Today, Brisbane, Australia based indie-pop riser Asha Jefferies announces her debut album, Ego Ride, set to release on April 12th of this year. To mark the announcement, she shares the apex of euphoria from the album, “Brand New Bitch.” It lies between the intuitive anthemic rock of Tom Petty and the thrilling ease of emotion that comes to Gracie Abrams or Olivia Rodrigo. Listen to “Brand New Bitch” HERE, and presave Ego Ride HERE.

“Brand New Bitch” was written almost as a necessity for Jefferies, once she found the comfort of coming into her own as a young queer woman. It’s propulsive and catchy like the best pop songs, with a bit of grit and liveliness that comes from recording the old fashioned way with a full band in studio. It sets a fire underneath you as soon as the bass line kicks in.

Of the accompanying video for “Brand New Bitch,” Asha Jefferies said, “We shot this music video over 4 days across many locations in Meanjin leaving many passer-bys wondering – why is she wearing a bike helmet? Why is he annoying her with a balloon? Why is she being splashed with a bucket of water? The result is Brand New Bitch, a story of getting free and moving on.”

Watch “Brand New Bitch” here.

Ego Ride is a story of growth and opening. A collection of songs that embody joy, heartbreak, playfulness, tenderness, light, grief, loss and most importantly change. It is not a break up album, it is an album about what happens from a break up. It’s a story of identity revelations and breakthroughs, sparked by heartbreak. It is a story about leaving toxic trapped partnerships, leaping open armed into community and friendships and the discovery of the queer self.

Of the record, Jefferies says, “It is a story written and dedicated to my younger self, that the meter of your world will keep on running and there is hope to be had. These songs have a fundamentally ‘together’ feeling made possible by the collaboration between my band and Sam Cromack (producer and engineer of the album; of Ball Park Music). All songs were recorded live together in one room and the sound of the album shapeshifts from indie pop to piano ballad to psychedelic indie rock to folktronica.”

With such a wide range of influence and comparison, Jefferies’ songs are euphoric in more ways than one, coming from the most vulnerable depths of a young woman learning to express her queerness. Written in a time of tremendous change, discovery and exploration, Asha notes the impact of acts including Angel Olsen, Big Thief, The Beatles, Lucy Dacus, Father John Misty and Radiohead. Her 2021 debut EP The Pinnacle introduced her as an artist with limitless potential, with its follow up single “Tank Tops” also being added to full rotation on triple j, becoming a local queer anthem and one of 2022’s most celebrated local tracks.

To date, Asha Jefferies has played notable Australian festival slots at BIGSOUND, Icebreaker Festival, Against The Grain, Bluesfest, Woodford Folk and Mullum Music Festivals. Asha has won a Queensland Music Award, triple j Unearthed’s NIDA Competition and has been a finalist for both the Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition and the International Songwriting Competition (ISC).

Asha Jefferies’ new single “Brand New Bitch” is out now via Nettwerk. Her debut album Ego Ride is set for release on April 12, with more exciting live news to come this spring.