REVENGE WIFE – Alien Witch

Today, Revenge Wife – the fearless solo project of HOLYCHILD frontwoman Liz Nistico – has released her highly anticipated debut album Alien Witch.

Featuring 12 tracks, each corresponding with a different zodiac sign (used less as astrology and more as Jungian archetypes),  the album journeys toward finding the balance between escapism and feeling – reckoning with the human experience, her relationships, and how life is shifting in the wake of technological advances to deliver a powerfully human and unfiltered piece of art.

The album was written entirely by Nistico herself and also marks her first foray into production – having produced the entire album herself,  save one song. Inspired by the Cardigans and the Voidz, the album is a sonic shift that explores off-kilter melodies and fun instrumentation that pushes boundaries. The album’s final track is an 11-minute science fiction short story that captures the ultimate theme of the album: it’s not our fault.

On the album, Nistico shares:

I can finally look back at the past 10 years and feel grateful, and that took a lot of work. I want to say everything and show how it’s been messy and uncertain, but that’s what the album is for.

To make art is to connect with yourself, and connecting with yourself is the essence of existence. I’m healing, I’m growing, I’m meditating in the mornings to be more loving and give light to people I know. I’m at the crystal shop looking at the aura quartz. I’m pulling the 8 of Wands in tarot, I’m ready for my life to change! Somewhere along this path, I read a quote in a book that said if a person made a song with healing energy, that energy would be palpable to the people who listened. That’s pretty much the impetus for the album, trying to heal myself and giving love energy to the people who connect with it.

Nine years before TikTok caught up to her, Liz Nistico was already there. In 2015, her band HOLYCHILD’s debut, The Shape of Brat Pop to Come, used sharp social commentary to skewer culture’s fixation on fame, beauty, youth, and money. Her background as an International Affairs major, combined with her experience as a domestic violence survivor, shaped the music from the start, pushing her to dig into the roots of self-hatred in both men and women. Six years after its release, HOLYCHILD’s 2018 track “Bathroom Bitch” recently found new life as a viral TikTok anthem, proving the project was far ahead of its time.

Nistico’s career reads like a masterclass in range: she’s written songs for Future, directed music videos for Creedence Clearwater Revival and Kate Nash, made her directorial debut at MoMA, landed a song in Apple Watch’s global launch, played Lollapalooza, ACL, and Governors Ball, and penned her own column for V Magazine.

All that momentum has led to her solo project, Revenge Wife. In 2024, a clip of her dancing during a live show went viral, racking up 100 million views on Instagram alone and introducing her to a new (and not always compassionate) audience. That surge, paired with a formative dinner in Paris with therapist Esther Perel, pushed Nistico into a period of intentional action: breaking her phone addiction, reconnecting with herself outside the noise of culture, and channeling years spent teaching meditation and songwriting to Bronx fourth-graders into music built for healing.

The result of all that work is Alien Witch, Nistico’s most personal album yet — a journey through endings and new beginnings. Revenge Wife is a reflection of everywhere Nistico has been and where she’s headed next. “I can finally look back at the past 10 years and feel grateful, and that took a lot of work. I want to say everything and show how it’s been messy and uncertain but that’s what the album is for. It’s a testament to the time where I was trying to connect to myself. I so badly wanted to know what’s in my brain, uninfluenced by anyone, I wanted to wring it out of all the possible ideas, so I could feel satisfied like I gave every morsel of creativity and there’s nothing left inside me unexpressed.”

To celebrate the album’s release – Revenge Wife will play an album release show in NYC at Nightclub 101 on Oct 7th. She’ll return to LA later this fall, following her jam-packed performance at KCRW’s Echo Park Rising stage last month.

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