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“Doom Bikini” unfolds like a sticky summer daydream. james K describes it as “a sun-greased slinky ballad about being hard and soft on myself,” one that she didn’t quite know what to do with at first. Originally built on “boring ‘shoegazey’ guitars,” the song eventually found its form through layers of doo-wop-inspired vocal loops, surfy textures, “gwen-lite” vocal flourishes, and a sweet swirl of G-funk. The result is a track that plays with time, memory, and self-perception — or as she puts it: “Both horizon lines feel interchangeable, pluck-able like guitar strings.” And talking about friends, she actually co-produced it with Patrick Holland and Priori. Listen and pre-order the album below.

Her new offering, “Play,” is a dazzling introduction to her forthcoming album, Friend, due out September 5 via AD 93. The single is a shape-shifting dreamscape, as hybrid as you can imagine. “Won’t try to fight for the last time / Won’t fight ’cause they just lie / Right now, I feel that I am found / Right where I know that I feel the ground,” james K sings, her voice delicate and radiant, even as it rises above wailing sirens and skittering percussion. The accompanying video is just as striking as it draws from a surreal, dystopian palette of white, violet, and hot pink, to depict an ethereal and glitchy retro-futurist universe.

Friend, her third full-length album, is the culmination of years spent honing a sound that resists easy categorization. Written and recorded between New York and Montreal, the 13-track project explores “melancholic ecstasy” and includes the previously released singles “Blinkmoth (July Mix)” and “Hypersoft Lovejinx Junkdream.” It also features collaborations with artists like Special Guest DJ, Francis Latrielle, Ben Bondy, and Priori.

You can also stream james K‘s “Play” and the other best new releases of the week in our Forecast Tape playlist on Spotify.