Leather boots, platinum extensions and a snarling rottweiler — CHINCHILLA's debut album rollout has started, and it's got teeth.
As a fan, there’s nothing more exciting than an artist purging their Instagram account. Nowadays, it’s about the chicest marketing move a musician can do, with everyone from Charli xcx to Madonna having pulled the stint. While there is a short period of mourning for what came before (RIP to the BRAT rollout, forever in our thoughts), the promise of a new era is enough to keep people talking.
The latest celebrity to start with a clean slate? CHINCHILLA. The disruptive London artist began her campaign three weeks ago in anticipation of her upcoming, independently released debut album, followed by the release of fierce new single, ‘Dog Eat Dog’.
In line with the cultural shift towards the more gothic side of fashion and music (something we here at SOUND BITE are huge fans of), the visual aesthetic of CHINCHILLA’s new era is suitably macabre, seeing the singer leatherclad with extensive platinum extensions. While the official “Dog Eat Dog” visualiser (linked below) captures a dive bar line dance sequence, the artist’s Instagram teasers for the song feature a snarling rottweiler. Take notes from Lady Gaga's 'Poker Face' era, nothing screams "edgy" quite like a barking hound.
As for the song itself, it was produced by Mike Wise, the former collaborator of Charli xcx and Chappel Roan. So, as you can imagine, it’s sonically upbeat and explosive, but lyrically quite morose. The “old school rock and roll country banjo” and razor sharp electric guitar underpin CHINCHILLA’s lyrics about “feeling uncomfortable in a healthy stability”. It’s a piercing departure from the much softer, lovelorn Ok As I Am: The Trilogy which landed back in September. While that collection was a poppier reflection on love and heartbreak, ‘Dog Eat Dog’ captures the frustration of discontentment, the feeling of never being fully satisfied. As dramatic as it is honest, if this is just the beginning of CHINCHILLA’s new era, we can’t wait to see what else she has in store.
Stream ‘Dog Eat Dog’ here.
Writer Lucy Wragg
