Tanners Releases Her 80’s Ballad ‘Fumes’

Releasing a handful of singles, the Tennessee-turned-New Yorker gets heartfelt after releasing the visuals to her cosmic single ‘Venus’. Drawing from expansive, otherworldly pop, Tanners has carved a unique sound resonant of a psychedelic Sky Ferreira.

A marker of the beginning of her career as a songwriter, Tanners was introduced to her long-term collaborators Mike MacAllister and Julie Hardy (Donna Missal) in 2016 with ‘Fumes’ as the reference song before the first recording session: “I fell in love with the song from the moment I heard it and it was stuck in my head for years.” Working alongside Mike, Julie and co-writer Mike Campbell, she reproduced the track.

Floating between glittering electro-pop to a slick guitar groove, ‘Fumes’ is a perfect demonstration of Tanners’ incorporation of retro influences combined with modern sounds, creating a more complex sonic landscape.

Inspired by 80’s ballads, Tanners claims that ‘Fumes’ is her ‘prom song’: “My goal was to pay homage to these sparkly, nostalgic, almost melancholy productions,” referencing songs such as Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Time After Time’.

Contrasting the intimate, serious feel of the track, Tanners has created visuals inspired by a high-school prom. She explains: “It was hands down the most fun I’ve ever had shooting. We came up with six different high school tropes and had these over the top, campy characters lip-sync the track.”

As a queer artist, it feels fitting for Tanners to release her new single during the celebration that is Pride month, creating limited edition merchandise, including t-shirts that read “I saw Tanners and now I’m gay”.

Having featured in the campaign video for the Puma X Shantell Martin collaboration, Tanners’ aesthetic is just as striking as her sound, her love of vintage and costume clothing permeating the visuals for ‘Fumes’.

Tilly McCarthy
Photo: Sam Livm

Another glittering pop track from Tanners, ‘Fumes’ and it’s visuals are available on all online platforms from 20th June.