Rising indie rock star meg elsier makes a powerful return with her new single “sportscar [scrapped],” the lead single from the deluxe edition of her acclaimed debut album spittake, out July 25th via Bright Antenna Records.
A sleek, emotionally charged indie pop track with alt-rock undercurrents, “sportscar [scrapped]” fuses crisp guitar textures, shimmering synths, and a driving rhythm. The song unfolds from quiet introspection into a soaring, energetic chorus, mirroring the emotional acceleration alluded to in its title. Hook-laden, heartfelt, and tailor-made for late-night drives, “sportscar [scrapped]” captures the weight of growing pains with poetic clarity.
“‘sportscar’ is a really interesting addition to the deluxe, specifically because ‘spittake’ almost had a completely different identity,” meg reveals. “There was a time when I was playing with the idea of naming the album Check Engine Light On. The influence of cars and how they move you through life is something I didn’t realize was so important to ‘spittake’ until after I’d written it.”
She continues, “I was really identifying with my beat-up car my mother gave me. It was this thing handed to me that I treated like shit… But that kinda was my life at the time. Something that was shiny and fast, a veneer; but if you checked under the hood, it was burning out. The oil was dark, and the engine was smoking. I would dye my hair (new paint job), get dolled up (took her to the car wash), and perform so well socially when I went out (that V8 engine purring, baby), but that was all it was. I had a coming-to moment like, ‘This isn’t sustainable and I’m about to crash out.'”
The single arrives alongside a live visual—an ambitious, theatrical performance video crafted with her longtime collaborator Jacq Justice. Together, they reimagined what a “live” performance could be, building a stylized world that blends stagecraft with raw energy. “Why can’t a fucking rock show be theatre? Why can’t it be camp?” meg asks. “Why does it have to live in reality to be real?”
