Nessa Barrett does not ease you in. The rising dark-pop force has released her new eight-track EP ‘Jesus Loves a Primadonna’ today on Warner Records, and it lands fully formed, immersive, and uncompromising. Alongside the EP comes the music video for “Buffalo 66,” a cinematic dark-fantasy love story starring The Neighbourhood’s Jesse Rutherford. Noirish rock, trip-hop textures, and Barrett’s deeply haunting vocals make this one of the most compelling releases of the year so far.
Barrett is clear about what drives the project. “Jesus loves a primadonna is all about love,” she says. “It’s beauty and demise. The villain origin story of every woman who has loved until she cannot love anymore.” That framing holds across all eight tracks, from the Western-tinged opener “West Coast Prayer” through the grunge-y surge of lead single “High On Heaven” to the heavy, bruised closer “Stay With Me.”
“Buffalo 66,” named after the 1998 cult film, sits at the project’s emotional core. Barrett wrote it after connecting with the film’s themes of Stockholm syndrome and toxic attachment. Over swooning guitars and searing strings, she captures the pull of a romance she knows she should leave. It is one of the EP’s most arresting moments, and there are several.
The EP was produced and co-written with Barrett’s go-to collaborators CJ Baran and Arthur Besna, the same team behind her celebrated second album ‘AFTERCARE’, which launched a 50-city world tour. Barrett has nearly 3 billion global streams to her name and over 27 million followers across social platforms. ‘Jesus Loves a Primadonna’ is the next chapter from one of music’s most fascinating emerging voices.
To celebrate the release, Barrett is playing a series of intimate shows in Los Angeles, Chicago, Brooklyn, and Toronto. The Los Angeles and Brooklyn dates are already sold out. Tickets for Chicago and Toronto are available now.
Jesus Loves a Primadonna Tracklist:
- “West Coast Prayer”
- “Moulin Rouge”
- “Black Haired Madonna”
- “Venom”
- “Buffalo 66”
- “High On Heaven”
- “Special To You”
- “Stay With Me”
Live Dates:
Apr. 03 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Forever Cemetery Masonic Lodge [SOLD OUT]
Apr. 04 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Forever Cemetery Masonic Lodge [SOLD OUT]
Apr. 07 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall
Apr. 09 – Brooklyn, NY – St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church [SOLD OUT]
Apr. 11 – Toronto, ON – Winter Garden Theatre