In Sofia Dobrushin’s ‘Codependency,’ being codependent isn’t a pathological personality flaw but a rallying cry. The Brooklyn-based actor, director, and musical comedian’s ballad is as smart and original as it is catchy, taking the stack of self-help books we have sitting on our nightstands and building something useful out of them; in this case, a song that celebrates our messy, often ridiculous humanity. The video is a technicolor-dipped, ‘80s-inspired dreamland of violet and glitter hearts, informed by John Waters and public access dating show camp. In the video, Dobrushin, who uses she/they pronouns interchangeably, plays herself and hosts a dating show titled “Attached at the Hip” that goes haywire, to say the least. “Codependency/ Stay in bed from 3 to 3/ Bed sores and monogamy/ The only way I want to be,” Dobrushin sings with a natural performer’s vibrato with a melody that plays on loop in your brain like the comforting, incessant reminder of sticky note affirmation on a mirror, backed by Dobrushin’s own close harmonies and light, glistening guitar from Evan Sites. Dobrushin wrote ‘Codependency’ in 2020 during a time when a lot of their friends were moving in with their partners during the pandemic. Dobrushin and their partner Matt Albani, who is also in the video, ultimately decided not to live together. (They do live together now.) “My Cancer-cusp-Leo brain was like, ‘how do I rationalize this? So I bought like three self-help books: Attached, All About Love by bell hooks and Pleasure Activism. I haven’t finished one of those books,” Dobrushin tells NYLON. “I read the one chapter of Attached, where it was like, ‘Codependency is a myth’ and I was like, ‘oh my god what?’ And then I closed it and put it away and now I’m here. I hadn’t heard about codependency in a positive way of, maybe, you’re not crazy and have attachment issues, maybe you’re just not getting your needs met.” Dobrushin produced the song alongside Sites in the winter of 2021 in a recording studio in their room, and shot the video around the same time with a group of their actor and comedy friends, including rising comedy and music stars Jes Tom, Gara, and Softee. While Dobrushin directed the video, their roommate Caroline Knight assistant-directed and edited alongside Dobrushin’s childhood best friend Gaby Sant’Anna, whom Dobrushin grew up filming sketches with. The video’s behind-the-scenes intimacy and conspiratorial silliness is as crucial to it as its aesthetic. The real breakthrough moment, so to speak, of ‘Codependency,’ isn’t the earnest acceptance of the flawed parts of our personalities; it’s the tongue-in-cheek, poking fun of our obsession with self-diagnoses at all. “Only child syndrome is my scapegoat for never taking any accountability,” Dobrushin sings in one line. “My therapist says it’s from my dead dog,” they declare in another, drawing out “eh” in “dead.” “But that’s not how my brain works/ Believe me I’ve tried/ I’ve read Pleasure Activism 45 times,” Dobrushin adds again at a particularly observant moment. As much as we’d like to read a book or follow an Instagram account to figure out why we’re sad, it’s not that simple; we can’t blame our anxieties on being an only child or having a childhood dog die, and ‘Codependency’ pokes fun at the very real school of thought that suggests reading Pleasure Activism makes you more self-actualized, something someone might want to tell the three separate people Dobrushin saw reading the book Jacob Riis beach last week. “When I write comedy songs, it’s really when I’m just feeling a lot of things and music is easier for me to compartmentalize,” Dobrushin says. “It’s fun to have people come up to you and be like, I did not know this was something other people felt.’ You feel like you’re in an echo chamber and then it starts to resonate with people and you remember why you did it.” [via NYLON]
UK vocalist Chrissi has shared new single ‘Lipo’. Blending soulful songwriting with a tendency to over-share, this Essex riser is the all-too-relatable voice you’ve been waiting to hear. Last year’s Back In The Day EP was a sparkling debut, and Chrissi returns with something new as summer hits its peak. ‘Lipo’ is a tongue-in-cheek ode to a failed romance, with Chrissi musing on male expectations, and body positivity. Out now on her own Listen Generously imprint, ‘Lipo’ has a fun exterior, but there’s a serious message underneath. “I wrote ‘lipo’ because I was upset with a guy who’s sexualised me and then decided he couldn’t be with me because he didn’t want his friends to know what he’s into,” she says. Transforming a negative experience into something more positive, she laughs: “Everyone has to kiss a few frogs I suppose… Made a banger out of it though!” The video comes from Denisha Anderson of Caviar, and features Chrissi (and friends) engaging in a fun dance routine. [via Clash]
