Exploded View vocalist Anika shared her first new song since 2013, “Finger Pies.” She also signed with Sacred Bones Records and revealed that the new single is just the first new music she’ll be releasing this year.

“Finger Pies” uses a repetitive bass line to build a mesmerizing atmosphere as Anika repeats the lyrics, “Some may say that you are/Only interested in one thing/That’s to get your own way/That’s to get your own way,” alternating with stretches of spoken word. The drum rhythm becomes bolder as the song builds, joined by blasts of low brass, synths and ambient guitar riffs.

The music video was directed by Anika in collaboration with Sven Gutjahr, who has also worked on videos for Versace and Holly Herndon. It showcases Anika’s sense of fashion as she lip-syncs the lyrics, with the architecture and passing vehicles of Berlin as a backdrop. Around the climax, she meets a man on the roof of one of the buildings who gives her a wooden box which she later buries.

Anika explains the song with a description of the feelings behind it, “A song that never had a name, like an artist that never had a face. Caught between roles, a jack of all trades, she slips between your fingers like a moment that never was, or was it? So many faces tailored to a myriad of occasions. Walls built between ourselves and the outside world. For protection. Passes grant access to another level. So where are you at? Those with all the keys, please remember, access comes with responsibility. Yet responsibility has been lost, like tissue paper in the rain, a battle without rules, to save face, exploit weakness, to save getting slayed, by the faceless generation. Welcome to the world of ‘Finger Pies.’”

In simpler words, she called it “a moment caught in time” that arose from trying to make art out of the feelings she experienced due to the global pandemic. She didn’t announce any more details on other songs she wrote during quarantine.

Anika released her debut self-titled album in 2010, introducing her brand of minimalistic post-punk to the world. She followed it up with an EP in 2013 that was also called Anika. She formed Exploded View after that while in Mexico in 2015. The 2016 Exploded View self-titled took her solo style in a more psychedelic direction and their 2018 sophomore album Obey took her style in a quirkier direction. Still, she remains most well-known for her solo songs, including “I Go To Sleep,” “In the City” and “He Needs Me.”

Photo credit: Pamela Lin