Miriam Clancy – Kamikazi Angels: New Song Of The Day

Miriam Clancy shares powerful single, Kamikazi Angels, with video directed by Rubens de Mello.

Here’s the blurb with details:

“Kamikaze Angels”, Miriam Clancy’s first release in three years is a soaring, rousing song, a nod to the 90s through a lens of 2020 clarity. The song oscillates between loud-quiet-loud moments, the chorus rising to a hook, a powerful sing-at-the-top-of-your-lungs moment. Miriam says, “The chorus sings itself, propelling up to a maximum finish. And my beautiful wildling kids sing the last line with me which allows a fleeting childlike approach to the world, as it’s always better seen that way. I love this song, it feels naked and alive, primal. And unafraid like pulling a thorn from an angry lion’s paw.”

Announcing her new album with the release of “Kamikaze Angels” sets the stage for the subsequent releases leading up to Miriam’s new record, Black Heart. “To lead with this song feels like a show of cards, a challenge: it declares how I will proceed to address the dark stuff on my album, the arcs and depths of big feelings and horror,” she says.

The video for Kamikaze Angels was filmed around the city in Minneapolis, where there were still palpable pockets of the George Floyd protests, signs and murals on the walls, calling for change. It was heavy and immediate, like being in the eye of a storm.

This sense of uprising and social justice aligned with what Miriam could best channel from growing up as a GenX in New Zealand, from the 1990s – the scene at skateparks.

Miriam says, “I am an average skateboarder myself and love how anti-establishment skating is, so when Rubens de Mello (director) suggested a skatepark, I was down. There is something refreshing and righteous about the 90’s alternative scene I came up in that I am thrilled to throw back to; there’s a raw approach in the emotion and language of the music that I love. Also, as I’m a Gen X slacker, I am ok with not fitting in, so whatever.”

The bridge section of Kamikaze Angels features the head stocking and dripping paint, emulating how it would feel to extract yourself from the toxic mindset laid out in the song. “It took an eternity and 15 shampoos to get the black paint out my hair, which was quite alarming,” she says. But she got there in the end, and the result of the shoot is a magnificent homage to 90s alternative music through a 2022 lens of a Generation X songwriter extraordinaire.

Black Heart – 13 January 2023
Track list:
01. Cassowary
02. Black Heart
03. Head Like A Hole
04. Roelof
05. Feels Like Heaven
06. Death Becomes The Maiden
07. Kamikaze Angels
08. Velveteen
09. True-ish Love
10. We Become The Night
11. Guide For All Humankind

About Miriam Clancy:

Born in New Zealand into a family of musicians, writing her first song at age 9 and fronting bands by age 17 Miriam was caught between the shadow of DIY local post-punk and imported American pop but ended up being mentored by old-school established Māori musicians who were rich in R&B, Motown soul and heavy in show business professionalism. With them she learned to sing for a diverse range of crowds in the often wild pubs of New Zealand. From there Miriam moved into full-time session work, taking her from clubs in Wellington & Auckland to Southeast Asia before swapping the security of the pro vocalist life to become an indie artist, performing on her own terms. She began to deconstruct her approach to music and follow the thread of melodies that had begun welling up while she was alone in her room, and at 21 Miriam started again, just herself and a guitar, in dive bars singing the songs she couldn’t help but write.

After passing on a local record deal Miriam headed to Los Angeles, where a 2005 season led to the NZ release of her debut album Lucky One. It, along with sophomore album Magnetic, was met with critical acclaim and a stack of five star and best of year reviews as she headlined national tours and toured in support of Wilco, Ron Sexsmith and Mark Lanegan. She signed to Mushroom Group’s publishing wing and was declared “A Voice to Move Mountains” garnering APRA Silver Scroll songwriting and NZ Music Award nominations as a solid underground following. Shifting camp from Aotearoa to New York City brought forth her first US release, 2019’s Astronomy, crafted over a couple of years between Great Barrier Island and New York City, with producer Chris Coady at the helm. Again, the critics waxed effusive – “Astronomy is not only well thought out but planned and executed with the brilliance and captivation of a true artist” Ryan Martin – Jammerzine. “Miriam Clancy and her dream theater aesthetic will transport you – with deep cut bass, drum grooves and dreamy synths – a blend of post punk, 80’s new wave, goth, baroque pop and magic itself” Robb Dunker – American Pancake

Fleeing from the hustle of NYC to the solace in the valley of Pennsylvania’s Appalachian mountains brought about a burst of life, and when UK production on a new project with producer Mike Hedges was delayed by the pandemic, Miriam came up for air closer to home and fell into a perfect working match with musician and producer Jeremy McDonald in Brooklyn’s Mason Jar Studio. Pulling in talented friends Will Graefe and Mike Riddleberger, the four created a delicate rock circle that swells and disappears around Miriam’s voice, along with additional drums and vocals by Sean Mullins and Welcome Wagons’ Vito Aiuto. In Miriam’s own words, “This is the most naturally occurring and quickest album I have made, everything felt right.”

Miriam Clancy’s exceptional new album Black Heart is out Friday 13th January, 2023

For more Miriam Clancy:
www.miriamclancy.com
www.instagram.com/miriamclancy
www.facebook.com/miriamclancyxx
www.youtube.com/miriamclancy