With her new album Hold The Girl set for release on September 16 via Dirty Hit, Rina Sawayama is releasing the video for the title track. Directed by Ali Kurr, the video acts as a “metaphor for Rina’s emotional breakthrough in therapy” which inspired her to write the song. “’Hold the Girl’ was the first song I wrote for the record at the end of 2020–I had gone to therapy and had a revelation, so I decided to write this song…that was the start of it,” Rina explains. “I was crying before going into the studio to write about it.” [via DIY]
Former IZ*ONE member and soloist Choi Yena has released the music video for ‘Smartphone’, the title track of her sophomore mini-album of the same name. In the vibrant visual, Choi is a gamer who guides an avatar of herself through a playground filled with whimsical mascots, eventually stopping at a shooting game inspired by the Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise. “Mix and match as you like / Airplane in my hands / No matter where you’re going or what you’re going to do, get connected / This star is too narrow to contain me,” Choi sings. [via NME]
Stella Donnelly’s new album Flood will arrive at the end of this month, and now she’s promoting it with one more advance single following ‘Lungs’ and the title track. The brisk ‘How Was Your Day?’ taps into the talky vocal vibes that are all the rage these days, but in a way that reminds u of Blur’s ‘Parklife’ turned wistful. It’s an approach Donnelly’s been rocking since her 2019 breakthrough Beware Of The Dogs, and it sounds incredible here. Donnelly on the lyrics: “This is my attempt at building a song out of a very specific dynamic between two monogamously involved people. The verses are just excerpts from real conversations, fragments of what two people talk about when they both know they need to have a real talk but neither wants to be the one to bring it up. This song came out of lockdown and seeing a lot of friends break up or get married.” As for the video, by Nick Mckk and Claire Giuffre, Donnelly writes, “This video does a really good job of portraying how annoying I am! We shot it from opposite sides of the world which was a little bit stressful but a lot of fun.” [via Stereogum]
Ahead of their debut album, Truly Trash, due October 28, London-based international punk quartet Ghost Car are sharing their new single and video, ‘Sex’. Ghost Car look to make the most of their diversity by exploring different writing styles, all the while expressing themes of openness and empowerment. Their new album provides Ghost Car with that platform, as they rage against political injustice and attack patriarchal inequality, homophobia, racism, and toxic relationships. The album was originally planned to be released by Burger Records, though the band pulled out of the release as accounts of sexual assault and exploitation of women by associates of the label came to light. Ghost Car say, “This album is our way to express what bothers us, from personal interactions to international politics. We wanted to explore different themes in a simple way so that they could be accessible to everyone.” Of the video, they say: “We asked our good friend Simon Eaves, who is a director and also in the band Pleasure Complex, to direct this. We’ve always loved his style and knew he would send the song into another dimension, literally. The idea originally was to have Maeve as Kuntessa’s character but we all loved Kuntessa’s style as a performer and thought she brought a different kind of energy we really needed. She is that annoying person you’re stuck in a lift with, no awareness of personal space but also doesn’t give a sh*t. The concept is really just all of us slumming it in a lift: Clara, late for an interview, Laura, the psycho boss from hell, Maeve, the nonchalant grocery shopper, and Cece as a depressed mechanic working in the building, and then Scott, the weird, male architect no one asked for. The idea was contextually different than the content of the lyrics; Simon’s idea was to really go into that feeling of headbanging to your favorite pop banger. There’s something really jumpy about the staccato chords we like. Then when we all hit the