Chicago-based songwriter and producer ameokama (Crippling Alcoholism, Holy Taker, formerly Dreamwell) has released a new single called "energy vampire." The darkwave-inspired track is the first proper follow-up to her 2025 debut LP i will be clouds in the morning and rain in the evening, and was recorded, mixed, and mastered by the frontwoman herself at her own Nu House Studios, with drums tracked by Pete Grossman at Bricktop Recording.
The track is the first release from ameokama as a full band, featuring founder Aki McCullough on vocals, Nicholas Coughenour (What It Felt Like, As Serpents Drink Gold) on guitars, Emily Moore and Clementine Kee from Latter and Teeth Kids on guitars and bass, and Stephen Waller (Genital Shame, Slander) on drums.
The single, which McCullough describes as “a song about addiction to praise, approval, and sex through the lens of analog horror,” is far more darkwave than nu-metal, but the artist also promised the Agenda with a wink and a smile that her nu-metal influences “will be on a bunch of other songs on the album.” And for an artist with singles like 2025’s industrial-nu “phantom cock” and this year’s brilliant collaborative album with Connecticut noisecore act Varination, it’s safe to assume the upcoming ameokama album will feature plenty for us to talk about.
The song is accompanied by a music video filmed by Jane Cadogan, Eleanor O’Casaigh and Roxie Guryan from Eden Labrys. Take a look at the music video below:
