and the power within.

Natasha Khan last released a Bat For Lashes album in 2019 with Lost Girls. Now, she’s announcing its follow-up, The Dream Of Delphi, and sharing the title track. It comes with a video produced in collaboration with creative director and choreographer Alexandra Green and directed by Freddie Leyden. “This is the manifesto of the album,” she said of the song. “It’s like a spell being cast. It’s the conjuring, the manifestation, the drawing-down of Delphi from the ether. This is me calling on her soul. It’s about going up into the stars and down into the underworld simultaneously, how celestials and deep guttural sounds can come together, how that reflects the journey I went on. It’s about what happens when you’re stretched physically, mentally, even vaginally! I think it’s just humbled me, too, becoming a mother. It’s made me feel more vulnerable than I’ve ever felt before. But I feel more human, more embodied. I can’t escape life by making beautiful things as much as I did. But there’s sort of a beauty to my mortality now.” During quarantine, Khan gave birth to her daughter Delphi, an experience that was formative for the LP. “Motherhood I thought would take me away from my art, but it opened up this massive world,” she said. Last year, she also released a hand-illustrated Tarot deck called Motherwitch. It was done in collaboration with the wellness brand She’s Lost Control. [via Stereogum]

KAETO releases her new single ‘Don’t Ask’ via Lava/Republic Records. The emerging London-based artist is fast carving a space for herself with her unique genre-spanning sound that blends elements of trip-hop, dance and electronic music with punk, alt-pop and more. ‘Don’t Ask’ comes with a video directed by Kaeto and her creative collaborator Maisy Banks and was produced by Max Rad. “In this song I am writing about my relationship with myself”, Kaeto says. “Maisy and I directed the video. The video is a celebration of our skin and the beautiful human body. Liv Lockwood is the incredible choreographer that we worked with. She has an amazing brain and she really understood what we were trying to create. The choreography perfectly encapsulates the internal struggle we experience that is reflected in the song and I loved the use of the symbols of teeth, the mouth, hair and the tongue.”

Last month, Shannon And The Clams announced The Moon Is In The Wrong Place, their new album that they started working on following the tragic death of bandleader Shannon Shaw’s fiancé Joe Haener. They shared ‘The Moon Is In The Wrong Place’ at the time, and now they’re releasing ‘Bean Fields’ with a music video directed by Vanessa Pla and animated by Amber McCall. ‘Bean Fields’ focuses on Haener’s family farm in Aurora, Oregon, which was the site of his fatal car accident but remains a beautiful meeting ground for his family and friends. [via Stereogum]

The 20-year-old newcomer Raven Numan shares a beguiling statement-of-intent as she shares her debut single ‘My Reflection’. ‘My Reflection’ achieves a haunting melancholia that blurs the boundaries between the modern dark-pop scene and the dark intensity of classic ’80s goth and industrial – all while exploring contemporary conversational issues that affect young women all over the world. Her voice is both sultry and elegant, yet with an emotionally detached air that complements the song’s take on the horrors of body dysmorphia. It’s the result of her ongoing creative collaboration with Ade Fenton. Raven says, “‘My Reflection’ is about the unrealistic beauty standards that have been pushed on us since adolescence. We’ve been fed lies about beauty from a young age through countless mediums: lingerie models, makeup commercials, even cartoons employ beauty standards. They try to tell you that these products, this makeup, or our underwear will make you look and feel amazing but that’s not the case. They feed your insecurities and then try to sell you something to make it all better. It breeds self-hatred and insecurity, and both myself and the overwhelming majority of women I know suffer from the unrealistic beauty standards of today.”

