lucky break teams up with Melissa Auf der Maur for reimagined “Head Down”

San Francisco-via-New York indie artist lucky break has unveiled a new version of “Head Down” featuring Melissa Auf der Maur, the acclaimed bassist and vocalist known for her work with Hole and Smashing Pumpkins.

Out now alongside a new stop-motion video, the reworked track arrives as the latest chapter in lucky break’s debut album campaign for made it!, which landed earlier this year via Fire Records. The release also comes ahead of a run of U.S. live dates next month, including shows with Nashville artist Maisy Owen.

Originally released as part of made it!, “Head Down” is a bright but emotionally loaded slice of guitar-forward indie rock, exploring innocence, avoidance and the lure of instant gratification. On the new version, Auf der Maur brings added weight to the track, joining an artist who has cited her as a formative influence since childhood.

Speaking on the collaboration, lucky break described Auf der Maur’s involvement as a full-circle moment, crediting her as a huge source of inspiration both musically and personally. In turn, Auf der Maur praised lucky break’s “whimsical commitment” to the relationship between voice, words and guitar, drawing parallels with her own generation of women coming of age through alternative music.

The new single also arrives with a DIY stop-motion visual built around lucky break’s original illustrations, pulling from the aesthetics of early 2010s YouTube “story time” culture. According to the artist, the video pays tribute to the first online spaces where young women began publicly unpacking their mental health, while also tying into her early obsessions with grunge, Hole and what she describes as the “dark feminine”.

It’s a fitting extension of the world of made it!, a debut album that documents lucky break’s life between 19 and 23 — a period shaped by first love, illness, heartbreak and major personal upheaval. Written after moving abroad to teach English, being ghosted and then left largely confined to her bedroom, the record emerged as an intimate set of eleven songs tracing her attempts to find stability, purpose and a life aligned with her values.

Produced alongside friend and collaborator Elliott Woodbridge, and mixed and mastered by Grammy-nominated engineer Jessica Thompson, made it! pulls from a broad palette of influences, spanning pop, country and ’90s alternative touchstones including Pavement, Fiona Apple, Lucinda Williams, John Prine and Joni Mitchell.

The album has already earned early praise from KEXP, Clash, Ones To Watch and Vanyaland, with Head Down singled out for its hazy alt-rock sheen and made it! praised for its diaristic writing, emotive vocals and deeply endearing sense of intimacy.

With Melissa Auf der Maur now stepping into lucky break’s world, “Head Down” feels less like a one-off collaboration and more like a passing of the torch between generations of guitar-driven, emotionally fearless songwriters.

“Head Down” featuring Melissa Auf der Maur is out now. lucky break’s debut album made it! is out now via Fire Records.