Mallrat has released her second single of 2024, titled ‘Hocus Pocus’. The track features a Memphis rap sample from DJ Zirk’s ‘Born2 Lose’, combined with spacey broken beats and bass. The track was produced by Styalz Fuego (Troye Sivan, Tate McRae) and Kito (Skrillex, FLETCHER), following her previous single ‘Ray Of Light’. Speaking about the creation of ‘Hocus Pocus’, Mallrat says: “I fell over and fractured my arm dancing to this demo on a walk home. I couldn’t help but be excited! I had to wear a cast and sling. When I was writing the pre-chorus section of this song I was thinking of the sharp inhale breaths as lyrics that needed their own moment, kind of like a punchline. A lot of the time in pop music, breaths are edited out and turned down, but they felt important here to me.” [via Dork]
Hailing from planet Earth, sister duo Girl Tones are trashing the party in the official video for their raucous debut single ‘Fade Away.’ Directed by Casey Pierce the video is full of color-blocked primary tones as the duo hosts a rageful pity party. Crushing flowers, tearing through walls, and rigging drum kits with balloons, Girl Tones thrashes over being burned over and over again. On the video, Girl Tones shared, “Everyone loves a party. But when does it stop being a party and become a chore?”
Rising indie-pop artist Kiki Kramer is set to captivate listeners with her debut single, ‘Relevant,’ out now on Suretone Records. The record is a moody, honest, and playfully insincere track that critiques society’s obsession with fame fueled by social media. The song combines elements of hyper-pop and jazz to create a sound that is both unique and entirely relatable. A distinct lyricist, Kiki’s writing echo the struggles of seeking validation in a digital world: “Give me your views, likes, all your attention babe. I try so hard to win it. I’m not the bad guy, but I’m not benevolent. Maybe I’d kill just to be relevant,” she sings. Her aesthetic is as important to Kiki as the sound, and the video captures this, with nods to her influences as disparate as Japanese anime and horror flicks, BDSM and rococo. Video director Marc Klasfeld (Charli XCX, Sky Ferreira, Foo Fighters, Lady Gaga, Jessie J, Prince, Britney Spears, Wiz Khalifa and more) perfectly captures the divinely creepy, the mood and message. “I had gotten annoyed trying to film videos for TikTok. I felt that my music would never be valid unless I had a following behind it” she says. “The song highlights how far someone might go for that kind of attention.”
Rising dance-pop sensation Ella Rosa unveils the captivating music video for her latest single, ‘FUN.’ The video plunges viewers into a kaleidoscopic world of playful mischief and trippy visuals, perfectly matching the track’s hypnotic melodies and pulsating beats. True to its title, ‘FUN’ is a vibrant, tongue-in-cheek celebration of the wild and wonderfully unhinged side of life, drawing you into Ella Rosa’s charismatic universe.
Charlotte Plank has released her new single ‘Ellen’. The track follows her recent single ‘Stargirl’, and serves as a letter to her younger self, with its title drawn from her own middle name. “Ellen is my middle name – signifying the girl in between,” Charlotte explains. “The song was written about a time in my life where I had lost faith in music (with it being such a heavenly but hellish place at times) and myself. I was working two jobs, trying to figure out a way to make music work whilst being on a bit of a path of self destruction and being lost with who I was. I had so much bubbling under the surface and more to give than my jobs in customer service – but I was scared to try. And when I wrote this at 20 years old I thought: if I could hold on, battle the demons and ‘make it’ by 27 – beyond some of my idols like Amy Winehouse & Kurt Cobain, I’d be okay.” [via Dork]
San Francisco shoe gaze x grunge pop trio chokecherry — comprised of vocalist/guitarist Izzie Clark and bassist/vocalist E. Scarlett Levinson, along with drummer Abri Crocitto — have dropped the incredibly buzzy EP Messy Star, their debut release for Fearless Records. chokecherry have also shared the epic video for the title track, in which the band pulls back the curtain on some of its unexpected influences. Often the band’s closing number during their live sets, ‘Messy Star’ is a thrashing nod to their heavier sound, taking inspiration from artists like Turnstile, Ty Segall, and Mannequin Pussy. The track tells a story of metaphorical demonic possession, and being at the mercy of a mischievous and destructive “shadow self.” “This song is truly meant to make you dance and lose your mind in the moshpit,” the band states. “Lyrically, the song touches on themes of being at war with yourself (or rather, your shadow self) and peeling back the curtain on the dark parts of the human psyche. The narrator of the track sits in a more fictional role than our other songs, which was fun to explore and build a narrative around — a sort of villain arc, if you will. The nature of the ‘possession’ is open to interpretation, but listeners can relate to its references to addiction, insecurity, and self-destruction. For us, it invokes memories of the sweaty L.A. punk shows that shaped our musical repertoire.”chokecherry continue, “We wrote this song as a homage to our doom, psych rock, and hardcore influences. This is the earliest chokecherry track that made it to a record. From the track’s inception, it was an odyssey that took different forms from its live performances to its eventual recording for this EP.” [via Metal Heads Forever]
Madeline Goldstein channels raw energy into ‘1996 Expectations’; a tightrope walk through the complexities of the music business. Imagine Madonna fronting Violator-era Depeche Mode—her voice both smoky and commanding, exuding confidence and control. Goldstein’s performance is a challenge to the restrictive roles often imposed on women, as she navigates the tension between vulnerability and strength. Her sultry, bold vocals cut through the synth-driven track, embodying the struggle of maintaining authenticity in an industry that often demands compromise. With each note, she pushes against boundaries, embracing power and independence in a world eager to define her. “Expectations are the gun – the killer – of a pure thought or action,” Goldstein asserts. “And when you’ve shown everyone yourself, inside-out, and they still want more, what’s next? It’s an introduction to the themes of voyeurism and constraint on the new record, whether that be inside the mind, inside the body, or in the open spaces of the everyday world.” Tyler Carlin’s retrofuturistic video for ‘1996 Expectations’ traps Goldstein in a stark, stylized cell, where every tick of the clock and tilt of the scales of justice marks the relentless grind of time and the burden of societal roles. She paces, anxious, her movements echoing the weight of those unspoken rules that press harder with each passing second. The nods to German expressionism linger in the harsh angles and the cold geometry of the space, while early ’80s video aesthetics creep through the cracks, reminding us that we’ve seen this all before. [via Post Punk]
Bambie Thug has released their new single ‘Fangtasy’. The song follows the release of ‘Hex So Heavy’ earlier this summer, and sees them explore themes of self-empowerment and breaking free from control. The accompanying video, directed by Marco Pavone, features an animated gothic mansion party. Speaking about the new single, Bambie says: “probably one of the best Halloween songs ever that you can also listen to all year round.” Of the video, they add: “I wanted to create something fun and playful that would resonate with fáns of all ages in my Coven. We teamed up with an Italian animation studio to bring the vision to life, but the creative direction and storytelling were all conjured up by my sister, Holly. The characters’ aesthetics were inspired by the incredible fan art I’ve received, especially from a fan named Broonney. “The video is filled with Easter eggs and inside jokes from my time on tour and stars The Darklings, who have my back against all kinds of vampires, both on and off-screen. The animation pulls in references from iconic favourites like The Powerpuff Girls, The Love Witch, Grease, and Sabrina: The Animated Series (1999).” [via Dork]
