Leicester-born, London-based Shivani Day releases her debut single, ‘Rhetoric’ via FAMM. Laying fresh roots into untouched soil, ‘Rhetoric’ was co-produced by Shivani and close collaborator Minas who weave traditional South Asian musical forms into textured elements of Electronica and R&B. Having discovered her moral compass at an early age, the creative process encouraged Shivani to re-visit early memories to inspire themes of identity, equality and integrity. The Erea Ferreiro(Ojerime, Odeal) directed video resembles ‘Rhetoric’ according to Shivani’s vision – and her initial mood board – with subtle nods to her heritage, from styling details to a mesmerising snake which is an integral symbol in Indian mythology. Dedicated to conquering her self-inflicted limitations, Shivani intends to let her carefully curated soundscape speak for her inner thoughts.

Directed by Maegan Houang, Mitski‘s ‘Star’ video feels timeless, and like a modern film by famed Japanese director Kenji Mizoguchi boiled down to its most abstract elements. “Unlike the more narrative/concept driven videos Mitski and I have done together in the past, I wanted this video to encapsulate the impressionistic circularity we all experience. Our lives oscillate between light and dark repeating itself in an endless cycle where nothing is permanent. The best moments are fleeting, but so are the bad,” states Houang. The ‘Star’ video was filmed on a small pond overnight in summer 2023 and presents Mitski performing on a boat in real water amongst painted pieces of wood, creating the illusion of mountains in the background and eliciting what Houang describes as “an otherworldly, atmospheric feeling” to perfectly match the song. Mitski and Houang have a history of collaborating.

Glaswegian alternative indie-pop artist Zoe Graham shares new single ‘Evilin’ – a brass-backed journey of confusion created by a person who’s no good for you. Guitars curdle with plush synths and tautly machined drums, as Zoe draws influence from Kate Bush (she shares a knack for catch-you-off-guard choruses with the ‘80s icon), St Vincent (Daddy’s Home was a regular backing sound during writing sessions), and Beck (“he’s very free as a songwriter; everything’s thought through, but it’s not painstaking”). She leans on David Bowie’s advice not to stay grounded in your deep pool of ideas, but rather to push up and off, and let your toes just brush the floor from time to time. “’Evilin’ is a battle cry” says Zoe. “It reads like a reenactment of how it feels to be purposely confused. Evilin is a channeller of emotional exhaustion. Someone you feel like you depend on and feel scared of all at once. Someone you will put before yourself, and not in a fun way. She isn’t good for you, but there’s something about her you wish you could be more of yourself, a determined independence, relentlessness but a lack of empathy.” The track is accompanied by a video starring Evilin (played by Zoe’s mum, Annette Staines), a cook and 70s star who becomes trapped in her own television show. “Imagine if Fanny Cradock and Killing Eve’s Villanelle were forced into a room together to make a prim and proper cooking show. What would that look like? How would the chaos ensue? How would these two ferocious women work with each other? Well, I knew I was going to be involved, but the only way I was really ever going to create such drama, such stylish feist, was to call my mother and ask her to star in my music video.” said Zoe. “Watching your own mother smash up cakes and jelly soundtracked to my new single, using rolling pins and spatulas as props was utterly wild. It may have been the strangest day of 2024 so far.”

The Brooklyn-born, LA-based singer Zsela has spent the early years of this decade popping up all over the cooler corners of the music industry. Her debut album Big For You, coming this June via Mexican Summer, includes contributions from Marc Ribot, Nick Hakim, Casey MQ, and Jasper Marsalis (Slauson Malone 1), and Zsela’s co-produced it with Daniel Aged and Gabe Wax, who’ve worked with names like Frank Ocean and Soccer Mommy. Zsela teased the album last month with the release of the fizzy, funky, sophisticated synth track ‘Fire Excape.’ Now, along with the proper announcement, comes opening track ‘Lily Of The Nile.’ It’s a slow-burn art-pop song that makes abundant use of Zsela’s low bellow, and it arrives with a video directed by Chester Raj Anand. A statement from Zsela: “It was important for me to stay open in this process, finding the truth of what the songs want to be. That meant breaking them down and building them back up again and again, not being precious and trying to listen… At the heart, it touches on the causal versus intentional dance we play between being “full of you” and “full for you” — the complexity and magnitude of the space we take and fill up for love.” [via Stereogum]

