Lasca Dry returns this week with “Mad Heartbeat”, a hazy and hypnotic slow-burn that leans into romance, unease and the familiar fear of falling hard while knowing heartbreak may be waiting just around the corner. We’re thrilled to premiere the track and its beautiful accompanying video ahead of release on Friday, 9th October.
The Tasmanian-born, Perth-based alt-pop-rock artist has been steadily carving out a world of dreamy textures, raw vulnerability and soft-focus drama, and “Mad Heartbeat” feels like another confident step into that space. Produced and recorded by John Castle, the track is built around a ’70s-tinged atmosphere, brooding guitars and a quietly cinematic pulse, moving between tenderness and emotional urgency.
At its heart is that uneasy point where hope and self-preservation collide. Lasca repeatedly pleads for this new love not to be “bad like the others”, while the refrain circles around a more painful question: is she holding on to something the other person may simply never be able to give?
There’s a real vulnerability in the repetition. Each return to “one more time” feels less like surrender and more like someone trying to convince themselves that the next chance might finally be different.
Lasca explains:
“Mad Heartbeat is about searching for love and desperately not wanting to end up in another bad situation. You meet someone, you start falling, and there’s this little voice underneath it all saying, ‘please don’t be bad like the others.’ You want so badly to believe that this time will be different.
Then something happens that breaks that trust. But it’s not as simple as just walking away. You wait, you hope, there are promises that things will change, and somehow you find yourself falling all over again. There’s this fear that maybe the love you’ve been dreaming of is something this person will never be able to give you – but your heart is still holding on, asking them to give you a sign.”
“Mad Heartbeat” drifts between lush, 70s-tinged dream pop and the atmospheric alt-rock of Wolf Alice, balancing vulnerability and romance with a gently psychedelic edge. It’s the sound of someone trying to talk themselves into hope while already recognising the warning signs. Lasca Dry is carving out a distinctive space in Australian alt-pop, balancing dreamy textures with sharp emotional honesty.
The video was shot on an iPhone by photographer Kelly Hammond and edited by Lasca Dry herself. A proudly DIY affair filmed at South Arm near nipaluna/Hobart, Tasmania, it extends the dreamy, feminine and slightly surreal aesthetic surrounding her forthcoming debut EP, Time Keeps Drifting.
Enjoy our premiere of “Mad Heartbeat” from Lasca Dry.
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Photo credit: Kelly Hammond