Canadian electro-pop sensation, Kiesza releases an electrifying new dance floor single, ‘Dancing and Crying’ featuring Sugar Jesus. This marks the second track of new material from Kiesza’s long-awaited forthcoming album, also called Dancing and Crying: Vol. 1, scheduled for release May 24. Produced by Sugar Jesus (One Direction, Little Mix, Mario), ‘Dancing and Crying’ blends elements of electro-pop and house styles offering listeners an up-beat and immersive dancing experience. In this epic dance-pop whirlwind, Kiesza collaborated with Grammy-nominated songwriter K Sotomayor (Selena Gomez) and Sugar Jesus to write the track. ‘Dancing and Crying’ channels Kiesza’s dance music roots while embracing captivating pop styles reminiscent of artists like Dua Lipa, Kylie Minogue, Sophie Ellis-Baxter, and Raye. “My new song, ‘Dancing and Crying’ was the initial spark that launched this upcoming volume of music. It was the first song Sugar Jesus and I began, and the last to be completed for this volume. ‘Dancing and Crying’ is an Opus. A series of contrasting musical ideas, woven together by a foundation of house beats and bass lines, bridges the gap between my folk origins and the dance music that marked my place on the global map,” states Kiesza. “When my close friend, Grammy-nominated songwriter K. Sotomayor, joined our bite-sized writing team, we revisited this song with fresh ears. Together, the three of us brought it to completion, with a new perspective on the journey we had embarked on, both together and individually. So, in a way, ‘Dancing and Crying’ is both the beginning and the end of Vol. 1. You can think of this title track as the MC of the show, preparing you for what lies ahead. This song is the catalyst for all that has come and will come to pass in this chapter. From its womb came the vision as a whole, from which all else has and will unfold.” The accompanying video was shot at the Raven in Toronto and it was done on a whim. Kiesza was doing a photoshoot and instructed the director D. G Hagey to start filming.

Allie X has shared startling new single ‘Weird World’. The songwriter has carved out a unique niche, subverting pop tropes while also excelling in them. A technically gifted artist, Allie X also brings to the table a gleeful sense of rebellion, infusing each song with her vivid personality. Having written for the likes of Troye Sivan and BTS she’s dealt with some major league players, but this has pushed Allie X away from her solo catalogue. New album Girl With No Face is out now, her first major project since 2020’s Cape God. New single ‘Weird World’ is out now, and it relishes 80s tones – analogue synths pushed to the limit, the audio counterpart to those sensational Dynasty-style power shoulders. She lets the sonics dip a little, though, her playful, DIY approach reminiscent of the retro-futurist fetishim of John Maus, say, but delivered in a vey melodic, sincere format. [via Clash]

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Gia Ford has released a new single. ‘Poolside’ follows on from her recent track drops ‘Alligator’ and ‘Falling in Love Again’, as well as her support slot with Self Esteem at her huge Sheffield Don Valley show. “’Poolside’ was first inspired by an image from a coffee table book, depicting affluent 60s Los Angeles,” she explains. “A birds-eye shot of houses with pools in the hills. I imagined a poolboy, disillusioned and angry at the world, and began describing what he felt and saw, working in a well-to-do LA neighbourhood. There’s this separation between him and the people he’s working for. He’s invisible to them.” [via Dork]

Longevity is a hard quality to achieve in this ever-churning music industry. So is reinvention. Somehow, though, Chloe Saavedra has achieved both, sustaining a career in music that’s spanned projects, sounds and roles. Now, she’s announcing the next chapter in that ever-changing journey, her first solo album under the moniker WTRGRL: Drïpsody, a darkly moving collection of dance-inflected pop songs that fuse the spirit of the club with the torn pages of a poet’s notebook. Premiering her new single, ‘are u up’, along with a seductive new video, Saavedra has provided listeners a glimpse into Drïpsody’s chaotically expanding universe. She says of the video, “I’ve always been interested in body architecture in paintings and photos. I wanted to portray the movements of bodies with a minimalist black backdrop like a baroque painting and to juxtapose the bouncy, sexy demeanor of the song with the seriousness of a high-quality medium. The director, Natasha Wilson, did an amazing job straddling the concept of overt sexuality and the sterile backdrop of fine art. My incredibly talented friends really made the video what it is. Natasha, Stephanie Dobash (DP), Angel Tailan (stylist), Elise Gehrke (MUA), Alec Nicholas (editor), Maia Saavedra Weisenhaus (pyro technician), the dancers, models and my friends who came through to help with the production, were the best team to create with. I felt like we built this super-family on set and had a blast making it, which is why it’s so close to my heart.” [via PAPER]