Hayley Mary has returned with a new single and a music video ‘One Last Drag’, which is a pop song about glorifying self-awareness. The song is co-written and co-produced by Hayley’s husband who also happens to be the DMA’s guitarist, Johnny Took. They happened to write the song in a hotel room! The song is also co-produced by the producer of The Jezabels’, Lachlan Mitchell. “I was sitting on the balcony with a wine, borderline chain-smoking, knowing that I would be regretting the cigarettes in the morning but unable to stop. He started looping a guitar intro that he was working on for Gwen Stefani and I just started writing a poem to it in my head. I asked him if I could record it so I wouldn’t forget it, and those draft vocals ended up being the final vocals you hear in the verses.” explains Hayley Mary. The song is a dark post-punk banger that talks about cigarettes and addiction. The cigarette in the song portrays anything that looks or feels good at the moment, but eventually ruins one’s life. It talks about how addiction is harmful to everyone. “I fell for the excitement, the promise of relief, of sexy malaise when real life was too high definition. In recent years, however, I’ve become aware of the potential emptiness of that promise as well,” says Hayley. [via Music Feeds]

Grab your roller skates, baby, Bonnie McKee has news. She’s ramping up to release a new album and trying to steal your man (but only musically and jokingly). In her latest single, ‘Jenny’s Got a Boyfriend,’ she gets campy, sassy and dancey as she falls for your boyfriend in a gender-swapped take on the ’80s hit ‘Jessie’s Girl.’ “I’ve always wanted to write a song that had someone’s name in it like ‘Jessie’s Girl’ or ‘Hey Mickey’ or ‘Billie Jean,’ McKee tells PAPER. “I had this experience because I had a friend who had a boyfriend who was just such a flirt. He was incredibly hot and he knew it. He was always giving me the wrong idea. Not just me, me and all of the girlfriends in the group. We were all convinced that he had a secret crush on all of us. Nothing ever happened. He was such a rake, I guess is what they call him, and I wrote a song about it. Then me and my girlfriends would bop around in the car to it.” The visuals for ‘Jenny’s Got a Boyfriend,’ are a neon, retro, skating-rink fantasy. “I’ve always wanted to do a skating music video, I can skate but I’m not like amazing,” she says. “I’ve always been obsessed with Boogie Nights and Xanadu. I love the ’70s and ’80s roller skating style — the whole aesthetic of that. The song feels like a roller Boogie moment.” In the video, McKee’s part of a “love triangle between Jenny and Jenny’s boyfriend” as they all work together at the rink. “I needed to have some story I could tell that made sense,” she says. “So it seemed like a workplace romance made the most sense. I just put us in little uniforms, and we were in the roller rink after hours. And things get spicy. I love that.” [via PAPER]

Bristol-based artist Emily Perry – AKA Pem has announced her forthcoming EP, cloud work, alongside the new single, ‘grips’. On the new single, Pem says: “A song about wanting to hold on tightly to other people to escape and “forget” everything else for a while. It is inspired by my favourite song ‘Forget About’ by Sybille Baier.” cloud work is a collection of five songs that Pem wrote during an intensely challenging chapter in her life. Full of references to water, sky, flight, memory, and birds, these are the metaphors and symbols that helped her work through the grief of losing her father last year. She says, “the process of creating cloud work enabled me to find beauty, meaning and comfort in a very difficult time.” [via Line Of Best Fit]

Softcult share a final preview of their blissful EP with ‘One Of The Pack,’ a fuzzy inclusionary anthem that depicts their idea of Heaven as one that champions ALL women. Mercedes and Phoenix explain: “When we wrote this song, we wanted to celebrate women supporting women, and of course that includes POC and transgender women. It’s sad that that’s something that I feel I need to specify and include in a statement like this, but the truth is there are some TERFs out there trying to exclude certain communities from feminism and even the term ‘woman.’ We pride ourselves on being intersectional feminists, even introducing riot grrrl feminism and activism to the shoegaze community in our own way, and we want anyone listening to our music to know that POC, trans women, and non-binary people will always be a welcome and crucial part of our grrrl gang. This song is hopefully one you can sing to your best friend to let them know; ‘I know you have to deal with a lot of bullshit from other people, but I will always be here for you. I see you, I’ll support you, and I love you.’”

