It’s been less than a year since Gut Health shared Electric Party Chrome Girl, one of the best debuts to come out of Melbourne in a long time, a record that announced to a wider audience that a genuinely thrilling new post-punk band was here. Their first release since Electric Party Chrome Girl, ‘The Recipe’, is concerned with the many masks we wear as humans, pondering where the line falls between our real and performative selves. Gut Health have always endeavoured to bring an LGBTQI+, femme and non-binary lens to their music, and ‘The Recipe’ is also a celebration of the support these communities provide each other. Over crooked guitar lines and skidding drums, Athina Uh Oh howls her appreciation for the “high femmes” of our world – the drag queens, artists, sex workers, and many others who try to express themselves while making a living. “You don’t know the recipe / There’s no rule book,” she chides repeatedly, and this lyric could become the official slogan of Gut Health’s sound. Long may the chaos and contention continue. [via Rolling Stone]
Having broken her three year solo silence with last month’s single ‘Flashlight’, songwriter, lecturer, producer and collective-leader Tamara Schlesinger is back with a second single from her forthcoming new album as MALKA, Anat-omy Of Sight. ‘Matriarch’ is a song detailing personal, yet universal themes already explored on the first cut from the record. ‘Matriarch’ further expands MALKA’s journey into synths and solo production; a sparkling song that as the album opener sets the tone for the rest of Anat-omy Of Sight, MALKA’s sweet and high vocals are centred and layered, sur-rounded by pitter-pat percussion and woozy synths reminiscent of Little Dragon at their most playful. MALKA describes ‘Matriarch’ as being about “that feeling of trying to juggle everything, trying to find that balance in life and wondering whether you have made the right decisions along the way. But it is also about that fierce pride of succeeding with something, especially when you have achieved it alone. Whether that is as a primary carer, the leader of a group or just your own per-sonal achievement.” She adds: “I loved playing around with the production on this one. In fact, I just loved having control over the sound of this whole album, I guess that kinda ties into the chorus lyric ‘I did it all alone’”.
Ezra Williams is excited to release their new single ‘Skin’. ‘Skin’ is the latest release from Ezra’s forthcoming debut album, Supernumeraries, which will be released on June 16 via AWAL. ‘Skin’ opens Supernumeraries with a mesmeric, almost hymnal vocal, as Ezra sings the album’s piercing opening line, “I’ve never felt this type of cold,” over minimal acoustic guitar. The poignant track steadily gathers pace and builds into a full band arrangement, setting the tone for the rest of the album, which sees Ezra explore bolder and more expansive sounds than ever before. The single is accompanied by an intense, gut-wrenching video, inspired by a vivid image that came to Ezra while writing the track. Speaking about the track, Ezra says: “This song is about trying to start dating again after heartbreak, the comparing of new people to past and accidentally falling back into bad habits from previous relationships. Knowing you’re not being treated properly but not caring because you can’t handle being alone.”
