Video: Noelle Sucks, ‘Ugly Ugly’

Kevin Bronson on October 8th, 2023

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L.A.-based singer-songwriter Noelle Denton releases music under the moniker Noelle Sucks, an unfortunate choice for an artist name considering her hybrid of grunge, emo-pop and indie-rock doesn’t.

Noelle Sucks wrestles with the usual things — lousy relationships, self-realization and empowerment — in brawny, honest songs. She debuted in 2019, and in 2022 released two EPs, “Songs You Brush Your Teeth To” and “Out of Orbit.” A video from the latter EP, “Living Room of My Head,” caught the attention of Emo Nite founders TJ Petracca and Morgan Freed, who made the songwriter the first artist they signed to their fledgling label, Graveboy Records.

“Noelle is an incredibly talented songwriter and visual artist,” they said of Denton, who briefly attended film school before turning to music. “When we found her, we couldn’t believe she was still unsigned. She is very prolific and has put out dozens of releases over the past few years. Noelle’s unique perspective as a filmmaker and songwriter are tied together inextricably. Every song she puts out has a beautiful visual component to it.”

Last week, “Ugly Ugly,” which Noelle Sucks made with writer-producer Joel Ferber, became Graveboy’s first release. It’s a cathartic rocker that boomerangs from dreamy to bombastic in the blink of a power chord, with a chorus that echoes through the long ’90s hallway in your head long after the song is over.

The video is a collaboration with cinematographer Matt Richardson. “This music video feels like a mini-indie movie,” Noelle says. “It’s my favorite one we’ve done so far, and a lot of my friends got to come out and meet each other and be part of it — that’s always the best part about all of this. It’s also the first time I had a full band performance in a music video.”

||| Watch: The video for “Ugly Ugly”