ARXX Unveil 'Crying In The Carwash'

Brighton power duo ARXX are back with a bang today sharing their first single of the year, 'Crying In The Carwash', a pounding synth-driven tune out via Submarine Cat Records.

The song premiered last night on Clara Amfo's BBC Radio 1 show, and next month, they embark on an exciting EU and UK tour, where they'll be supporting coveted American popstar Fletcher. Buy tickets here.

It's every artist's dream to support one of their musical heroes. This song, produced by long-term collaborator Steven Ansell (Blood Red Shoes) and mastered by Katie Tavini (Arlo Parks), is a celebration of when that exact fantasy came to life for them. ARXX fondly and lightheartedly recount the memory that inspired the track, sharing, "Crying in the Carwash is about the moment we found out we'd be supporting one of our favourite bands in the world, MUNA, and Hanni cried at the nice man in the Car Wash."

They continue, "It's a celebration of your dreams coming true and making all the hard parts worth it. Being in a band isn't always glamorous and you have to sacrifice a lot but when these moments happen it's like a high you've never experienced. Pure joy."

The song comes paired with an outrageously hilarious and playful video filmed by Rosie Powell. ARXX can be seen advertising a queer friendly car wash, where Hanni skillfully spins a 'CARWASH' sign, and Clara dresses to the nines in an inflatable dancing Tube Man costume. They're later joined by friends, including previous collaborator crysometimes, to parody a sexy auto cleaning service, featuring wet translucent white shirts, body scrub downs with sponges, over the top sultriness and exaggerated flirting with both the vehicle and the camera.

The last year has been a whirlwind for the band, both professionally and personally. 2023 saw them release their debut album Ride or Die, a crystalline display of masterful musicianship, frankness and queer love, play a stream of incredible live shows supporting Yungblud, MUNA, Gaz Coombes and The Vamps, and made appearances at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend, 2000 Trees, London Pride and The Great Escape.

Not only that, they dominated the radio, scoring not one, but two Hottest Records on Clara Amfo's BBC Radio 1 show, as well as joining Chris Hawkins on BBC Radio 6 Music for a Cloudbusting session.

November saw the duo share a reimagined rendition of their song 'Baby Uh Huh' in collaboration with trans collective charity We Exist, featuring ten of their talented friends, such as CLT DRP, Cherym, Phoebe Green and more. Last month, they shared a spectacular live version of the collaboration recorded at BBC's Maida Vale.

Queerness has always been at the forefront of ARXX's musical makeup. In November, Hanni opened up about their gender identity, coming out as non-binary on the band's socials, sharing that they were "still figuring it out, but right now they/ them pronouns feel good".

The highs of sharing their true self, however, have recently been overshadowed by a stressful health crisis. Struggling to sing comfortably, they went to the doctors and discovered they had developed a polyp in their throat, leading them to unfortunately cancel upcoming live shows until April in order to have a surgery to remove it, a surgery in which completely renders them from speaking or singing for two whole weeks during the healing process, giving them only a mere few weeks to rehearse for upcoming shows - a performers nightmare, especially before a month and a half long EU/UK run of shows. ARXX have, however, assured fans on their Instagram that they will be on all Fletcher shows from day one of the tour.

Nonetheless, hurdles and obstacles are no match for the tour de force that is ARXX. Resilient, ambitious and brimming with positivity, with the trajectory they're on, the only way is up.

UK & Ireland Tour Dates:

01/05 - Birmingham, O2 Academy*

02/05 - Manchester, O2 Victoria Warehouse*

03/05 - Glasgow, O2 Academy*

09/05 - Newcastle, O2 City Hall*

10/05 - Bristol, O2 Academy*

12/05 - London, Eventim Apollo*

13/05 - London, Eventim Apollo*

15/05 - Dublin, 3Olympia Theatre*

16/05 - Dublin, 3Olympia Theatre*

*supporting Fletcher

Photo credit: Ciara Mulligan

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