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| Photo - Bella Howard |
London/Barcelona-based pop artist Lala Hayden today releases her new EP 'Queen of Midnight' via Goldun Egg. The EP release arrives alongside news of new UK / EU tour dates supporting Kita Alexander in October, along with a headline show confirmed for 18th November in London. Written across pregnancy and into early motherhood, Lala Hayden's new EP captures a period of identity shifts and emotional recalibration, pairing sleek, hook-led alt-pop with moments of stark vulnerability - shifting between confession and full-bodied release.
Speaking on the release of the EP, LALA said: "I’ve always felt like postpartum has been treated as a “women’s issue”, something quietly endured rather than fully expressed. And because of that, it’s been largely absent from the pop culture I grew up with. For a long time, that made motherhood feel like something that would consume me completely. Like I would disappear into it and not come back. When I found out I was pregnant last year - and that I was having a girl, something shifted. I decided to explore it instead of fear it. To document it in real time, in the studio. The love, but also the crashes. The fear.
"So many of the most intense moments happen in the middle of the night. And in that loneliness, I kept thinking about all the other women awake at the same time: holding babies, holding themselves, singing, dancing, trying to make something, trying to make a living. I started writing this EP in my first trimester, and I’ve been writing and recording throughout every stage since. Releasing it now, around eight months postpartum, feels like a kind of full circle."
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Veronica D’Souza is an Indian/East African/Danish independent producer and songwriter, with a feminist, multicultural, and artistic approach to music and the world. With her new single ‘No One Is A River’, Veronica D’Souza turns her attention to endings, not as something to mourn, but as something to move through.
“I think celebrating endings is just as important as celebrating beginnings,” she says. “For me, the song is about practising letting go with joy, more than with grief. There is so much to be sorrowful about in the world right now, and that’s exactly why I believe the best things have to be built from a place of joy.”
At its core, ‘No One Is A River’ holds a simple insistence: letting go does not have to mean letting go of the dream. “I needed that,” she adds. “To be able to release something without closing myself off. To keep dreaming, even as something ends.” Rather than framing loss as absence, ‘No One Is A River’ offers a counterpoint, where endings can be marked, honoured, even danced through. Through crystalline synths and stunning soaring harmonies, Veronica captures this juxtaposition with poignancy and grace as her melancholic reflections coalesce with joyous surrender, framed in a huge moment of epic alt-pop.
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| Photo - Kate Glasson |
New Zealand born and based alt-indie band Dateline revealed their brand new single ‘Meltdown’, serving fans with an enticing teaser ahead of their UK tour later this year. Meltdown was recorded on Karangahape road, in Auckland at Jon Pearce (The Beths) studio. Recorded by Jon Pearce & MIchael Howell. Produced and mixed by Pip Brown AKA Ladyhawke and Mastered by Tom Healy.
Honest and punchy, ‘Meltdown’ emerges from the beautifully chaotic and conflicting reality of being a mother. Through building guitars and cathartic percussion, Katie Everingham’s effortless vocals capture the complete upheaval that occurs the moment you decide to bring a new life into the world. Sharing more, Katie explained: “Not a day goes by where I am not so grateful for my daughter and so aware of how lucky I am to be her mum; however , in the last 4 years I have also experienced some really significant personal challenges that arose from parenting.
There is immense pressure to get it right and this little person exists who knows exactly how to push your buttons and the combination lead me to some pretty tricky places from a mental health perspective. I wouldn't have things any other way but trying to be a good parent really does impact and change everything.”
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Dalinda - The Nile.
Born to Bosnian parents, raised in Libya, and based in the UK, Dalinda’s multicultural heritage is the beating heart of her musical identity. Her breakout debut album, Turquoise (ARC Music), was produced by the legendary late Hossam Ramzy (Shakira, Peter Gabriel, Page & Plant) and immediately captured a dedicated global audience, featuring on major radio stations and world music charts. She followed this with massive crossover success in the Middle East alongside Hamid AlShairi; their collaboration, "Leish", dominated the Arabic Top Ten Charts for 17 consecutive weeks, won the ‘Best Song’ and became the region's most downloaded ringtone.
Now, Dalinda returns with a new single, "The Nile" (released May 29th). Marking a striking stylistic departure into melancholic indie, the track is a deeply personal exploration of love and loss. Produced alongside Pete Murray using authentic live instrumentation and zero samples, the track's emotional core transcends language; upon hearing it, Dalinda’s non-English-speaking mother, whose portrait graces the single's cover art and who inspired the track, was moved to tears. Anchored by a sweeping, world-infused bridge, "The Nile" perfectly merges Dalinda's musical legacy with contemporary indie-pop textures.
