“The Gentleman isn’t a stage persona,” explains Towa Bird. “It’s a cultural lifestyle (e.g. Ziggy Stardust, IGOR, Silk Sonic) that represents a whole world that I want this album, myself and my fans to live in. The boys want to be the gentleman and the girls want to be with the gentleman. If the last album was a pub, this is a cocktail bar. If the last album was a white tank, this is a double-breasted suit.”

The Hong Kong-born, Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter/guitarist shared one of the album’s most synth-forward tracks, ‘Dirty Habit,’ which brings twitchy textures and pounding beats to a satirical takedown of the hyper-privileged children of wealth who treat people as accessories.

Taking inspiration from the 1985 Martin Scorsese film After Hours, the accompanying video follows Bird through the streets of Paris where an ordinary night unravels into a series of mishaps and unpredictable events. Directed by Caio Vieira, view the video below.

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Fueled by Bird’s urgent guitar and rapid-fire vocal delivery, the track bristles with punk-pop fervor. “Bang bang and I’m off to the races,” she sings, finding both humor and frustration in the realization that chasing her dreams can feel a lot like “chasing my tail.” She wrote the song with Tyler Cole (WILLOW, Weezer) and Mattias Tellez (girl in red, Gracie Abrams). ‘Rat Race’ is the first new music from Bird since the summer release of her acclaimed debut album, American Hero.

“‘Rat Race’ is about the feeling of being trapped in a cycle where your progress never seems to lead to full satisfaction,” explains Towa Bird. “You work tirelessly, pushing toward what seems like the finish line. But as you approach it, it moves slightly out of reach, keeping you perpetually in the race. There’s always more to achieve, more to do. This relentless machine doesn’t pause for you to look up and enjoy your victories. It offers just enough to keep you hooked, only to snatch it away, leaving you craving more.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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