ground, we all lose it and get that euphoric, full-body feeling. I suppose it’s about feeling really uptight, going to work, then clocking off, going to that gig, hearing music really loud, incredible. The euphoric part when the music goes a bit more extraterrestrial was so fun to shoot; look at our hair! Our make up! Our outfits! The making of it was pretty wild; Simon managed to pull it all together in two weeks, even sourcing a real elevator, real buttons to push, the ‘sex’ lift panel, real posters made by Maria De La O Garrido, etc. The attention to detail was just incredible. So they rebuilt it for the set, and that’s us, in a real elevator, having existential breakdowns.” The grungy pop-punk anthem and lead single ‘Sex’ channels names like Stiff Little Fingers and The Undertones, mixing the band’s ’60s girl-group influences with the explosive rock sound of iconic acts like The Runaways. The band say that the track is, “about having an interaction with someone once and thinking more of it than it actually was. Especially with social media, being able to see that person all the time, thinking you have a connection when really you just snogged them at a party once. It made us so happy to be a band formed by women from different parts of the world but with the same feelings and frustrations!” [via New Noise]
Whether your head is in the clouds or your feet are planted firmly on the ground, you’ll find ‘Balance’ with Aaria Tae’s new track. Mixing 70s soul with Kendrick Lamar-esque flutters, her distinct melodic tone pierces across dark soulful basslines – effortlessly dancing between sonic spectrums. The stunning self-directed video is in her own words a ‘London meets Egypt’ fever-dream, an offering of self-acceptance as she realises she doesn’t need to be boxed into one culture. “At first, I found it hard feeling like I did not belong to just one specific culture but I have now come to see how it is what makes me and my art stand out” – and thanks to visually captivating drops such as this, we are waiting on tenterhook for her next move. [via Wonderland]
Jazzie Young’s melodic charisma could have easily been inherited. The LA-based indie pop artist is the daughter of Jesse Colin Young whose band The Youngbloods and their iconic anthem, ‘Get Together’ was a major influence in the 60s movement. Jazzie herself looks like a page out of a 60s magazine and sounds like the soundtrack of a long drive up in Malibu in a vintage Ford convertible. For her second EP 27 Club, Jazzie showcases her evolution of sound and further experimentation as an artist providing the listener with velvet smooth vocals and music to float away to. She has just released the title track and it’s accompanying video. Jazzie tells Ladygunn of the song: “I love this song because I feel like the lyrics are very real, but there’s a really cheeky, funny attitude layered on top of the song that keeps it lighter and more tongue-in-cheek. The upbeat piano and production definitely help with that too. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the idea of the “Saturn Return,” but it’s basically this concept of completing these heavy cycles in your life and that’s said to happen around the age of 27. And the strange thing for me was it really hit me like a semi-truck as soon as I turned 27 last year. The whole year was just filled with so much learning and digging through trauma and growing. It was like a year of emotional spring cleaning, which is rough, but also so liberating once you’re through it! So about half way through 27, I really just wanted to write about how I was feeling, but in a way that wasn’t too heavy. I wanted honesty and humor, and that’s where ’27 club’ was born. [via Ladygunn]
Aotearoa all-stars Dateline share the final single from their upcoming debut album Dumb For My Age, out on August 27 via Sunreturn, plus a video directed by Olivia McClymont. The talented foursome of songwriter Katie Everingham, Callum Devlin (Hans Pucket) Priya Sami (BUB) and Ruby Walsh (Lips) feature in the new clip, with a cameo from Annabel Kean (Sports Team and recent UTR Assistant editor). Recorded by Callum Passells (also of Hans Pucket), the visuals for ‘Love Hertz’ show the band in a doctor’s waiting room, where Everingham’s pining for the healing touch of an alluring doctor (Geo Bidois) becomes extreme (and extremely relatable). The grungy pop-infused distortion electrifies Everingham’s delicate vocals and attentive lyrics in a suitably fuzzy blur of infatuation… “I think I was just being a