This is already an iconic Eurovision collaboration: Aiko (Czechia 2024) and TEYA (Austria 2023, as part of Teya and Salena) have released a song together. In the song ‘Hunger’, Aiko and TEYA sing about the experience of feeling like you need to have a certain body to fit in with societal standards. For women in particular, they address the pressure to appeal to the male gaze. With this powerful message, they show that women are taught from an early age to eat less so they can fit in, seeing their bodies as the enemy, hence the title ‘Hunger’. In the video, you can see them walk on treadmills, emphasising this point as well. It is a great song with an important message, and yet it is catchy at the same time! Aiko and TEYA did a great job by combining their songwriting skills. [via ESCXTRA]

In November 2022, Christine And The Queens released Redcar les adorables étoiles, which was followed by PARANOÏA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE in June 2023. Now, the French musician is back with a new song called ‘rentrez chez moi.’ ‘rentrez chez moi’ was written, composed, and produced by Chris. The music video was directed by Sasha Mongin, produced by Premier Cri, and shot in Paris and Hanches. [via Stereogum]

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Scene Queen has shared a spectacularly graphic new single, ‘Finger’. Taken from her upcoming debut album Hot Singles In Your Area – which is due out in ‘late 2024’ – the latest effort from our favourite bimbocore star is, according to Scene Queen herself, “about my queer awakening”. She continues: “I also wanted to flip the script on songs written to sexualise women in a way that was for a man’s pleasure. I wrote this song about two women experiencing things equally. So the song is vulgar like any sexual song but with a woman driving the narrative about her own body and taking control of her own pleasure with step-by-step instructions.” Even more brilliantly, Scene Queen says that the accompanying music video “features a dance made to be accessible to anyone both sitting or standing. I wanted to feature that in the video because, as someone who struggles with POTS, I was at one point completely unable to dance like I do standing in the video. So I wanted something to make everyone feel included because sexuality and pleasure is something everyone can and should be able to relate to.” [via Kerrang!]

Yaya Bey shares the latest offering from her forthcoming album Ten Fold with the new single ‘sir princess bad bitch’. Serving as one of the album’s centerpiece statements, the song and its accompanying video embody the complexities of Yaya’s identity as a genderqueer person, with her stating resolutely that she is “no other thing but the thing I am.”

Call Me Spinster has released ‘Burn the Boxes,’ the latest single from their debut album Potholes, out April 12 via Strolling Bones Records. With its jovial bluesy groove and a New Orleans-inspired trumpet to boot, the new song is an empowering anthem about breaking free from societal expectations and re-defining life on your own terms. ‘Burn the Boxes’ arrives with a playful music video, showing the group reusing pieces of cardboard as the colorful backdrop for this impactful metaphor about change. Call Me Spinster on the new single: “‘Burn the Boxes’ is all about tearing down and re-defining terms – of relationships, of our contract with societal institutions. It felt fitting to rip apart and reuse cardboard boxes to make something colorful, haphazard and beautiful – a reminder that change takes the creative, destructive and playful mind of a child.” On the music video: “Amelia’s husband Dan got the idea for this music video at 7 in the morning, groggily watching our six and two and a half-year-olds crafting away, hot-gluing cardboard dioramas and a dollhouse they are perpetually retro-fitting with found objects. By 10am we were deep in a cardboard frenzy, the assembly line led by six year-old Amos and our art director friend Chad. We sent our kid off to first grade the next morning exhausted and still covered in spray paint, but proud of his first (and likely not last) production design credit.” [via Broadway World]

