Press Play: Skullcrusher Shares New Single "Dragon"

Skullcrusher—aka Helen Ballentine—has announced her second album And Your Song Is Like a Circle, out October 17 via Dirty Hit, and shared its third single “Dragon.” The track’s murky, piano-led pop and gritted percussion channel the weight of dissociation and the struggle to pull oneself back to earth. Ballentine describes the song as a meditation on protection and vulnerability, drawing imagery from Spirited Away to capture that tension. Alongside the single, she’s scheduled an intimate show at New York’s Night Club 101 on October 6 (tickets on sale September 12 at 10 a.m. ET).

Building on the intimate textures of her 2022 debut Quiet the Room, And Your Song Is Like a Circle finds Ballentine weaving together elegant folk and crystalline electronics, landing somewhere between Grouper’s ambient dreamscapes and Julia Holter’s avant-pop. Written during a period of isolation after leaving Los Angeles for her native Hudson Valley, the album grapples with grief, relocation, and the evaporative nature of creative work. It’s both heavier and more expansive than her debut, tracing the ghost of experiences too dense to fully capture.

Listen to "Dragon" now below.