Discovery Zone shares another enchanting track and video from her forthcoming LP Quantum Web, coming in March on limited hologram edition LP via RVNG Intl. Video directed by Janosch Pugnaghi. [via Gorilla vs Bear]

Anglo-American duo Still Corners kick off the new year with a brand new single, ‘The Dream’. ‘The Dream’ is the second single announced off the eagerly awaited sixth album Dream Talk, available on April 5 via their own record label, Wrecking Light Records. ‘The Dream’ is Still Corners at their most seductive and romantic. This mysterious tale centres around a quote from Shakespeare’s illustrious A Midsummer’s Night Dream: “Are you sure that we are awake? It seems to me that yet we sleep, we dream”. Shakers and a lone rhythm guitar drop into a fast-paced beat of bass and drums, reminiscent of a train travelling at speed through a desert night – “we are on a night train, heading to the east end”. Tessa Murray’s melodic vocals are revealed gradually as the instrumental moves towards its climax. Shifting synths combine with crescendoing congas, gradually revealing the complete picture of this epic adventure – “dream within a dream”. Speaking of the accompanying music video, Tessa Murray added: “The video is based on our deep love of mystery novels and cosy crime fiction. I play a new character called Penelope Braithwaite as she investigates the “Mystery of the Repeating Dream”. Folks from the fictitious town of Reverwood, Sussex have been falling into a repeating dream trap; when they wake up, they realise they are, in fact, in the same dream. Penelope arrives at a mysterious house to investigate. Does she solve the mystery, or is she also stuck in a looping dream? That’s for you to find out.” Beautifully filmed in the English countryside by the band, featuring steam trains and a dilapidated mansion set in vast gardens, this detective story is not to be missed!

In 2021, the eclectic group Shannon And The Clams shared the album Year Of The Spider. Now, they’re announcing its follow-up, The Moon Is In The Wrong Place, produced by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys. The title track is out now with a music video directed by Bobbi Rich. In August of 2022, bandleader Shannon Shaw was weeks away from her wedding when her fiancé, Joe Haener, died in a tragic car accident. “We all felt the urgency of making something that reckoned with this meteor that smashed into our planet,” keyboard player Will Sprott said in a statement. “This is the most focused record we’ve ever done, as far as everything coming from a singular traumatic event.” [via Stereogum]

Bad Omens and Poppy have teamed up for a new single, ‘V.A.N’. Out now via Sumerian Records and written and produced by Bad Omens frontman Noah Sebastian, the song is the first glimpse of what the band will be offering on their upcoming album. Their ‘CONCRETE FOREVER’ project is the soundtrack to their ‘Concrete Jungle’ comic book universe, which they’re also touring Europe in support of from January 27. Noah explains: “That’s a song that started just with the hook ‘Violence against nature’, and then after saving the project with the acronym and seeing it we realized it could be fun to think of ‘VAN’ as a name. Thus the rabbit hole of ideas began that led us to decide to write lyrics from the perspective of an artificial intelligence gone rogue.” [via Dork]

Tierra Whack broke out with her brilliantly weird visual album Whack World almost six years ago. In the time since, she’s released a lot of one-off tracks and a series of genre-themed EPs, Rap?, Pop?, and R&B? Since the last of those came out in late 2021, she’s been keeping a low profile, but she’s finally ready to release a full-length album. Out in March, WORLD WIDE WHACK is being billed as Whack’s official full-length debut. “I really took my time with this,” she wrote on IG, “so I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do.” [via Stereogum]

Jewelia wants to uplift you. A pop songwriter who uses music to inject optimism into our lives, she takes from different eras – 80s synth pop, 00s indie – to build her own elixir. New album Little Wins is out on April 19 and it parallels synth auteurs like Goldfrapp, or cutting edge pop savants like Caroline Polachek. Amid her disparate influences, though, lies a tender heart. She comments: “The binding concept behind ‘Little Wins’ is that we all do the best we can at a particular moment in time, with the resources we have at that moment. Those resources can mean anything: time, energy, knowledge, confidence, money, love, other people, self-belief, self-love. So really, there’s no point in beating ourselves up, and instead of constantly focusing on the climb ahead, we should take some time to look back and see how far we’ve come, and learn to celebrate the little wins.” New single ‘Invisible Wall’ leads the way. A delicious pop moment, it wears its retro aspects on its sleeve – all knowing glances and a cute chorus, Jewelia really displays her finesse. Of the single and it’s neat new video, she says… “I’ve always wanted to dig deeper into a retro pop sound and imagery. I actually wrote ‘Invisible Wall’ back in 2017, and it stayed in the vault up until last year, when I realised that it fitted perfectly within the concept of my new album. In video games, an invisible wall is a boundary that limits where the player can go, even though there’s nothing physically there to stop them. It seems like the perfect analogy for the pre-guided life pathways that society tends to force us into, but also for self-limiting thought patterns, both of which are driving ideas behind the concept of ‘Little Wins’.” [via Clash]

Here’s a great song title: ‘All My Exes Live In Vortexes.’ Here’s an opening lyric that will grab you: “I hope no one had to piss in a bottle at work to get me the thing I ordered on the internet.” Both belong to the new single from Rosie Tucker’s upcoming album UTOPIA NOW! The pop-punk-ish indie-rocker’s latest will drop in March. It’ll be their first since getting dropped by Epitaph Records, and it includes last fall’s single ‘Unending Bliss.’ [via Stereogum]

Grammy award-winning DJ and producer Purple Disco Machine has shared his latest single ‘Beat of Your Heart’ in collaboration with Icelandic artist ÁSDÍS. Combining Purple Disco Machine’s trademark disco infused sound with ÁSDÍS’s magnetic vocals, the high-energy track is laden with danceable grooves, big synths and catchy melodies. The accompanying music video, directed by NDVD, brings all of the joy of the dancefloor to life intertwining love, freedom and fantasy. Speaking about the track, Purple Disco Machine says: “I was sent the vocals by ÁSDÍS and I immediately fell in love with her voice. I wanted to release the track as a single and we later re-recorded it together in my studio in Dresden, which was really great.” ]via Fab UK Mag]

Paris Paloma has shared her first new music of 2024 with the reflective yet triumphant single ‘My Mind (now)’ out now via Nettwerk. Following on from her 2023 singles ‘notre dame’, ‘labour’, ‘yeti’ ‘as good a reason’ and ‘drywall’, Paris continues to evolve the magical, yet real world created within her music, with a new chapter within the narrative with ‘My Mind (now)’. A melodic folk-pop track underpinned by dark and despondent journal-like lyrics about the chaos and emotions of the mind, “what did I do wrong, will you tell me what I did wrong”, the song builds introspectively to a jubilant release. The track is accompanied by a compelling video directed by Matt Grass, which perfectly conveys the atmosphere of the song. Paris says: “’My Mind (now)’ is about the BC and the AD of trauma, and what it did to my mental state, the feeling that an event was so cataclysmic that it rearranged the chemical makeup of my mind. The song is a reflection of my struggle with OCD and anxiety as a response to traumatic events, and the electrical storm of emotions that exists inside my head, filling it with noise that never seems to leave, as I search for a few seconds of respite and quiet from it. It is also about the power other people hold to set that trauma into motion, and both the fragility and strength of the human mind. my mind (now) is an embodiment of the the act of creation in the form of art and writing as a coping mechanism that comes out of the overwhelming noise and chaos of the mind.”

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