Ashnikko announces “sexy, playful and feminine” second album ‘Smoochies’ with lively single ‘Trinkets’

Ashnikko has announced details of a “sexy, playful and feminine” sophomore album called ‘Smoochies’. Check out the new single ‘Trinkets’ and newly shared tour dates below.

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Announced today (August 14), the new record will be the first from the pop star since the hit debut album ‘WEEDKILLER’, which arrived back in 2023. Titled ‘Smoochies’, the sophomore release will be shared on October 17, and is available to pre-order here.

To celebrate the announcement, Ashnikko has dropped the latest preview of the album – the elaborate new track called ‘Trinkets’.

In the song, the Pop disruptor challenges the trends of minimalism and ‘clean girl aesthetics’ by leaning into maximalism and unapologetic self-expression. The track sees the singer turn casual dating into a form of art; collecting men like souvenirs, all on top of a poptastic beat.

It also comes with a new music video, which perfectly captures the chaotic and colourful vibe of the track. Directed by Léa Esmaili, the visuals give us access to Ashnikko’s candy-coloured world.

“My little princess boys, love being trinkets, hanging off my bag, looking up at me with smiles on their faces, swinging as I walk,” the artist said of the track. Check it out below.

Consisting of 15 tracks, ‘Smoochies’ is expected to be Ashnikko’s most personal body of work yet – expanding the sound established on ‘WEEDKILLER’ and seeing the lyricist take a more autobiographical approach to songwriting.

“‘Smoochies’ feels like Demidevil’s older sister. It’s sexy, playful, and feminine, while toeing the line of grotesque and absurd,” Ashnikko said. “I feel like purse sediment so much of the time – like a mess of crumbs and gum in receipts and lipgloss that I’ve forgotten about – so the album feels like that too.

“This is the first where I’ve written very autobiographically, but at the core of it all is personal autonomy and joyful whimsy.”

Visit here to pre-order the second album.

Along with the album announcement and new single, Ashnikko is also hitting the road again next year for a handful of live shows. These all take place in February 2026 and include various stops around the UK and Ireland.

Dates kick off on February 11 at Glasgow’s O2 Academy, and continue with stops in Manchester, Dublin and London.

Ashnikko’s 2026 tour dates are:

FEBRUARY
11 – Glasgow, O2 Academy
14 – Manchester, Manchester Academy
17 – Dublin, 3Olympia
20 –London, O2 Academy Brixton

Tickets go on sale from August 21 at 10am BST, and pre-sale options will be on offer from August 19. Visit here for tickets and more information.

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Earlier this year, Ashnikko – who identifies as genderqueer and pansexual, and uses both she/her and they/them pronouns – spoke to NME about the lead single from ‘Smoochies’, ‘Itty Bitty‘, a song she wrote about her “itty bitty, teeny tiny, little slutty skirt” because wearing it makes her feel “powerful”.

“‘Itty Bitty’ is about the mysterious, nebulous, exciting space that comes after a breakup,” said the North Carolina-born, London-based performer, who split from her girlfriend in 2024. “It’s about the erotic possibility of what could happen on a night out with your friends, which I find very, very exciting, especially as we move into summer and the sun comes out and the blossoms bloom.”

Explaining how album two differs from the debut record, the singer added: “I think that a lot of my music in the past was very, very fantastical – it felt like I was kind of stepping into this character, this stage persona. And now I feel, frontal lobe fully developed, I kind of am my stage persona. So the music itself is reflecting that: it feels a lot more autobiographical. This music reads more as diary entries.

“It reads more as conversations with friends. You know when the girls go out for dinner and we’re just talking about the most graphic, heinous shit of all time,” Ashnikko added. “Like the other night, I went out with my girls and we were just talking about anal for like an hour, but [while] eating the most gorgeous meal. [The music] is kind of that conversation with girls.”

The post Ashnikko announces “sexy, playful and feminine” second album ‘Smoochies’ with lively single ‘Trinkets’ appeared first on NME.