What we're up to

Sophia Blenda presents the first single from her sophomore album, which will be released in April.

‘Sad Girl Summer’ is the antithesis to the social media hype of the Sad Girl Aesthetic and, with references to musicians such as Lana del Rey, Billie Eilish, Phoebe Bridgers, Ethel Cain and Nico, laments how female/queer pain is glorified in pop culture. Tens of thousands of fans stand in front of huge stages and chorus along to the suicidal lyrics of these artists. In her own words, SOPHIA BLENDA reflects the brutality and gravity of those lyrics. "Billie is too intoxicated to be scared / Lana is born to die and sings Women are beautiful when they cry / Phoebe is hardly feeling anything at all." A reality check, but one that leaves unanswered why Flinta*'s mental health has been dismissed as irrelevant for generations - in pop as in real life.