A new Pickle Darling album is on the horizon.
The Christchurch indie-pop artist has announced Battlebots, out September 5th via US label Father/Daughter Records. Described as their most intricate and lovingly chaotic work to date, the album follows 2023’s Laundromat and a Postal Service cover with The Beths.
The latest single, “Violence Voyager”, is out now, accompanied by a new lo-fi video directed by longtime collaborator Christiane Shortal.
“It’s a low poly ode to nature, and the feeling of connecting to something greater,”says Lukas Mayo, the artist behind the Pickle Darling moniker. “We took our little PS1 mascot and brought them to transcendence.”
“Violence Voyager” joins earlier singles “Human Bean Instruction Manual” and “Massive Everything” as a glimpse into Battlebots’ experimental, emotionally tangled world.
To mark the album’s release, Pickle Darling will play a short run of intimate in-store shows across Aotearoa, performing solo with just a guitar. Dates include September 5th at Slowboat Records in Wellington (4:30pm), September 6th at Flying Out in Auckland (2:00pm), and September 11th at Penny Lane Records in Christchurch.
The new music also follows the launch of Pickle Darling: The Game, a retro-inspired video game created with Shortal. In it, players explore a DIY pixel-art world in search of a lost album, soundtracked by 8-bit versions of Pickle Darling songs like “Bicycle Weather”, “King of Joy”, and “Invercargill Angel”.
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In 2003, Laundromat earned a spot on Rolling Stone AU/NZ’s list of the 80 Best New Zealand Albums of the Decade So Far.
“A cult artist on Bandcamp for years, Christchurch multi-instrumentalist Lukas Mayo finally progressed to the next stage in their career with Laundromat, a magical little album that showcases all the best qualities of their Pickle Darling project,” we wrote at the time. The album placed at No. 56 on the list.
Pickle Darling’s “Violence Voyager” is out now.
Pickle Darling Shows
Friday, September 5th
Slowboat Records, Wellington – 4.30pm
Saturday, September 6th
Flying Out, Auckland – 2.00pm
Thursday, September 11th
Penny Lane Records, Christchurch
