WENDY, the main vocalist of the iconic K-Pop group Red Velvet, releases her second solo album, Wish You Hell, via SM Entertainment and distributed by Virgin Music Group globally. WENDY’s second mini-album Wish You Hell includes a total of 6 songs, including a title track of the same name. ‘Wish You Hell’ is an addictive pop song with a catchy hook melody and a rhythmic guitar sound, creating a band-oriented sound. The lyrics depict bidding a fierce farewell to the past self who lived according to what others wanted, finding one’s true self.
Friedberg have released their brand-new music video for their latest energetic single ‘Hello’, directed by Talia Beale. The track is the first instalment of their debut album, due for release later this year. Talia Beale is a director and artist who creates through the lens of a queer woman of colour navigating her twenties. Known for her quirky, vibrant and original style, she has directed videos for various talented artists including NiaArchives and Valencia Grace and most recently worked with Friedberg to bring their vision to life. In the music video we are placed in a warped ‘Friedberg room’ where Anna has melted into one of her walls, ultimately becoming a part of the furniture. ‘Hello’ is written from the point of view of spending the night living in someone’s head, so the visual is a reflection of the motion of all our passing thoughts: they are overwhelming, nonsensical, detaching, comforting, erratic, tempting yet disorientating; all the while making so much sense. Anna, lead singer of Friedberg, says “I already fell in love with Talia’s initial idea of me reciting the lyrics of the song whilst my head is stuck in a wall. Over a good cup of cappuccino we instantly bonded over the idea of a leaf blower blowing the band’s hair while we are performing the song. I loved everything else we came up with that day – like taping the band to the wall. When I wrote the song I imagined spending the night in a stranger’s mind and thinking all of these things that I never thought… Saying all of these things that I never said. And get a holiday from my own mind. So the concept of the video just worked perfectly for the song.” Talia Beale, Director, says “This project’s been a dream to work on! Anna’s an artist who takes the risk of thinking outside of the box and pushing creative boundaries. It’s provided a playground to explore our most surreal ideas, the ones maybe we often try to dull down by attaching too much rational thought to in the name of commercialism.”
Australian artist Winifred is back once again to unveil her captivating new single ‘Blue Fire’. Lifted from her eagerly-awaited new EP Carpet of Flowers, the follow-up to 2022’s breakthrough debut collection EP1, ‘Blue Fire’ sees her continue more of those ambitious alt-pop textures she has been building for herself since she first emerged. With her voice and performance as enthralling as ever, she looks to embark on the next phase within her ascending career with this powerful new release. Speaking on the new single Winifred commented: “I wrote ‘Blue Fire’ as a mood piece. To me it’s a sensory-inspired phrase. It’s a reflection on desire and self-awareness. When your desire is just out of reach, maybe in some rare cases, that’s where it’s meant to stay. My aim was for the production to feel simultaneously ethereal and gritty while remaining kind of understated throughout. Low-key bedroom bop energy.” Accompanying the new single is a brand-new music video shot in a whirlwind ‘one night’ shoot with director Luis Campbell. Winifred added about the video: “I shot the music video for ‘Blue Fire’ in one night at VENTspace studio with director Luis Campbell and Kurt Schwerdt on camera. It was a breezy shoot, and a great team to work with.”
Melbourne’s Charm of Finches (sisters Mabel and Ivy Windred-Wornes) share new track ‘Middle of Your Mess’ from their forthcoming album Marlinchen in the Snow. “’Middle of Your Mess’ is a tongue-in-cheek bop on when sometimes women like to blame other women for their own internal issues when it comes to relationships,” explains Ivy and Mabel. “At the time of writing this one, we were listening a lot to Nora Jones’ album Little Broken Hearts and we think some of her brazen brutal honesty was an influence on this song.” Known for their otherworldly DIY aesthetic, Charm of Finches also release a self-directed video for ‘Middle of Your Mess’ via YouTube inspired by Saltburn, Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, as well as some of the sisters’ favourite films such as Picnic At Hanging Rock and Heathers.
