Cailin Russo Releases New Single GNARLY With Visualizer
The GRAMMY-nominated songwriter's track arrives via 10k Projects amid a surge in streaming numbers for her hit Bad Things.
Los Angeles-based artist and GRAMMY-nominated songwriter Cailin Russo has released a new track titled 'Gnarly,' produced with Vadakin (Grimes, Cobrah, fakemink) via 10k Projects.
'Gnarly' follows previous single 'X On My Chest' – a grimy, 'Daddy AF' / early Slayyyter-esque track – and slows things down another notch. 'Gnarly' is a lightly sun-dappled, low-light, falsetto-laden slow jam. It's something you'd put on when you're sad in the car on the backroads. It's filthy; the beat gets dragged in some dirt, but wears the tear well. 'Baby don't you know i'm a scavenger.... I'm all or nothing don't want nothing in between.' Cailin supplicates clearly.
Of the track, Cailin says, ''Gnarly' was born from four years of romanticizing a mysterious man I couldn't look away from, my muse, and the inspiration behind the world of the song. We knew the sonic direction we wanted to explore, and as the music came together and our relationship unfolded, I became completely intertwined with the story we were creating. There was something intoxicating about the mystery, the danger, the allure, and the feeling of being drawn toward someone so decisively that I could surrender to the fantasy completely. I fell deeper into the romance of it: the sound, the feeling, the possibility until infatuation slowly blurred into love. Musically, it's an uprooting of symphonies and millennial hip-hop, melancholy, longing, and obsession: a love story built from following a feeling with no destination, trusting the fantasy enough to let it carry me onward.'
With this track and on all things to come later this year, Cailin continues to experiment with genre, swinging to this darker basement corner of things from previous ventures into upbeat indie rock (see her viral hit 'Bad Things,' the single took off last year when it prominently featured on Heated Rivalry's closing scene; it's since taken up residence in Spotify's Viral 50 Chart), the entrancing trip-hop pulse reminiscent of Portishead of 'I Can't Help You Now' and the American Cowboy/John Denver-inspired 'Take Me Home' from her previous ep, DON'T. Across all aspects of Cailin's sound, her distinct energy and ability to connect with her longtime fans remains.
The visualizer is a continuation of the world built for 'X On My Chest' (featuring longtime friends Siiickbrain and Agnes Azria).
With the influx of millions of new listeners (290% increase in total streams on Spotify, 380% increase on Apple, 1400% increase in Shazams, and millions of views on socials) appearances atop various charts (Spotify Viral 50, Billboard Emerging Artists, Shazam Most Viral), a grindr collab, and the attendant viral TikTok explanation, the surprise success of 'Bad Things' has served as a table-setter for a year of artistic reinvention.
This overdue notoriety is just the latest twist in an artistic career that has continually defied convention. Cailin's own distinct projects — including her debut House with a Pool and the restlessly inventive INFLUX — have allowed her to take her combination of pop futurism, and punk poise to top festivals (Lollapalooza, Reading & Leeds) and on tour with Shygirl and Madison Beer. She's recently been featured in Vogue, Wonderland, & more for her hand in the fashion side of things.
Her one-offs have had fascinating ripple effects: In 2025, her song 'Triple It' became a TikTok sensation, with the likes of Julia Fox, Ellie Goulding, Adéla, and Suki Waterhouse all posting videos of themselves singing along. In 2021, she grabbed a GRAMMY nomination as a co-writer on Kanye West and The Weeknd's 'Hurricane.' She'll also play a few select dates supporting JMSN next month.
Cailin was already on the radar of pop luminaries like Rosalía, Slayyyter, and Addison Rae, but with the explosion of interest around 'Bad Things,' 2026 is looking like a level-up year for an artist whose marriage of pop sensibility, imperious attitude, and genre-fluid sonics is ready for the moment.
Cailin Russo Live: Supporting JMSN
9/22 – The Whirling Tiger – Louisville, KY
9/23 – Off Broadway – St. Louis, MO
9/24 – The Vanguard – Tulsa, OK
Photo Credit: David Simon-Dayan
Photo Credit: David Simon-Dayan
