London-based international alt-pop newcomers The Deadmans are delighted to reveal the video for their debut single ‘Nice Kid’, set for release on 13th January 2026 via all good streaming services.
Written and recorded in Paris, London, Brooklyn, Silverlake (Los Angeles) and Brunswick Heads (Australia), drums on the album were recorded at Up Top Studios in St Albans, with additional production and mixing by Jake Black (Stereo Honey, Sletta) at can.b, and mastered by Ruairi O’Flaherty (Sabrina Carpenter, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Lana Del Rey) at Nomograph Mastering.
‘Nice Kid’ is a phenomenal opening salvo from the outfit—a groove driven, lo-fi cool sleeper hit about the emotional claustrophobia of being in the wrong rooms with the wrong people; an anthemic goodbye to meekness. It’s a ‘looking yourself in the eyes in the bathroom of a lame house party’ wake up call; a slightly drunk, mascara-smudged, panic attack; heels in hand, bare feet on pavement, running away before the door gets bolted shut.
Commenting on the track, lyricist LaurenSage Browning says: “I spent several years of my twenties trying to shapeshift myself to match the rooms I was in instead of breaking down the door and running to places where I could exist without all the magic tricks. When I was writing ‘Nice Kid’, a few of my lived experiences from being 24 in Los Angeles played on loop in my head. The first: sitting in a swanky Hollywood Hills office working as an executive assistant—staring at the air duct as shots of tequila were poured around me by middle aged men that smelled like tanning lotion—wishing my soul could be sucked out by that air duct and transported to a place that felt less like my antithesis.”
“The second: a visceral memory of doing dishes at a house party full of people I had no business knowing. Scrubbing their crumbs down the drain and feeling that moment was rather metaphoric to my own self dissolving. I was a well-mannered midwest kid who had to find my own ability to spit out what was not meant for me. Escaping the places that tried to dull me is what sharpened my teeth enough for me to actually eat my life, not just lick at it passively. Escaping mouse traps is a great way to realize you’re not a mouse afterall.”
The single comes with an official video made by Harry Deadman and LaurenSage Browning, with cinematography by Maximillian McKay, starring Nikki DeParis and featuring Becky Springer, Ann Davis, Sara Armer, Dawn Rottinghaus, and Crystal Perez. Color grading was done by Megan Lee at Electric Theatre Collective.
Commenting on the video Harry says: “The video takes the central theme of ‘Nice Kid’ (being mismatched with your environment) and digs into LaurenSage’s midwest roots, offering the opportunity to go back to our artistic origins and tell a story of escapism that acts as the inciting incident for the entire project. For maximum authenticity, we flew to LaurenSage’s hometown in Kansas to film the video on the streets that she grew up on. To establish a feeling of honesty, we opted for minimal production and to shoot on a VHS handycam to replicate the feel of 90s/2000s home videos.”
“The story is another version of the one told in the lyrics: someone is in the wrong place with the wrong people—the result is panic and suffocation of self. The feelings are narratively epitomized by a stuffy, hyper-feminine bridal shower thrown for Nikki, who was, naturally, out of place in such a scenario. Nikki’s need to escape is felt stronger with each lipstick-kiss on the cheek and sticky pink cupcake. Filled with forced enthusiasm, fake smiles, and the facade of celebration; the video evokes the same crisis that inspired the song.”
The Deadmans like it wordy and out of place. They define themselves with off-beat poetics, striking self-made Lynchian visuals full of contradicting forces, and a high concept alt-pop sound that feels like the emotional equivalent of smashing everything down and then crying to yourself about the pile of rubble you’ve created.
Formed as the result of three artists coming together to build a world that was equal parts sound and vision, the core band is comprised of Harry Deadman (British/Australian musician and filmmaker), LaurenSage Browning (American playwright and artist), and Nikki DeParis (American singer and actress).
Experimenting with band as performance art, the collective blur the line between artist and musician. While music is the nucleus of the work they create, they’ve built out an enthralling universe that they intend to continually expand through photography, design, installation, film, and print.
The group focus on process, with a deep belief in the value of analogue methods, obsessive attention to narrative detail, and not outsourcing any creative direction, styling, or design. Their collaborations are specific and close to their hearts, expanding the identity of the band to incorporate the artistic endeavours of their close friends Maximilian McKay and Jake Black.
Their work has a throughline of escapism and transience as the inciting incidents for finding honest joy, belonging, and purpose. Conceptualized while Harry and LaurenSage lived on the road for 2 years—hopping between cities and countries with a suitcase each—the art they created mirrored the life they were living: one of a controlled burn of everything they were in their mid twenties, in order to get back on track and become everything they wanted to be as children.
The Deadmans will be revealing further new music and very special live plans over the coming months.
