Molly Payton shrugs off the clichés on “Ruins”

On her latest single "Ruins," New Zealand's Molly Payton channels feelings of uncertainty and frustration amid a rocky period for her mental health into a fizzing ball of indie rock energy. There's a sense of working things out in real time to the song that rubs alongside its pop-leaning hooks and buzzy guitars, all of which mark Payton as a peer of the likeminded Arlo Parks and Beabadoobee, both of whom she has supported on tour.

"Ruins" forms part of Payton's new EP Compromise, a collection of songs she wrote during an endurance-testing move to London in which she ended up moving house 20 times in little over six months. While her world was in flux, Payton's ability to turn experience into memorable songs remained consistent. The EP, out now, features the previous singles "Handle" and "Do It All The Same" and acts as the follow-up to 2021 mixtape Slack.

Speaking to The FADER via email, Payton says: "It’s funny because usually there’s always a struggle with a song to get it to a point where you feel happy putting it out, especially when you take in to account the visuals and everything. 'Ruins' just worked from the beginning. I usually find the video process pretty stressful, but even shooting this music video was a joy. I’m in New Zealand at the moment and we decided to just drive up north to the director Taylor’s holiday place with absolutely no plan. We cooked dinner and danced around and drove around the coast, basically stopping whenever we felt like it and only shooting what felt fun and natural. It was a genuinely happy weekend for everyone involved and I think you can feel that in the video."