Music

Slacker-Pop Newcomer Melanie Baker Laughs In The Face Of Expectation On New Single “HAHA!”

Jun 13, 2026

Melanie Baker is having the last laugh. The Newcastle-based slacker-pop specialist has shared her new track “HAHA!,” the latest reveal from her debut album ‘Somebody Help Me, I’m Being Spontaneous!,’ out now via cult Danish indie label Tambourhinoceros.

Flipping the script on feeling stuck, “HAHA!” turns the Truman Show gaze of social norms into liberation, riding a mischievous wave of momentum. It builds toward a chorus driven by a signature guitar line and Baker’s gleeful chant of “HAHA!,” laughing straight at expectation. The playful, confident indie-rock offering digs deeper into her trademark style, sharpened by witty lyrics and magnetic vocals.

Baker is candid about what the song means to her. “I’m not trying to be liked anymore. This song is literally me laughing in the face of my oppressor. It’s a middle finger to anyone who tries to deny you the right to be yourself,” she explains. “I’ve found so much freedom and liberation in allowing myself to be silly and have fun again despite living in a world that still doesn’t want to accept Queer joy. I stopped masking my own emotions and let myself feel fully. Suddenly after many years of not knowing who I was, I felt like I was looking in the mirror and seeing myself for the first time.”

Recorded in a small, feverish cabin in rural Wales, the album is a wily exercise in cartoon realism, tapping into grunge, glam, riot grrrl, and indie rock inflections throughout. Baker has earned early plaudits across the press landscape and major support from BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 1, and KEXP, and she’s already shared stages with the likes of Maximo Park and The Wytches. It’s a riotous, magnetic debut from one of the year’s most exciting new voices.

Melanie Baker LP Tracklisting: