Confidence Man, the Australian electro-pop mavericks, now based in London, have released ‘Sicko,’ the latest single from their new third album 3 AM (LA LA LA), out now via Casablanca. While known for their high-octane, dance-infused sound, ‘Sicko’ embraces a more subtle ‘90s indie-dance crossover vibe, a little less frenetic than much of the album but still unhinged and unmistakably Confidence Man. The single arrives alongside a stunning black-and-white video that almost resembles what might happen if you tried to make a musical based on Reservoir Dogs and Trainspotting—stylish, edgy with a gritty film noir sensibility and laced with a dark, twisted sense of humor. [via Under The Radar]

Ellie Dixon releases her new single and video for ‘Renaissance’, kicking off her energised new era of music. Mixed by Manon Grandjean (FLO, Cat Burns, Stormzy), ‘Renaissance’ soars with Ellie’s newfound and inspiring display of self-assuredness and self-confidence; “I’m in my renaissance, I got a new paint job”. Always refreshingly open about her experiences with anxiety and depression, especially on tracks like ‘Green Grass’, ‘‘Big Lizard Energy’ and ‘Dopamine’, this is the same beloved Ellie, but with a mediaeval twist and a wealth of life experiences, “On this day a great knight hath fallen, but an even greater knight hath risen”. “Renaissance is a musical phoenix from the ashes”, Ellie says. Grabbing the listener by the throat from her first uttering, expertly juxtaposed with a backdrop of sonic shimmering, ‘Renaissance’ opens with “Took a sword to the chest, bled out on my double bed, a hero’s got to fall I guess”. After unexpectedly parting ways with her label Decca Records earlier this year, Ellie “went through quite a deep depression while processing”. She elaborates: “after the pain came relief, a sense that this would let me carve my creative path. And then one 2am, after coming back from a Doja Cat concert, Renaissance was born. I was feeling inspired by her mix of magical soundscaping and grounded groove, so I put my twist on it. I blended the softness and hardness of the pain of rejection and change. I wanted to write a victory song, not a sad song. This was the beginning, not the end.”

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Sorry. In 2022, the British indie rock band released Anywhere But Here. In July of last year, they shared ‘Screaming In The Rain Again,’ a revised version of the track ‘Screaming In The Rain.’ Now, they’re back with a trippy song called ‘Waxwing,’ out now via Domino. ‘Waxwing’binterpolates a set of lyrics from Toni Basil’s ‘Hey Mickey.’ About it, Asha Lorenz says, “Mickey is desire ? Mickey is the bomb? Mickey makes me money? Mickey makes my songs? Mickey makes a poem? Mickey in the drugs ? Mickey is liar ? Mickey making love? Mickey is desire ?” The mischievous earworm — which, I think, is a (convincing) attempt to seduce Mickey Mouse — is paired with an equally eccentric music video directed and produced by FLASHA. [via Stereogum]

f5ve have released their new single ‘UFO’ via LDH Records. The track, co-produced by BloodPop, A.G. Cook, and Nomak, is inspired by Japan’s popular claw game machines, and follows on from previous singles ‘Lettuce’ and ‘Underground’. The accompanying music video, directed by Charlotte Rutherford and Crystalline Structures Studio, depicts f5ve as extraterrestrial beings abducting Tokyo residents with giant claws. [via Dork]

FKA Twigs has shared her new single ‘Perfect Stranger’, alongside a music video that features cameos from Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Yves Tumor. ‘Perfect Stranger’ is the latest single from Twigs’ upcoming album EUSEXUA – the long-awaited follow-up to 2019’s Magdalene – which will be released on January 24 via Young. Last month, the singer shared the album’s title track and its Jordan Hemingway-directed music video. Now, she’s given fans a second taste of the LP – with another video helmed by Hemingway. An intoxicating ode to fleeting relationships, Twigs sings: “I don’t know the name of the town you’re from/Your star sign or the school you failed/I don’t know and I don’t care,” while testing out roles as a half of different couples. Elsewhere in the video are appearances from Fleabag‘s Waller-Bridge and Yves Tumor. [via NME]

GRAMMY-nominated recording artist Ari Lennox (Dreamville/Interscope Records) makes her highly-anticipated return with her new single ‘Smoke.’ ‘Smoke’ is the first official release for Ari in 2024, following her 2023 single ‘Get Close.’ Directed by Chris Robinson, Ari is held at a mental asylum, where all the patients are running amuck, including her. Instead of sulking, Ari masterminds a plan to escape and dupes the employees during her performance. After a short hiatus, Ari is fiercer than ever, lashing back at her detractors, urging them to “f—k around and find out” on the unapologetic anthem. With ‘Smoke,’ Ari reclaims her power, showcasing her strength as a powerful Black woman beyond the booth.

It’s a superstar pop crossover! ROSÉ has officially launched her new solo era by teaming up with Bruno Mars on a new single called ‘Apt.,’ which arrived on Friday (Oct. 18). The song arrives just a day after the duo announced it, taking to Instagram to share the collaboration’s cover art. In the artwork, the BLACKPINK superstar lounges in front of a drum set, with the ‘Locked Out of Heaven’ singer sitting behind it, holding the drumsticks. The pair, who are in black-and-white against a bright pink foreground, are matching in leather jackets and white t-shirts. [via Billboard]

Rebecca Black’s ‘TRUST!’ music videos opens in court, as influencers take the stand talking about what they love, hate and admire about the pop star. In the Mean Girls-style opening monologue, one person says, “Boiler rooms used to be cool, then Rebecca Black ruined them,” while another claims she slept with Elon Musk. The hilarious testimonies break away to show Black masked up, flashing lights and bodies surrounding her, as an intense dance beat grows behind the pop star and DJ, eventually breaking into a full-on choreographed dance routine in front of the judge. “It felt only right to kick off the next project with the loudest and brashest track I’ve put out yet,” Black tells PAPER, “and ‘TRUST!’ embodies the essence of the fearlessness in this project better than anything.” To bring the spicy dance video to life, Black worked with Director Olivia De Camps, telling PAPER that it was “so seamless from the jump because she really understood the vision I had, not only for this song, but for the entire project.” Black also says that the heart of her upcoming project is about “tapping into this essence of delusion of grandeur and glamour that led the writing process for me. Everything I breathe is laced with camp these days and this concept felt like turning a narrative on its head in a fierce and unapologetic way.” [via PAPER]

JADE continues to delineate her space as a solo pop renegade, sharing her third single of the year, titled ‘Fantasy’. Produced by regular collaborator Mike Sabath, ‘Fantasy’ is an irresistible assemblage of post-gay disco liberation, processed ASMR purrs and ecstatic vocal ululations, all melting into a euphoric club-ready mix that speaks to the judgement-free zone JADE is rendering this era. It’s further proof the singer from South Shields isn’t afraid of throwing the listener a sonic curveball as she continues to flesh out a more experimental repertoire post-Little Mix. ‘Fantasy’ follows clubland classic ‘Angel Of My Dreams‘ and the noirish follow-up, ‘Midnight Cowboy‘. The former has accumulated over 50 million streams to date, entering the UK Official Singles Chart at No.7 – the third highest new entry for a British artist this year. Of her new single, JADE says: “’Fantasy’ is a love song that I wrote with dream team Pablo Bowman and Mike Sabath about feeling safe enough with your partner to shamelessly explore your fantasies! We wrote this the day after ‘AOMD’ was written, and from then on I always knew it would be the second single. I can’t wait for my fans to experience more of my musical world.” JADE will perform the track for the first time on ‘Later…with Jools Holland’ on BBC Two tomorrow evening. The accompanying video was filmed in LA and directed by the legendary David LaChapelle. It takes visual cues from ’70s soul train performances and the supernatural horror film Carrie, featuring iconic drag queen Love Connie as the villain. [via Clash]

The post appeared first on She Makes Music.

Björk has released ‘atopos,’ the lead single from her upcoming album Fossora, which is out at the end of the month. “it is a good intro …. kinda like fossora´s passport,” she wrote in a tweet. “sonically a heavy bottom-ended bass world we have 6 bass clarinets,punchy sub drilling,nesting and digging us into the ground.” She officially announced Fossora last week, revealing that she worked on the album with Indonesian duo Gabber Modus Operandi and had contributions from serpentwithfeet and El Guincho. Prior to that, she teased that the album would sound like “clubbing in the living room.” [via Stereogum]

Sorry are about a month out from releasing their sophomore album, Anywhere But Here. They’ve shared two singles from it so far, ‘There’s So Many People That Want To Be Loved’ and ‘Let The Lights On’ and now they’re back with another great track, ‘Key To The City.’ It’s gloomily groovy and gloriously bitter and sad. “I know that you’re somewhere out there, out there, getting fucked in someone else’s bed,” Asha Lorenz sings on it. “You said I always looked like a deer in the headlights in the headlights/ I still look lost in this city, in this city.” “‘Key to the City’ is a song that stemmed from a very specific situation in my life but that I hope has a more universal resonance,” Lorenz said in a statement, continuing: “It’s meant as a kind of tender ‘fuck you’ at the dying moment of a relationship you don’t necessarily want to end – when it’s hard to reconcile feelings of anger, jealousy, resentment etc. with the undeniable love you still have for that person. That crossover of pride and vulnerability led me to an image of a deer in the headlights. It’s about trying your hardest to retain control when you know you’re exposed emotionally, sexually, spiritually, everything. In the nude of the headlights, in the nude of someone’s love. The song came together after the original recording session and stemmed from Louis experimenting with new tunings to give us a bit of a push. This one has a Nick Drake feel. We wanted it to sound cinematic and lonely.” [via Stereogum]

Sudan Archives’ Natural Brown Prom Queen is out now. She’s also shared one more single , which joins previously released tracks ‘Home Maker,’ ‘Selfish Soul,’ ‘NBPQ (Topless).’ This one’s called ‘OMG BRITT,’ and it’s hard-hitting and concise, a celebration of what happens when you let loose. [via Stereogum]

Em Beihold takes viewers on a tour of the museum of anxiety and offers advice on how to overcome a panic attach in new video for ‘12345’ directed by Scott Felix. The singer says: “In writing ‘12345,’ my co-writers Dallas Caton, Alex Veltri and I wanted to bring attention to the 54321 method used to help ground you during a panic attack. The method involves naming 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. Panic attacks are scary, but the point of this song is to remind people of ways to help stop them and to also remind everyone that they’re not alone.”

France based pop/rock trio, OAKMAN is thrilled to announce their upcoming EP, SCP, will be out September 30 via Rude Records. SCP, an acronym for “sugar-coated pill,” is the band’s third EP which follows up their sophomore EP, Plastic World, released back in 2018. The EP shines a light on the trio’s growth through the addition of 80’s style synths, punchy drums and a groovy bass, all the while keeping their core pop-punk energetic guitars .Alongside the EP announcement, the band has also shared the title track of the EP. The pastel-soaked video for ‘SCP’ goes hand-in-hand with the nostalgic instrumentals and vocals as OAKMAN brings a taste of the 1980’s to the modern day while infusing it with their own unique brand of indie-pop/rock. About the song, the band says, “Marine was watching a show during lockdown called Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. The main character reminded her of a character she had played when she was doing theater. After the foundation of ‘SCP’ was written, she wrote the lyrics about these two characters. ‘SCP’ is a sarcastic and second degree track about the fear of loneliness and not being loved at all costs with a neurotic side.”

Exploding out of their hometown of Toronto, MONOWHALES have been putting a new lease on the alt rock genre. ‘Change###’ sets the tone for their brand new record, Tunnel Vision, produced by Dave Schiffman (Vampire Weekend, PUP). Hook-heavy, but more groove-based, ‘Change###’ pushes the boundaries of what a rock song can be. The focus track features an explosive rhythm-section in the guitar solo and lead vocalist Sally Shaar’s Robert Plant-esque wailing of emotion carries into the final chorus. Drummer Jordan Circosta explains, “We wrote’ Change###’ at a time when it felt like the world was spinning out of control. I’ve never seen so much division in my life. People were in a lot of pain, and the media was taking advantage of that, pitting people against each other like caged animals. Some of it was valid, some of it wasn’t, and at a certain point it became almost impossible to tell the difference.” He continues, “The Tunnel Vision mindset had us staring into the void through our phones, trapped in the echo chamber. But that same focus, when pointed towards music and our love for each other, helped us navigate hopelessness, nervous breakdowns, and worse. Like we say in the song, all we could do was focus on ‘keeping it straight, under the weight of all this ‘Change###’.'”

Iconic singer-songwriter-rapper-artist Brooke Candy embarks on her next musical era with her first new single in more than three years. ‘Flip Phone’ is available now at all DSPs and streaming services. The uncompromising electro-powered new track is joined by an official self-directed music video, produced by PAPER Magazine – the NYC-based magazine’s first ever foray into music video production – with South Korean eyewear brand Gentle Monster. “I wanted this to be the first song I came back with because I had the most fun making it, and I’m just having fun right now,” Brooke Candy shares exclusively with PAPER. “The video was a challenge to make because I wanted it to come out so perfect. And it did. We rented a rain room in LA and just went all out with the help of PAPER and Gentle Monster. Some parts were inspired by Pamela Anderson in Barbed Wire.”

Rising artist LUCI (pronounced Loo Chē) will release her debut EP Juvenilia on September 23 via UK label Don’t Sleep. Across the EP LUCI’s incomparable vocal dexterity and incredibly self aware and reflective mindset are on display as she explores everything from empowerment, self reflection, pride and completely unfiltered self expression. Written over the course of 2 years, it was brought to life through collaborations with a number of artists and producers including Glass Animals’ Edmund Irwin-Singer, who mixed the entire EP. Now fans can experience another taste of Juvenilia via LUCI’s new single ‘Gnarly’ which was recorded with Tickle Torture (Elliott Kozel) and and Safe Jazz (Jesse Schuster). Of the song she notes, “This song is just about being in your bag. Poppin yo s and backin it up! My music is about digging deeper inside to find your gold. You don’t have to bury or tame anything. You need to be diligent and sure – people love to be struck with striking authenticity. The video feels a lot like I am lighting the world up from the sunken place.” [via Broadway World]

Petite Meller hopes to influence the world through music she dubs “peace pop”. The French-Israeli pop singer advocates for peace among nations through music. Sporting her signature porcelain doll makeup complete with rouge cheeks and bleached hair Petite Meller takes the spotlight in the music video for her new single ‘The Drummer’ where she dances, marches and gallavants in a world completely occupied by children. Petite says the peace she is advocating for is for children, “In this song I’m shouting for peace. Piece of existence. Peace of mind. That’s why I call it “peace pop.” Particularly children brought up in countries like her native Israel that are often defined by violence, “Having grown up with war around, I like to give a stage to kids who come from tough backgrounds. So they can navigate it by wandering into and getting involved with art.” Those who know Petite’s music adore her, her fans are devoted and enjoy the fantastical elements she brings to her videos paired with shots of Petite embracing the dress and scenery in various countries. Many of the moments in ‘The Drummer’ were shot in Russia during 2021. The song is inspired by and takes its name from the book The Tin Drum by Günter Grass published in 1959. It seems like an obscure book for a twentysomething-pop singer to reference but not to Petite. The singer holds a Masters in Philosophy and utilizes her education when conceptualizing new projects that comment on global issues through her creative work, “Music videos allow me to create realities I can live in. Realities where I can cry out and sing at the same time and meet real people all over the world. Discover their culture and folklore. And together we create a new public movement in moments that raise us up, as we dance our pain away. ‘The Drummer’ is the pop singer’s first video in a year, her new album is set to be release in 2023. Petite Meller will also be selling her outfits worn in the video via Instagram and is donating the proceeds to raise money for scholarships for children of the Rockwell Dance Center who danced alongside her in ‘The Drummer’. [via V Magazine]

Don’t let the facial piercings and D.I.Y. snarl fool you, carolesdaughter (née Thea Taylor) has the power to transmute turbulence into strangely soothing alternative pop anthems awash in lo-fi glitch, bedroom acoustics, and gutter goth elegance as heard on her newest single ‘sunshine and roses.’ The trailblazing alt-pop artist’s haunting track has been paired with an ethereal music video companion piece showcasing carolesdaughter’s love for the dramatic and cinematic.

Sultry vocals, an alluring cadence and a velvet-coated soundscape: the very components that coax us into Tristan’s brand new single, ‘Human Allergy’. It’s “about a break-up where several people are hurt,” explains the Belgian artist. Mimicking the watery movement of her spellbinding production, the accompanying visual for ‘Human Allergy’ shows Tristan performing routines of fluid contemporary dance — allowing her lyrics to soak deep into the skin of whoever bears witness. “There is a You, She and He, and I always speak from an omniscient perspective about how they think, what they feel when these are just ideas I impose on myself. For example, the voice in the pre-chorus is a kind of ‘devil on the shoulder’ that only whispers negative things in my ear,” says Tristan. Touching on sentiments that resonate with anyone who has been unlucky in love, the lyrics unfold stories of deceit and adulterous thoughts while the devil-like pre-chorus continues to hold the melody hostage — eventually causing Tristan to cave into temptation and become the object of her initial despise. Elaborating further on the concept, she explains, “The video is a kind of translation of all the voices in your head, which are all projections. I chose a kind of dream-like atmosphere that feels very unnatural, so I also wanted to work in scenes where only very small details sometimes return from previous scenes because in dreams nothing actually seems logical and yet everything can feel very realistic.” Plunging us into an almost dreamlike state, it is safe to say Tristan has made us all succumb to the aftereffects of a ‘Human Allergy’. [via Wonderland]

The post appeared first on She Makes Music.