Image: Rick Clifford
Published: 14 February 2025

Naarm/Melbourne artist Merpire (real name Rhiannon Atkinson-Howatt) today returns with her new single ‘Premonition’, her first new music since she released her debut album Simulation Ride in 2021.

Described by Merpire as her “horniest song ever”, the song see Merpire allowing herself, and her listeners, permission to have “desire for desire” in a way she feels she has never had the opportunity to before, stating she was “too nervous to be obvious!” The song explores the deep feelings we endure at the beginning of a crush when your whole world seemingly revolves around that one person: ‘Nervous to even look at you now / In case you see yourself inside my head…When we hug it out / I get a premonition we are alone / And we fuck around’ she sings.

The infatuation in the lyrics are wrapped in a soundscape that includes the classic guitars and drums of indie alongside dreamy synths and subtle electronic beats. Merpire’s flexible, gorgeous vocals wrap themselves around you as she expertly emotes the shyness, doubt, hope and desire of liking someone intensely but not knowing if anything will ever become of it.

"I was reading my first fantasy novel at the time, ‘The Name Of The Wind’ by Patrick Rothfuss,” Merpire says of creating the song. “The lyrics and scene-building of this song were inspired by the main-character in the novel and the way they felt about another character. The honest detail is achingly relatable. It got me thinking about the most intense moments of a crush. The lyrics just flowed from there, but it was a hard song to produce - it sounded like two different songs for a while. We kept at it and eventually James magically and skilfully sewed elements together to sound the way I was visualising the scene - kind of stalky, woozy and dramatic."

Also out today is the music video for ‘Premonition’. Self-directed by Merpire and shot during a lightning storm in tropical Queensland, the visuals capture the turmoil of emotions in the song - Merpire is seen being open but also hiding behind foliage, and the intensity and unpredictably of the feelings are reflected in the storm.

Merpire has been releasing music for close to a decade and has received support from BBC Radio 1, NME and Triple J amongst others and has achieved over one million streams on Spotify alone. With a queer, all-femme live band her live concerts are incredibly special experiences moving between her intimate ballads and upbeat indiepop tunes. An important artist who never fails to create music that moves you, the return of Merpire is an event to be celebrated with the hope of more music to come from her in 2025.

‘Premonition’ is out now. You can buy and stream here.
Follow Merpire on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.

Live shows
5 March - Brunswick Music Festival - At The Altar Of Us with Ruby Gill + Porpoise Spit **SOLD OUT**
brunswickmusicfestival.com.au