Heather Elle, the steely, enigmatic bassist of New York City’s The Wants, and previously BODEGA, today unveils her new solo project Flossing with her debut single “Switch.” Elle describes “Switch” as “the most honest documentation of my psyche… a messy and perverse mental excavation.” A debut EP, Queen Of The Mall, will follow September 10 via Brace Yourself Records.  

Flossing presents a hedonistic siren call through the Web 4.0 ether with provocative ideas of identity and connection in an isolated and unhinged western society. As the only child of a social psychologist and occupational therapist, Elle is all about getting between your bones and seeing what you pull out. Feelings of frustration and yearning permeate the ominous-yet-buoyant groove of debut single, where she admits – “I am both scared of and intrigued by the deviant nature of man.”

On “Switch,” Elle adds, “In its dual moods, the song represents the complexities of coinciding grieving processes — my mother passing suddenly before tour, ending a five-year relationship, leaving a band, and learning that my city and industry would be on an indefinite hold.” 

Bonding over the visual work of The Cure, Oingo Boingo and Nine Inch Nails, Ellle found a kinship over quarantine with Director of Photography, Devan Davies-Wood, and together they devised the video for “Switch.”  

The video is a statement on personal and creative versatility; an ode to no longer feeling the need to compartmentalise one’s many true selves. True to the BDSM term which lends its name to the track, it’s both empowering and submissive – “You’re a lot like me; do you see yourself inside me? / I can switch from bottom to top, if you like that,” sings Elle — a character eager to share her expertise and playfully embrace whatever challenge presents itself. Alongside a voyeuristic smattering of manic confessions and smut, the playful lyrical double entendre, non-sequiturs, and stream-of-consciousness over-share expose our postmodern struggle with our many personas and roles we must play.

Further shaping Elle’s raw, oft-teasing and darkly-humorous worldview, the self-produced debut five-track EP Queen of the Mall will lean into the political and the personal, tackling issues of societal inequality, distrust of surveillance, unease with consumerism, and the effects of technological dependence. Pulling from her Southern, New York and British roots, she establishes herself undeniably as a mischievous pop poet with a haunting sound and deep bag of tricks, finally taking centre stage from rhythm section mainstay to empowered front-woman. 

The EP is mixed by Adam Sachs (Swans, Amen Dunes, Joan As Police Woman) and mastered by Joe Lambert (Animal Collective, Nicholas Jaar, Matthew Dear). A vinyl release + live performances will be announced at a later date. 

Queen of the Mall Track List:

01. Switch

02. On Read

03. Add to Cart

04. Psychosis

05. TRAP

Pre-Order the Album: Here