Liz Lawrence has confirmed the details of her next studio record Peanuts and unveiled its lead single and opener ‘Big Machine’. The single reflects on, ‘the feeling of carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders’, according to Lawrence, who added: “The frustration of trying to solve the climate crisis whilst the political classes drag their feet and the desire to do a Thoreau and go live in the woods. It’s a nod to alternative living and the battle of the Beanfield. It’s the book of trespass, it’s the guarding of statues, it’s my pot boiling over with frustration at the state of it all.” [via Live4Ever]
East-London artist Nuha Ruby Ra has unveiled her brand new single, ‘Fetish 2 Forget’. “‘Fetish 2 Forget’ is a dance floor in a factory, with a few doms present. We’re at a warehouse party again, with other thoughts on our minds. The ‘wasted man’ is the same guy who’s likely playing his own song on guitar at 6 in the morning, but the essence of the song lies in the lyric ‘Freaks trying hard at life, we’re dancing on the line, we pray to see the light, when we whisper in the dark’,” Nuha Ruby Ra explains. [via Line Of Best Fit]
Shelf Lives have released a new video for ‘PVC Real Estate’. It’s a cut from their not-long-dropped new EP, You Okay?, which arrived towards the end of last year. The band explain: “’PVC Real Estate’ is essentially about LA’s growing homeless population, specifically focusing on the city’s struggle with maintaining its glamourous façade despite it. It highlights the dark contrast of hitting rock bottom and being homeless in a city that is often glamorized for its sunny and luxurious lifestyle. “We paired the California dreamin’ and sunny disposition that permeates the city with lyrics that touch upon the persistent ‘itch’, both from drug addiction and the desire to “make it” in LA, contributing to the complexities of being a resident of the city as well as the homeless experience.” Director Holly Hunter adds: “I loved the song’s concept that LA is an artificial set, built to appear perfect and pristine, but in reality, there’s a lot of fakery and facade going on! We brought this to life by playfully creating a hyper-real California beach constructed totally out of trash and repurposed materials (complete with a team of LA street cleaners) and put Shelf Lives at the heart of the LA fantasy.” [via Dork]
Queen of Hearts, the forthcoming album from rising pop star Zolita, is set for release on May 31 via AWAL. In conjunction, Zolita’s latest track ‘All Girls Go to Heaven” debuts. Showcasing themes of happiness and self-acceptance within the LGBTQIA+ community, the track is an uplifting anthem, encouraging listeners to live their lives to the fullest. Of the song, Zolita explains, “’All Girls Go to Heaven’ came from a place of pure queer joy and wanting to write a song that would make people feel empowered by who they are. The chorus is designed to be sung along to, and I can’t wait to hear people screaming it at my shows.” [via Broadway World]
After celebrating the label’s first birthday earlier in the month, UTOPIA releases Orchid’s ‘heaven/jealous’, a sparkling UK-garage track set in an otherly world. Self-described as tongue-in-cheek and sensual, ‘heaven/jealous’ is a sweet re-introduction to Orchid. Inspired by a poem by Persian Rumi, in a book about a mushroom wonderland where is mentioned that ‘sometimes liquid love on earth makes the sky jealous’, ‘heaven/jealous’ celebrates love in a material, physical world full of hedonistic pleasures. “I heard this quote from Rumi and it took my breath away, about how having a physical body to love others with is better than any prize of an afterlife or immortality can give. I think our world and being alive is underrated,” Orchid explains. “I wanted to write something that celebrated the fleeting reality of love and being a mere mortal, and capture that euphoria and romance… imagining love in a glutinous, effervescent indulgent earth with all its material things, like this maximalist thirst trap made just for Heaven.” [via Line Of Best Fit]
Infusing a nostalgic, feel-good early 2000s pop rock vibe with a modern bedroom pop twist, Jewelia’s enchanting sound has captivated a loyal following since her move from Bucharest, Romania to London. Her debut album, City of My Mind, along with subsequent successful releases, have solidified her place in the indie-pop scene. In her latest single, ‘Loser,’ Jewelia showcases an evolved version of her distinctive sound, featuring sharp pop hooks, evocative sonic elements, and introspective lyricism that resonates with listeners. The song’s composition is characterized by dynamic percussion and lively guitar riffs, creating an energetic and infectious atmosphere. Paired with captivating visuals, the music video for ‘Loser’ embodies the enigmatic and wistful essence that defines Jewelia’s unique brand of nostalgia-infused indie-pop. Co-written and co-produced by Jewelia and Andy Denyer, with mixing by Niko Battistini (known for his work with Charli XCX and Caroline Polachek), the spirited track sets the stage for Jewelia’s highly anticipated upcoming album, Little Wins. Jewelia explains the track’s narrative and inspiration, commenting, “‘Loser’ is about all those times when we couldn’t push ourselves out of our comfort zones. When we wanted to say something but were too embarrassed or shy to say it. When we wanted to learn how to play an instrument or learn that new language but always found an excuse that there was no time. When we let an opportunity slip away because we lacked the courage or the confidence. This doesn’t make us losers, just humans.” [via Wonderland]
CHVRCHES’ vocalist Lauren Mayberry has released a new video for ‘Change Shapes’. The track follows on from her recent drops ‘Shame’ and ‘Are You Awake?’, and a solo headline tour that saw her play London’s KOKO. “I feel like I perform to the general public but also play a character inside the internal experience, because there is so much negotiation involved in my existence there,” she explains. “How do I keep people happy enough that they’ll let me do the creative work that I want to? I feel quite fake and hypocritical sometimes because so much of the narrative around the band is “feminist”, but my experience inside of it hasn’t been a lot of the time. I feel like I did all this work to make things function but when you DO adapt yourself in that way, it’s seen as manipulative, in order to get what you want.” [via Dork]
Lava La Rue has announced their debut album, STARFACE. The full-length is teased by the London artist’s new single ‘Push N Shuv’, with the full record following on 21st June. Lava explains: “I wrote ‘Push N Shuv’ 5 years ago before Covid (the vocals you hear on the song are still my 21 year old voice) and I knew when I wrote it 2019 that if I made an album that’s what I wanted it to sound like. It’s literally been years in the making and honing in on that sound and it only feels fitting that this is the song that I announce the album with.” [via Dork]
Sia has released a new video. It’s a cut from her recently-announced new album, Reasonable Woman, with teaser track ‘Dance Alone’ created with previous collaborator Kylie Minogue. The record also features guest turns from Chaka Khan, Paris Hilton, Tierra Whack, Labrinth, Kaliii and Jimmy Jolliff. Her first proper album since 2016, Reasonable Woman will be released on May 3 via Atlantic Records. [via Dork]
