22 September 2023 - 0 Comments

Mermaidens are set to make waves with the release of their latest single, Sister, a mesmerizing anthem that offers listeners a glimpse into the internal struggles that often remain hidden beneath the surface.

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Masquerading behind a lively, catchy melody, the song delves deep into feelings of anxiety and the challenges of maintaining a facade of happiness.

"Sister is our anxiety anthem! It's a very bubbly song on the surface, but the song is about being a mess. In the chorus, I sing the lyrics 'Sister you've gone sour/You can't be happy all the time.' I always pictured singing this to myself, like a private mantra – and also as if I am my own sister. The chorus lyrics are almost juvenile, like a nursery rhyme or something, but the song is really about pulling myself back from the dark and telling myself it's okay to feel like shit sometimes." - Gussie Larkin

Regarding the song's journey from inception to the final product, Larkin reveals, "Sister has been kicking around since the recording of our previous album Look Me in the Eye in 2018. It took some courage to say yes to the key change between the verses and the chorus - it almost felt too clever for us. But I think this makes the song in the end. This was truly the hardest song on the album to finish, and it literally made me cry a few times."

The video for Sister was directed by Tāmaki Makaurau’s Sports Team. Gussie suggested the idea of working with Sports Team one night at Whammy Bar saying she’d love to know what it would look like; merging the high concept story brain of Sports Team with their bubblegum-psych 16mm film aesthetic brain of Sports Team. Shot on film, the video features the band miming, a first for both the band and the directors! Annabel Kean, one half of Sports Team explains some of the challenges the band faced with miming: “Turns out miming is really hard. How does one step into a car? Feet first? Head first? Butt first? What’s the deal with steering wheels? We ushered the Merms outside to the Pitt Street Church car park and had them repeatedly get into our car and put their seat belts on until they had memorised the movements. (It goes: Foot, butt, head, other foot btw.)”

Sister follows on from the release of lead single I like to be alone which to date has spent two weeks atop the Student Radio Network's Top 10 and inspired denim lovers far and wide with its accompanying video.

Pre-order Mermaidens HERE

Photo Credit: Ezra Simons

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