Wyldest releases new single 'Old Flame'. New album 'The Universe Is Loading' out 14th Nov

Wyldest today shares new single 'Old Flame' - the latest single from her newly announced album 'The Universe Is Loading' - out 14th November via Hand In Hive. 'Old Flame' follows the album's previous tasters 'All It Would Take Is A Phone Call' and 'After The Ending'.

Written after visiting California’s Sequoia National Park in the aftermath of wildfires, 'Old Flame' parallels nature’s cycles of destruction with human trauma. Opening like a spark on dry earth, guitars crash and shimmer while Wyldest’s voice cuts through the incandescent indie rock backdrop, pulling imagery from scorched forests and collapsing relationships, where destruction becomes the very condition for growth. The accompanying video, filmed in Connemara on Ireland’s west coast, follows Mead chasing (and ultimately releasing) a vision of her past self against the region’s surreal coastal landscapes.

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

"Old Flame was written after a small run of US shows, when I had the pleasure of visiting Sequoia National park in California. The forest fires had been running rife there and I learnt about the ecology of the area and how the trees up on the mountain grow to be the largest in the world. The trees there grow in a particular altitude and climate and the forest fires are natural to their ability to thrive in the environment. This got me thinking about trauma in the human world and how it could have the same natural tendency to occur and help with personal growth.

The song reflects on the loss of a relationship ‘I’m longing to be with you again’ and then jumps between the wider context of the turbulent environment our planet is currently in. It re-frames the idea of going through trauma as being natural and something we might (in hindsight) be able to embrace. The idea that you’re letting go of an old version of yourself and leaving it behind in a less progressive time, in order to develop and grow - much like the trees in Sequoia."

'Old Flame' provides another captivating teaser of Wyldest's most ambitious and rewarding full length to date, following 'All It Would Take Is A Phone Call' - a delicate meditation on familial estrangement - and last month's 'After The Ending' where Wyldest confronted the fragility of the human body, and explored love and bonds that transcend space and time.

Wyldest's new album 'The Universe Is Loading' is out 14th November digitally and on 12" vinyl via Hand In Hive, available to pre-order here. New single 'Old Flame' is out now. Wyldest embarks on a headline tour in support of the album, February 2026 - tickets are on sale now here.

More about The Universe Is Loading

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 11 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.

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 Indiependent, Scunthorpe
• 23 St Mary's, Chester
• 26 Voodoo Daddy's, Norwich

MARCH

• 13 Skipton Town Hall, Skipton