From trap-metal to industrial hip-hop to “fairy trap,” as she’s called it — Zheani‘s music is hard to pin down. But that’s just the way she likes it. We haven’t heard from the provocative Australian artist since her 2022 EP, the brilliantly titled I Hate People on the Internet, but that drought has ended with the release of ‘Pathetic Waste,’ a seething, self-immolating cut packed with ASMR-laced melodies and distorted screams. The first taste of her latest project, The Spiritual Meat Grinder, the single arrived accompanied by a startling music video created with longtime collaborator artist Mik Shida. Mixing stunning hand-painted animation with unhinged live action, the clip sees Zheani wielding a “demon sword,” but ultimately, despite her valiant efforts, unable to overcome her dark side. Watch and listen above. “My music is almost always defiant and affirmational,” she commented. “Within it, I’m a warrior, a goddess. I am victorious in my art because I so desperately want to be victorious and for my victories to be loved. My fans see me this way, like an avatar, someone powerful and larger than life. But with ‘Pathetic Waste,’ I try to be more honest about the mundane struggle that my life can often feel like. The pain that my own inadequacy can cause the ones I love. The missed opportunities and squandered relationships. All of this falls in my wake as I drudge forward thinking, ‘What if I’m one of the bad people?'” [via Revolver]
RAYE strikes again with another signature cinematic video, this time for her song ‘Flip A Switch’ featuring Coi Leray. The track is part of RAYE’s debut album My 21st Century Blues which came out earlier this year. The groovy yet heartfelt song needed a video to match and the South-London-hailing star didn’t fail to deliver, using her signature choreography and specific colour grading to turn these visuals into yet another movie. Coi Leray didn’t hold back either and matched the energy perfectly, serving nothing but vibes behind the wheel of the dark bus she is driving in the video. [via GRM Daily]
There comes a time in every relationship when things start to turn routine. It might be routine in activity, communication, or, yes, even arguing (a red flag). That’s the topic KiNG MALA’s new single ‘sunny side up’ confronts, cleverly comparing duking it out with her boyfriend to eating sunny side up eggs every morning. The bubbly, serrated pop song is the latest in the Los Angeles singer’s most recent string of singles, and follows the release of her music video for ‘dirty dishes.’ The track is the epitome of delivering bad news with a huge dose of honey. Over sweet choruses of lalalas and perky guitar riffs, she croons in a sugary falsetto, “I’m sick of sunny side up eggs/ And mediocre makeup sex.” In its equally symbolic visual, directed by Chelsey d’Adesky, she and Kia Farhad play a couple who are chained to their routine — literally. They sit on the couch watching TV and eating breakfast together; the links that used to be unite them as symbols of security have now become a hindrance. She dreams of leaving the room, spitting in his orange juice, maybe eating him like that ominous painting of a lion preying on a deer hanging behind them suggests — all ideas you could also use to break up with your boyfriend. “I worked with a woman-led production company (432 Films) who just completely understood the energy I wanted this video to have,” KiNG MALA tells NYLON of shooting the visual. “Being on set with them was so exciting and inspiring and the video turned out even better than I could have imagined. I feel like they really captured the feeling of being in this endless routine with someone but in a way that felt artistic and funny. It’s a light take on a heavy thing, but that’s really the only way to cope sometimes.” [via NYLON]
Just days ahead of the release of her new album Joy’All, Jenny Lewis shared a new video for her recent single ‘Psychos’, directed by Bobbi Rich. Speaking about the creation of the new album, Lewis has said: “From my home in Nashville in early 2021, I joined a week-long virtual songwriting workshop with a handful of amazing artists, hosted by Beck. The challenge was to write one song every day for seven days, with guidelines from Beck. The guidelines would be prompts like ‘write a song with 1-4-5 chord progression,’ ‘write a song with only cliches,’ or ‘write in free form style.” [via DIY]
Australia’s Taylah Carroll returns with her first new music of 2023, the gorgeous single ‘Sleep On My Side’. Written by Carroll and produced by Tim Harvey, the song is a lush, captivating alt-pop song that carry elements of soul, jazz, pop, country and folk and positively overflows with warmth and all the feels. Carroll’s vocal is a standout, utterly beguiling as she moves through all the emotions from a seductive drawl to a world weary sigh. ‘Sleep On My Side’ looks at the emotionally volatile and messy world of dating, and appreciating the benefits of both being alone and as part of a couple. “I don’t like me much / Neither should you / I’ve kept my bed cold / I prefer the view / When I don’t have to sleep on my side,” she sings. “‘Sleep On My Side’ is about navigating the murky waters of the dating pool for the first time, and as an adult,” Carroll says. “It’s about