bit moody when I wrote this… It’s me kind of complaining while acknowledging that actually life and love is good and I wouldn’t change anything, but I may just go “humph” from time to time,” Katie Everingham explains. Olivia McClymont adds: “‘Love Hertz’ was an extraordinarily fun music video to make… the premise for the Love Hertz is a bit literal! It’s about how far you’ll go to be with your ‘true’ love… even if that love isn’t reciprocated. Sometimes love truly hurts! Perhaps this is a bit of a warning to anyone who might think otherwise? Self-love before all other kinds of people! In the video, Katie figures the only way she can be with the Doctor she’s enamoured with is if she has legitimate reasons to go to the hospital… but is it all worth it in the end? (short answer – no, haha).”” [via Under The Radar]
Tāmaki Makaurau via Pōneke duo Earth Tongue, aka Gussie Larkin (Mermaidens) and Ezra Simons (Soft Bait), have unleashed their first official new tune since 2019’s debut long player Floating Being. Entitled ‘Miraculous Death’ and recorded with Jonathan Pearce (The Beths), Earth Tongue have created a self-directed cinematic masterpiece in miniature for the single, visually channeling the lurid spirit of ’70s European horror and suspense, while pushing the over the top elements of their own heavy-psych / prog-rock sound to delirious heights. Shot by Simons on French 16mm cinema camera and ’80s lenses, star of the clip Larkin explained Earth Tongue’s commitment to conveying the true feel of classic horror in their stunning visuals, made with support from NZ On Air. “When I went to the states a few years ago I visited The Stanley Hotel from The Shining – not the one they shot the film in, the ACTUAL hotel that Stephen King stayed in which inspired the novel,” says Gussie. “That was a cool spooky experience that lingered in my mind for a few years after. I’d been daydreaming about finding a location like that and had even looked into filming at The Chateau Tongariro, although that didn’t work out. I found this house on a shoot location website and it felt like striking gold! It literally ticked every box – the mini hedge maze, the fountains, the winding staircases and OTT dining room. It’s usually a wedding venue but the people who owned the place were very generous with letting us run wild for a day.” [via Under The Radar]
HYRA is throwing it back to the early days of hyperpop with her new single, ‘REM (No Sleep).’ The energetic track draws upon the ever-looming impact of PC Music on today’s cultural landscape and marries elements of its production with that of more mainstream EDM, morphing it into a musical framework that’s as synthetic as it is real. That realness comes through HYRA’s songwriting: “The track is about falling in love with somebody to the point that they’re present in your dreams,” she tells PAPER. “It’s the romanticization of being with someone so adamantly that the ‘person of your dreams’ becomes your reality. REM paints the picture of fast nights infused with energetic and numbing love.” HYRA comes from a long lineage of pop songwriters who combine their emotive side on the lyrics with boisterous electronic production, with Charli XCX and Lady Gaga having been two of her biggest influences. She’s bounced back and forth between all of the US pop capitals — LA, NYC and Miami — and brought with her a full deconstruction of the genre. As a filmmaker herself, HYRA has a keen eye for visuals, waking us up in a futuristic hospital-of-sorts painted in full white. It’s a scenery that normally serves to sterilize — sucking the life out of anything that enters its four walls — but it can’t stop HYRA and her guests from partying the night away before we’re blasted into the real world, color and all. [via PAPER]
Almost two years since the release of the critically acclaimed Conscious Control, KAYE releases her latest EP Neon God. In a new era of freedom from former relationships, societal expectations of women in their thirties, and self-restraint, KAYE has created a masterclass in bridging rock, disco and pop. The EP also arrives with an official video for ‘Respect Me’. On ‘Respect Me,’ she allows her bass skills to shine through on the funk-driven anthem. The official video was directed by KAYE’s sister Liann Kaye. This marks their 15th video together; a testament to the creative identity the two sisters have crafted over the years. In the video, KAYE and her girl band of clones shred and seduce, all with her signature style of kooky choreography.
