Dublin noise merchant Cruel Sister, aka Faith Nico, returns with new single ‘XOXO’ her first new music since her rather good ‘Turgid’ EP was released in September 2023. ‘XOXO’ finds Cruel Sister mixing elements of ’90s grunge, shoegaze, together with obvious nods to the likes of PJ Harvey, My Bloody Valentine, and Sonic Youth.

Never one to shy away from social issues the track finds Cruel Sister exploring the disparity of expectations placed upon men and women in the music industry.

 “‘XOXO’ explores the pressures female musicians face to conform to unrealistic beauty and behaviour standards. The song embodies frustration with societal expectations, touching on self-doubt, insecurity, and the industry’s shallow biases, while critiquing how women in music are judged more harshly than men.”

Having recently sold-out Whelan’s and drawing a massive crowd at Dingle’s Other Voices in November, ‘XOXO’ sees Cruel Sister set out her stall for the next phase of her career where she’ll be aiming to forge her early promise into a fully-fledged career.