Bambie Thug has shared the music video for their upcoming Irish Eurovision entry ‘Doomsday Blue’. The Cork-born artist leans into black magic in the new video, which follows the story of a witch who inadvertently conjures up a strange creature after casting a spell to make a new boyfriend. It’s a brilliantly vivid visual that is no doubt set to wind up a small but vocal minority in Ireland who weren’t too happy and dared to accuse Bambie of promoting Satanism after they triumphed earlier this year with the alt-rock track. “I think it was quite iconic to have created such uproar. I’m pissing off the right type of people – people who suppress love, compassion, understanding, people who are slaves to their programming, transphobes, the far-right and a few priests so it seems,” Bambie explains. [via Rolling Stone UK]

Ariana Grande has released her second single, ‘We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)’, from her new album Eternal Sunshine — and the music video is heart-wrenching. The singer recently released her chart-topping album,and her latest music video to come from the album pays tribute to the movie which inspired it: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The video shows Grande taking on the character Peaches, who finds herself at the “Brighter Days Inc” doctor’s office to undergo a procedure to erase her painful memories of an ex. The video harks back to the film, which sees Jim Carrey’s Joel and Kate Winslet’s Clementine having similar treatment. Behind the short film is ‘Yes, And?’ director Christian Breslaur, while Dahmer actor Evan Peters appears alongside the singer as her ex. Her character moves through her memories of her ex, triggered by a box of his things. The video sees Peters’ character winning the singer’s character a bear at the arcade, recalling an argument they had in the middle of the night, making snow angels together, holding hands in bed, and sharing a very 16 Candles moment with a kiss over a birthday cake; all of which get deleted from her memory. Then, in perhaps the most heartbreaking scene of the music video, Peaches wakes up crying and clutching at her necklace. She bargains with the medical team to “keep this one please”, and they re-attribute Peters giving her the jewellery to a collar for her dog. In the end, her character seems relieved that her painful memories are no longer there hugging the doctors before her box of things is incinerated. Later, Grande’s character seems to have moved on with someone else, as did Peters’, when they walk past with no recollection of each other. Grande said in an Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe that the song is open to interpretation, but sums up “the album in a video”. “I think it can be applied to any kind of relationship, really, especially when you see the video. I think you’ll understand the importance of it,” she said. [via Pink News]

Allison Ponthier has shared new single ‘Skin’. Out now, it was seemingly prompted by a memorable concert, with Allison Ponthier left enraptured by her favourite artists. There’s a twist, however – she felt genuinely obsessed with the artist. Hailing from Dallas, Allison’s neat melodies and unerringly accurate pen have brought critical plaudits, with songs like ‘Cowboy’ going viral. ‘Skin’ takes her a step further – musically, it recalls everyone from boygenius to Japanese Breakfast, while also lacing in subtle hints of Americana. She comments: “I had this complicated feeling where I absolutely loved the show but also felt overwhelmed with jealousy — I wanted it to be me so badly. I left the venue with the lyrics to the verse in my head and assumed it would become a ballad, but when I went into the writing session I got the idea to sing ‘I wanna wear your skin’ at the chorus. I love how it sounds horror-movie-esque but describes a very real feeling I was afraid to express out loud.” The video was shot by Julian Buchan, taking stylistic cues from 90s thrillers. The clip co-stars Ponthier alongside Independent Spirit Award-nominated actor Suzanna Son. “I’m really attracted to writing songs that explore my weaknesses, and the challenge of ‘Skin’ was to create something that gave a voice to my inner saboteur,” says Ponthier. “I wanted to talk about feeling like you’re not good enough — which is something that every single person goes through — but to do it in a way that’s got some levity and feels upbeat and fun.” [via Clash]

Delilah Bon has just unveiled a triumphant new single called ‘Maverick’. The song’s release coincided with International Women’s Day (March 8), and as such Delilah explains that it’s about “self-worth and reclaiming your confidence, reminding yourself that you belong in the rooms you don’t always feel welcomed in. It’s about looking yourself in the mirror and believing in your power without needing the approval of others.” Excitingly, a press release also confirms that ‘Maverick’ is a “sneak peek into her upcoming second album, set to be released later this year” – so keep your eyes peeled for more on that… [via Kerrang!]