Crossing genres, Dalinda has secured several sync placements, including MTV’s The Sarah Silverman Show and delivered electronic / tribal collaborations with Phil Thornton and Simon Williams (Mandragora / Earthdance). Her collaborative spirit continued with the simultaneous release of her independent crossover album, Waternixie, and the traditional Songs from Libya (ARC / Hossam Ramzy). Produced by Pete Murray, Waternixie showcased her songs performed in English, Arabic, and Serbian.
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| Photo - Kelsey Doyle |
Brisbane shoegaze risers Fragile Animals just shared their new six track EP, Dead Stop (May 29th). Produced by Elliot Heinrich, the new EP Dead Stop was written in the aftermath of the band’s breakthrough 2025 EP Tourist and their first UK and European tour - a 14-date run across Germany, Poland, Ireland, England, and Scotland, including sold-out shows and festival appearances. That period marked both a creative high and an emotional unravelling. The EP reflects the disorientation of coming down from momentum, the cost of ambition, and the fragile determination required to keep pushing forward.
Victoria Jenkins explains: “I think this record means something slightly different to each of us, but there’s also a commonality there that relates to us all making the commitment to take another step forward. Personally, I actually find it hard to articulate what this record is about and what it means to me. I think that’s because, truthfully, it was written in a profound state of confusion and the tangled mess of feelings that it carries are just as confusing now as they were then.
We started writing this EP immediately after we wrapped up touring Tourist last year. We’d just lived a dream. I’d never loved doing anything so much or felt more like my true self. At the same time I’d never felt so frayed or fragile. The risks and sacrifices it took to make that record and tour happen really shook me, and it wasn’t until it was all over and we were sitting in a hotel in Manchester trying to write a new record that I kind of fell apart.
Anyone walking around near John Rylands Library last August might have actually seen me crying in the street. Haha. The weird part is that when I wasn’t waking up in a panic or crying in public I felt insanely happy. I was really proud of what we’d just pulled off as an independent band and I loved the music we were writing. I felt like if we could just keep ourselves moving, and cross our fingers hard enough to prevent the world falling apart around us, we might actually get everything we wanted. If I’m honest, I’ve spent the last year trying to keep my terror in a box so that I can keep moving. That’s what this record is for me.”
Dea Doyle is a West London-born singer-songwriter stepping into a new chapter with her deeply personal return single, “Marina.” After taking time away from music, the track marks a shift in both her sound and her storytelling, introducing what she describes as “the most honest version of this project so far.”
Rooted in indie-pop with touches of folk, soul and classic singer-songwriter influences, Dea’s music has always carried a sharp sense of observation.
Growing up in a musical household and writing her first song at nine, she built her early releases around witty reflections on relationships. Now, her perspective has widened. “As I’ve got older, my writing has become less centred on love and a bit more varied,” she explains. “I’m writing about more real, difficult experiences that have shaped me.”
“Marina” sits at the heart of that evolution. Written in memory of her aunt, who passed away from cancer, the song is a moving portrait of grief, love and legacy. “She was my favourite person, my biggest inspiration, and honestly, all the best bits of me are her,” Dea says. “Everything I do is for her, but this track especially.” Balancing warmth and loss, the song captures how even joyful moments are coloured by absence, held together by lines like, “What I’d give to tell you all that you’ve missed since you’ve been gone.”
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Canadian singer-songwriter Ellie Heath shares her debut album Pushing Forty alongside its bright and empowering lead single “That Sunshine’s Mine.” Rooted in joyful reflection and forward momentum, Pushing Forty captures a pivotal chapter in Ellie’s life; standing at the edge of change while embracing both the excitement and uncertainty that come with it. Blending pop, synth, indie, and rock textures, the record radiates with an effervescent energy that celebrates growth, transformation, and the beauty of stepping into something new.
“Pushing Forty began as a way to document a specific season of life,” Ellie explains. “I was entering the final year of my thirties, moving in with my partner, settling into a home and just about to welcome a dog into our lives. It felt like I was closing certain doors while opening others and I wanted to capture that emotional crossroads; the excitement and the nerves!”
At the heart of the record’s uplifting spirit is “That Sunshine’s Mine,” a playful yet powerful anthem about protecting your joy. What began as a lighthearted challenge in the studio quickly evolved into something more personal and resonant. “We joked that writing a sunshine song was basically a guaranteed hit,” she says. “From there, it evolved into something more personal about protecting your joy and not letting others dim your light.”
Driven by punchy, high-energy production and a sense of uninhibited fun, “That Sunshine’s Mine” leans into a bright, confident pop-rock sound. Its fast-paced momentum and communal gang vocals create a feeling of spontaneity and release, tapping into a kind of childlike freedom. “It makes me feel like a kid in the best possible way,” Ellie notes. “It feels fun, empowered, mischievous and free!”
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