Having been lucky enough to catch an early glimpse of this snappy new track at our Alternative Escape showcase just a matter of weeks ago, superstar-in-the-making Katy J Pearson unleashes 'Alligator' with a wonderfully garish video, directed by the gruesome eye of Edie Lawrence. Razor-sharp beats and a meandering, reptilian bass line create a menacing soundscape for Pearson's candid lyricism and attitude-heavy delivery. Turning a negative into a positive, she explains: "I wrote this track with Dan Carey at his Streatham studio. The day we did so I was having the worst morning ever; I was really stressed as I had a £500 electric bill that I had to pay. I burst into tears at the studio and from that feeling, the song just surfaced from all my anxieties. The lyrics are quite literal and were born from the idea of dissociation when experiencing anxiety. The chorus note ‘it felt just like a dream, and it keeps on happening’ refers to when you are really stressed, things just don’t seem real. There is this juxtaposition between the lyrics and the soaring chorus which is quite euphoric – it’s quite tongue in cheek and I like that about it." Visually representing the message of the song, Lawrence places Pearson in a custom-built cardboard cafe, where nothing is quite as it seems. The boldly surreal video features a little too much manic bean shovelling (for our liking) and a literal shrinking room as well as a cameo from esteemed actor Paul McGann, famed for his role in the 80s black comedy Withnail and I. Watch it here now. -Holly Mullineaux