lucky break shares new version of "Head Down" with Melissa Auf der Maur (Hole, Smashing Pumpkins) out now
LUCKY BREAK
SHARES NEW VERSION OF "HEAD DOWN"
FEATURING MELISSA AUF DER MAUR
(HOLE, SMASHING PUMPKINS)
DEBUT ALBUM MADE IT!
OUT NOW VIA FIRE RECORDS–LISTEN
MIXED & MASTERED BY GRAMMY-NOMINATED ENGINEER
JESSICA THOMPSON (MARGO GURYAN, X-CETRA, ERROLL GARNER)
LIVE U.S. DATES WITH MAISY OWEN NEXT MONTH–SEE DATES
Today, San Francisco via New York City indie rock artist lucky break shares a new version of "Head Down" joined by acclaimed musician Melissa Auf der Maur (Hole, Smashing Pumpkins) out now with a matching music video.
The artist's debut album, made it! is out now via Fire Records. Next month, lucky break will continue to tour across select U.S. cities, including tonight in Los Angeles and select dates with Nashville artist Maisy Owen. See all dates below and find more information here.
"Head Down" is a bright and lush guitar-forward exploration of the illusion of innocence that allows one to look the other way and the desire for instant gratification. As a longtime Auf der Maur fan, lucky break says, "Melissa’s work has been such an important source of inspiration and influence for me, since my early childhood. Having her on this project is a tremendous honor. I look up to her in so many ways: for her artistry, her voice, and her fierce advocacy for justice. I am just exceptionally grateful for her support and so, so excited to have her on this version of the song."
Auf der Maur is thrilled to join lucky break on the re-imagined version of the track, adding, “Emma’s whimsical commitment to discover the pure relationship between her voice, her words and her guitar, is reminiscent of my own generation of women, coming of age enveloped in sound.”
LISTEN: "Head Down" (feat. Melissa Auf der Maur)
The simple, stop-motion accompanying video features lucky break's signature, original illustrations, inspired by 2010s YouTube videos. The artist shares, "I drew a picture of Melissa and mailed it to her not too long ago — she had the idea of incorporating it into a video somehow. She sent a photo of the picture I’d mailed her and I used it to create some stop motion effects. This video is inspired by the “bullying story time” videos that girls used to do in the early days of the internet, which really entranced me when I was 11 or 12. These videos were one of the first major ways young women started talking about their mental health online, so I wanted to pay tribute to that moment in time and the effect it had on me."
WATCH: "Head Down" (feat. Melissa Auf der Maur) Official Video
On the significance of the project, lucky break adds, "This whole project ties back to my early tween years in a really beautiful way — it marries my childhood obsession with Hole and grunge, as well as those strange corners for girls on the internet. It’s sort of about the dark feminine in that way, and — I suppose — the power that comes from that discovery in yourself. It feels really full circle and I am just so happy to have the opportunity to share it with others!"
In support of the original version, Clash Magazine wrote the track, “channels 90s indie pop bliss..'Head Down’ taps into the blossoming energies of Spring, a neat guitar pop ode that is wrapped in 90s sheen." Vanyaland added, “Lucky break floats an alt ’90s disillusion on ‘Head Down..a hazy new alt-rock single..it feels like a time capsule, both visual and aural.."
KEXP wrote the debut record is“..a compelling set of introspective indie rock with tinges of folk and bedroom pop..'made it!' features heart-on-her-sleeve, diaristic lyrics delivered through her emotive vocals and hook-filled arrangements, making for a deeply endearing debut.”
WATCH: "Pictures of Herself" (Official Video)
The debut project by lucky break began when the musician fell in love for the first time and moved abroad to teach English. After getting ghosted and getting sick, she was heartbroken and confined to her bedroom where eleven heartfelt tracks became her first proper collection of songs. Lucky break says, "'made it!' captures my life from 19 to 23 as I was going through major transitions, finding my inner compass and figuring out how to live in alignment with my values."
LISTEN: made it!
