An introspective yet expansive alt-pop gem, the brand new single 'Her' from Aotearoa New Zealand artist Isla Noon is a driving new outing, also fittingly accompanied today by an intimate and energetic music video.
Unflinching and forgiving, ‘Her’ shows Isla Noon at her most candid, with a song that drives forward leaving you hanging on every word.
“‘Her’ is about my younger self,” explains Noon. “Life often ends up taking you down a whole lot of roads you could not have anticipated when you were young. I didn’t want to lose my child self in adulthood, because I still have a lot of the same dreams I’ve had since I was a little kid. In a way, I felt like I owed that little kid, like she was counting on me. Writing this song allowed me to open a dialogue with my younger self and let her know; “You can trust me to take over now. It won’t be perfect, and some of the things you thought you wanted will change, but you’ll be happy”.”
The 'Her' music was directed by talented and artful film maker Oshara Ardelean, director of multiple viral music videos for Kiki Rockwell. This is not the first time Noon and Ardelean have worked together, collaborating on Noon’s 2023 track ‘Body.’ The video shows Noon interacting with her younger self (played by the absolutely joyous Scarlett Ewen), and also features members of her live band, Maude Minnie Morris and Swap Gomez.
"I wrote the music video concept the same day I wrote the song. They exist in tandem. The fake car in the video is a nod to the driving metaphor throughout the song, but also a metaphor for my life and the way in which I felt I was being driven by a younger self that had high hopes for me. It was a really personal shoot. Full of laughter and also a few emotional moments."
'Her' was made with Noon’s long time collaborator Maude Minnie Morris, as well as Chris van de Geer.
"I was sitting on the couch behind Maude, recording in the demo vocal, and I just remember her turning her chair around when the song ended and looking at me like she was about to cry. It only really struck me then that anyone else would understand what I was feeling or connect with the song, it just felt so incredibly personal when I wrote it."
Drawing influences from artists such as Sam Fender, Holly Humberstone, and MUNA, Noon has received both local and international acclaim, with previous releases ‘Body’ featuring in Rolling Stone, and premieres on Pilerats and Backseat Mafia.
On the release of ‘Her,’ Noon says “It feels quite freeing. I wrote ‘Her’ alone, at home with my guitar. It’s me at my most candid and conversational. I’m describing feelings as if I were trying to explain them to a friend. It felt like a gift to myself to write, and releasing it feels like passing that gift on to anyone who may have ever felt that they were falling behind in some way, or struggling to reconcile expectations that their younger self may have had about where they “should” be in life.”
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