A rising star in the punk underground, Kate Clover recently announced her new record, The Apocalypse Dream, due out April 5. Following the release of ‘Damage Control’, which came alongside her LP announcement last month, now sees a video-only release of her raucous second single, ‘Like A Domino’. The video, directed and edited by Clover, spoofs a late-night talk show performance, and sees her and a cadre of backup dancers broadcast their new dance, “The Domino” to the world. Speaking on the origins of ‘Like A Domino’, Clover said, “I overheard a conversation where a woman told her friend she “played him like a domino”. Intrigued by this sentiment I wrote the chorus with the phrase. I like the innuendo it exudes. With this theme in mind, I enlisted my choreographer friend Sandi Denton of Rated Z dancers to create an original dance to accompany the song, titled “The Domino”. It’s a nod to the twist, the mashed potato and the Loco-motion. I wanted this song to be a garage rock banger that gets people up on their feet and prod some fun.”

Los Angeles indie-poppers the Marías made a name for themselves with their first two EPs, 2017’s Superclean Vol. I and 2018’s Superclean Vol. II, and they were already a big deal when they released their 2021 debut album Cinema. Since then, the Marías have truly blown up, collaborating with big stars like Bad Bunny and Young Miko. Early this year they collaborated with LA producer Eyedress on the singles ‘Separate Ways’ and ‘A Room Up In The Sky.’ Now, the Marías have announced their sophomore album Submarine, and they’ve dropped a pretty great lead single. Submarine comes out this spring, but we don’t have a tracklist or any details yet. What we have is ‘Run Your Mouth,’ a sleek and funky new track. Bandmates María Zardoya and Josh Conway wrote the song, and Conway produced it. It’s a warm and genuinely catchy fuck-you song. The glammed-out video, directed by regular collaborator, looks like a ’90s Gap commercial. Here’s what Zardoya says about the track: “This was one of the first songs Josh and I wrote on Submarine. I was conflict avoidant at the time, and whenever someone wanted to talk about something serious, I’d run and hide. I learned that was a protective mechanism and I didn’t have the capacity to open up. There’s no other song on the album like it, hope you dance to this one.” [via Stereogum]

Toronto-born, Los Angeles-based alternative sensation Abby Sage treats her audience to a captivating video for ‘Three Floors, Three Doors,’ the focus track from her debut album The Rot. The project released March 1st via Nettwerk. The second track of the album, ‘Three Floors, Three Doors’ juxtaposes a dreamy sonic profile with Sage’s uncomfortable realization that she can never return to the innocence she had as a child. The song tears down and rebuilds everything she thought she knew, admitting and welcoming the uncomfortable fact that change is inevitable. Like the rest of the album, ‘Three Floors, Three Doors’ was made in collaboration with London-based production team MyRiot aka Roy Kerr and Tim Bran (who worked on Sage’s 2022 The Florist EP). “Three Floors, Three Doors’, to me, is the realization that nothing can be erased. Everything I’ve been taught and have experienced will always live inside of me no matter how badly I want to pick and choose what I keep and what I let go,” Sage explains. “It describes a spiraling moment I had one evening where I felt like I was looking at my body from three floors above. From above, I could clearly map everything out and think rationally but when I returned to my body nothing had changed, I still felt everything I had before.” The accompanying music video serves as a captivating voyage of self-revelation, offering viewers a glimpse into Abby’s mind as she struggles with, and eventually embraces the concept of interconnectedness. With figures draped in both black and white, the video presents a compelling visual dichotomy – symbolizing the complexities of memory and perception, echoing Abby’s internal conflict as she navigates the contours of her own psyche. “‘Three Floors, Three Doors’ deals with acceptance of self and the vertigo of change in your journey,” Sage continues. “Masks have been this visual throughline in the project so far, and I think they worked especially well here to capture the feeling of struggle and the different masks you wear along your journey. I also wanted to demonstrate that struggle through the choreography. The scene with the two doors specifically, shows the push and pull of navigating through two sets of choices to find the right path forward.” [via Broadway World]

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