Produced by Grammy-nominated engineer Jessica Thompson (Margo Guryan, X-Cetra, Erroll Garner) and with friend and co-producer Elliott Woodbridge, lucky break drew from the sounds of her childhood. The musician adds, "I solidified the sound of the record by blending everything I grew up listening to–from pop music and country music–and inspiration from 90s alternative indie like Pavement and Fiona Apple to Lucinda Williams, John Prine and Joni Mitchell found their way into the album as well."
WATCH: "Head Down" (Official Video)
lucky break is a musical project that captures the vast range of emotions–joy, fear, sadness, hope and everything in between–that come with young adulthood. In addition to music, lucky break adds her own illustrations to all of her album and tour artwork, including a limited edition zine and sticker pack, as she crafts a vibrant, whimsical world that is solely her own.
The debut record, made it!, by lucky break is out now via Fire Records. Catch lucky break live this summer with dates and information here. Connect with the musician on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok for more.
LUCKY BREAK LIVE 2026
Jul. 10 - Vinyl Tap, Nashville, TN*
Jul. 11 - Haven Haus, Memphis, TN*
Jul. 12 - Birmingham Mountain Radio, Birmingham, AL*
Jul. 13 - Flicker Theatre, Athens, GA*
Jul. 14 - Golden Folk, Grey Eagle, Asheville, NC*
Jul. 15 - Horizon Records, Greenville, SC*
Jul. 16 - Old Records Off The Shelf, Four Oaks, NC*
Jul 17 - School Kids Records, Raleigh, NC*
Jul 18 - Grey Eagle, Asheville, NC*
*w/ Maisy Owen
ABOUT LUCKY BREAK
Nurtured on 90's alternative indie, lucky break's music melds the emotionality of Fiona Apple, the wide-eyed wonder of Bedouine and Americana alt-rock of Lucinda Williams. Appealing to enthusiasts of Alvvays, Hole, Phoebe Bridgers and The Breeders, Melissa Auf der Maur has notably been an early supporter of her work. lucky break is where you put all of your dreams. lucky break is a cartoon character, hand - drawn from the pages of a zine. lucky break is a girl with a guitar. lucky break lives inside of a portal, another planet, a different dimension. She can be very very sad and very very joyful. She is an ever–expanding container for all of the different feelings you get when you make art. How it sometimes
feels hard and scary and how other times it can be liberating, funny, ecstatic.
On her debut for Fire Records, made it!, lucky break builds a whole new world for her character to inhabit. Norman Records says, “A sharp, emotionally open indie debut that captures early-twenties uncertainty with wit, warmth and melodic bite.”
made it! is a collection of songs that she wrote between the ages of 19 and 23. You know, the years where everything happens. She’s now 24 (a Libra/Scorpio cusp). The songs document the uncertainty and not knowing that comes from being old enough to no longer really be a teenager, but young enough where the future feels immensely vast and scary and exciting, basically all of the time. made it! is also the story of the dissolution of a first big romantic relationship, and the story of a young woman learning to
stand up for herself and find her voice in every aspect of her life.
Mixed and mastered by Grammy-nominated Jessica Thompson (Margo Guryan, X-Cetra, Erroll Garner). To create made it!, she worked together with Elliott Woodbridge, her friend and co-producer. The two recorded out of a studio in Burbank, next to the train tracks. They did all of the instrumentation together. lucky break did all of the acoustic guitar. Woodbridge did everything else. At the end of recording, maybe even on the last day, she saw Tony Hawk at a nearby Taco Bell. It was, she says, a good omen for the record. made it! is a record that is as miraculous as seeing Tony Hawk while you’re eating your Crunch Wrap. It is a playful, self-assured, and self-actualized piece of music from a young person who has more than found her voice. “Music gave me a guide and something to move towards,” says lucky break. Consider made it! one big step into that big bright future.
- Sophie Kemp
CONNECT WITH LUCKY BREAK
Instagram | Bandcamp | YouTube | TikTok
Photo credit: Addie Briggs