learning what I liked in both solitude and togetherness. It’s about realising myself again. When I took the song into the studio, I’d only ever played it solo. It was one of those songs that was so exciting to record because I walked out of the studio that night with something completely different. The song grew before me.” Also out is the video for ‘Sleep On My Side’, which Carroll co-directed with Nick Mckk (Julia Jacklin, Spacey Jane, Stella Donnelly). It features Carroll playing the piano and rowing a boat with a gold fish as her only companion. “After recording one of the takes I announced that this was my ‘Cruise Ship Band’ song, so the accompanying video was centred around an imagined 60’s Cruise Ship adventure,” Carroll explains. “Thanks to the clip, I’m now also a proud goldfish mum. The goldfish is supposed to symbolise the little tender part of yourself, that is sometimes hard to connect with, but always important to carry and care for.” [via Women in Pop]
Problem Patterns have announced that they will be releasing their debut album. It is called Blouse Club and will be out later this year via Alcopop! Records. The band has also released a video for their new song ‘Letter of Resignation’. The video was directed, filmed, and edited by Brendan Seamus. [via PunkNews]
Mahalia continues her return with new single ‘Cheat’. The soulful pop queen signalled her comeback with the excellent ‘Terms And Conditions’, which leads into her upcoming album IRL. A work of truth, it lands on July 14 and the latest preview has just gone live. Out now, ‘Cheat’ is a self-described “infectious bop” and it finds Mahalia taking revenge on a man who has wronged her. Joined by JoJo, it’s a statement of female power, with their illustrious vocals fully intertwined. Produced by Spencer Stewart and JD. Reid, the collaboration between Mahalia and her soul sister has been on the cards for some time. “I can’t quite believe this one is real. I have been a fan of JoJo for as long as I can remember so having her on this record really is a dream come true for me,” Mahalia says. “I love watching people come together through hardship and everything about this song represents that. For me, it is a song about strength, power and letting go.” “I loved teaming up with Mahalia on this fully infectious bop,” JoJo states on the collaboration. “Not only can I not get the melodies out of my head… but I’ve BEEN THERE.. and it feels good to be singing with my friend about this very real part of growing up: Realizing that some boys are for the streets and will never change.” Shot in New York and directed by filmmaker Boma Iluma, you can check out the video for ‘Cheat’ now. [via Clash]
Last month, Madeline Kenney announced a new album, A New Reality Mind, with the lead single ‘Superficial Conversation.’ Her follow-up to 2020’s Sucker’s Lunch is out at the end of July, and now she’s sharing another new track from the album, the grooving and multifaceted ‘I Drew A Line.’ “I’ve been thinking a lot about the stories I tell myself to keep plodding along, and how those stories can obfuscate certain realities,” Kenney said in a statement, continuing: “Stories not only set limits but also set us up for the most frightening awakening when life starts to contradict the story. When I went through a breakup I realized that the story I had been living out was much different in the plain light of day than what I had constructed out of fantasy. I think it’s very human to tell stories, and I think it can protect us, but what if we don’t need protection? What purpose does the story serve then?” [via Stereogum]
Alt-pop singer-songwriter Sophie Powers has released her powerful new single, ‘Bathroom Floor’ via Atlantic Records in partnership with TAG Music. The track arrives alongside a music video, which can be seen now below. “You know you’ve hit rock bottom when you’re ‘on the bathroom floor’ and you ‘can’t feel shit,’” says Sophie Powers. “As the chorus of my song states, that’s exactly where I was mentally, and physically while writing it. The track goes into depth about my struggles with self-hatred, depression, body dysmorphia, and escaping a dark hole through seeking validation and distractions from others. The funny thing is, as soon as those distractions and people go away, what’s left? The same spiral of self-hatred-depression-insomnia-body dysmorphia-dark thoughts-anxiety-etc. continues…I never want to encourage or glamourize mental illness, but by simply speaking about it, maybe I can destigmatize the subject, and hopefully help someone else out who’s struggling.” [via Prelude Press]
Jazmin Bean has released a new single, ‘Piggie’. The track follows on from recent debut EP Worldwide Torture, and was produced by John Feldman and Travis Barker. “When I got out of rehab, I looked back at pictures of myself and saw the events that were happening around me at the time,” Jazmin says of the track. “I was three months clean and had lots of realisations about my life. I didn’t want to combat it with a sad song. Instead, I’m poking fun at some of the men I met at the time. ‘Piggie’ is the closest track to the Worldwide Torture era, so I wanted to bridge the gap between the old and new sound. But honestly, what’s coming next… I’m not even ready for.” [via Dork]
