Wyldest announces new album and shares new single 'After The Ending', new album 'The Universe Is Loading' out 14th Nov

Wyldest today announces her new album 'The Universe Is Loading' - out 14th November via Hand In Hive. Alongside the announcement, she releases haunting and euphoric new single 'After The Ending'.

Following last month's delicate meditation on familial estrangement ('All It Would Take Is A Phone Call'), new single 'After The Ending' finds Wyldest confronting the fragility of the human body, and exploring love and bonds that transcend space and time, all amidst a haze of celestial indie-rock.

With its nods to simulation theory, ancient medicine, and the quiet terror of losing control, the song was written shortly after Wyldest received an endometriosis diagnosis. Opening with a reference to ‘trephining’ (an ancient practice of drilling holes in the skull to release evil spirits), it continues through sci-fi metaphors before arriving at its pivotal bridge refrain:

“I’ll look for you, if you seek me out there too... / In our past lives... I’d wait for you / If the time was on our side, We’re passing tides for the moment...”

Speaking more on the release of the new single, Wyldest said:

"'After the Ending' is a post-apocalyptic pop song, about sustaining love from one existence to the next; “The moment, we lost it / so I’ll find you, after the ending”. It was written with space and time in mind - a scenario whereby a relationship can’t exist in the present reality, perhaps due to life circumstances, timing, or something more extreme, like separation by death - and the promise of finding each other in a different existence where they can be there together.

"It’s very much influenced by surrealist films like ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’, ‘Big Fish’ and ‘The Matrix’ - where the protagonists break earthly, physical laws, cross through parallel universes or simulations to save or be with someone they love. Ultimately the song is about working through adversity to find love, and to fight to keep it alive."

The self-directed video for ‘After The Ending’ was filmed across the Thames Estuary, the quiet backstreets of southern Portugal, and the mountains of Zillertal, Austria. Blurring the line between digital futures and gothic pasts - a recurring tension throughout the new album - the video weaves together a visual narrative of portals and alternate realities, echoing the song’s themes of transformation and connection across time.

Her most expansive body of work yet, 'The Universe Is Loading' grapples with grief, transformation, and the systems (both personal and political) that attempt to contain us. The album presents an apocalyptic dreamworld inspired by sci-fi, gothic horror and romance, and the natural world’s ability to adapt and endure.

Across its 10 tracks, Zoë Mead (aka Wyldest) pours herself into her music more fully than ever before, with songs about illness ('After The Ending'), estrangement ('All It Would Take Is A Phone Call'), and resilience ('Wax Museum', 'Old Flame'). It’s a universe built from contradictions: dystopian yet hopeful, solitary yet deeply connected to the lives of others.

Written in the shadow of medical uncertainty and global violence, the album draws equally from the gothic horror of authors like Brontë and Angela Carter, as well as surrealist films and action/adventure video games such as The Last of Us, Zelda, and Skyrim. It also spirals into space-theory rabbit holes - parallel universes, AI, simulation theory - before grounding itself in something far more human, as she explains:

"It's ultimately an intense realisation that life and love doesn’t always go as planned and sometimes we need to take time to make sense and peace within the chaos."

Continuing her evolution as a vital and independent voice in alternative music - unafraid to examine uncomfortable truths through a lens of compassion and clarity, 'The Universe Is Loading' is a resolute and quietly magisterial step forward from an artist known for turning vulnerability into strength, and private feeling into shared catharsis.

To date, Wyldest (aka Zoë Mead) has released three full-length albums, her 2019 debut 'Dream Chaos', 2021's 'Monthly Friend', and 2022's 'Feed The Flowers Nightmares' - drawing universal acclaim from BBC 6 Music, The i, The Telegraph, DIY, Dork, CLASH, The Line of Best Fit, Our Culture, Nothing But Hope And Passion, GoldFlakePaint, amongst others.

Wyldest's new album 'The Universe Is Loading' is out 14th November digitally and on 12" vinyl via Hand In Hive. New single 'After The Ending' is out now. Wyldest embarks on a headline tour in support of the album February 2026 - tickets go on sale 27th August.

LIVE DATES 2026

FEB

05 Folklore, Brighton

07 The Waiting Room, London

12 Night & Day, Manchester

13 The Victoria, Birmingham

18 Three Tanners Bank, North Shields

20 PJ Molloys, Dunfermline

21 Cafe Independent, Scunthorpe

23 St Mary's, Chester

26 Voodoo Daddy's, Norwich

MARCH

13 Skipton Town Hall, Skipton