Kevin Bronson on March 7th, 2013

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Vanessa Long debuted her Cillie Barnes persona in late 2011 – part provocateur, part seductress, part girl next door, she unveiled songs like “Hey Hi” and “Indian Hill” that were crazy-like-a-fox spins on folk-pop and hip-hop. Long, a founding member of Family of the Year and that good woman who was hard to find on the cover of PAPA’s EP, was snapped up by Universal Republic and has spent recent months working on new music for her proper debut, “Happy Valley.” Her new single “Brainwash” toys with the mind and heart, playfully name-checking John Wayne, Cleopatra and Marc Anthony en route to a chorus that asks her significant other for some full disclosure: “Where do you go when you’re walking in the evening?” Well, you know, sometimes when we feel overmatched, we just need to go clear our heads.

||| Download: “Brainwash”