Pop innovator Ashnikko has announced their sophomore album Smoochies is out on Friday, 17 October.
Lead single Trinkets sees Ashnikko turn casual dating into an art form, collecting men like shiny souvenirs as she sings about her conquests over a chaotic, candy-coated beat.
Directed by Léa Esmaili, the music video gives us inside access to Ashnikko’s art nouveau candy coloured world brimming with doll parts, ashtrays, D&D dice and keychains of men.
Speaking on Trinkets, Ashnikko says: “My little princess boys, love being trinkets, hanging off my bag, looking up at me with smiles on their faces, swinging as I walk.”
Ashnikko’s second album, Smoochies, is her most personal body of work to date. Following 2023’s debut WEEDKILLER, sonically it expands Ash’s distinct hybrid-pop sound while taking a significantly more autobiographical approach to lyrics.
“Smoochies feels like Demidevil‘s older sister. It’s sexy, playful, and feminine, while toeing the line of grotesque and absurd. I feel like purse sediment so much of the time – like a mess of crumbs and gum in receipts and lip gloss that I’ve forgotten about – so the album feels like that too,” Ashnikko said.
“This is the first where I’ve written very autobiographically, but at the core of it all is personal autonomy and joyful whimsy.”
Smoochies is out on Friday, 17 October.
