Step into the murky depths of Holy Wars’ new single ‘Born Dark’, in which alt-pop melodies and sturdy rock instrumentation collide together in a whirlwind of danger and chaos. Fronted by Kat Leon alongside collaborator Nicolas Perez, this Los Angeles outfit pay homage to their shadow shelves in this suitably gloomy and yet cathartic single, characterised by synth stabs, war-like drums and Leon’s domineering vocals. The song itself is “a response to all the times I was asked why I couldn’t write a happy song,” as Leon explains further, “I have always been inspired by pain as there is such a beautiful romance in a heartbreak.” She connects some of this instinctive attraction to darkness to growing up in a household where her mother was a Tarot reader, and so this shadowy world was very much a part of the artist’s everyday. It’s a song for being unafraid of yourself, even the parts not considered bright and shiny by society, because for some listeners, they too, were born dark. - Hannah Thacker