Today, February 26, 2025, Brussels-based band Purrses drops the video for “Ride the Dragon,” the first single from their upcoming debut album Reality Fantasy, set to hit vinyl and digital on May 16 via JauneOrange, Rockerill Records, and Cheap Satanism.
The track is a hybrid of glam rock sheen and pop bite, wrapped in a video thatโs equal parts gothic unease and cartoonish swagger.
Fronted by Laura Ruggiero, Purrses has been grinding since 2022, carving a jagged niche in the indie scene with a sound thatโs tough to pin down.
Picture 70s and 80s rock riffs crashing into punkโs snarl, then smoothed out with a poppy wave gloss and a dash of rap-inflected lyrics.
Itโs weird, itโs deliberate, and itโs got a keen ear for both sonic oddities and hooks that stick. Ruggiero writes, composes, and produces, channeling Brusselsโ alternative underbelly into something raw yet polished.
The five-piece has logged miles across EuropeโWindmill Brixton in the UK, Point Ephรฉmรจre in France, Left of the Dial in the Netherlands, plus local staples like Microfestival and Absolutely Free Festival. Live, theyโre a mix of fun and tension, sexy and groovy, a tightrope walk between control and chaos.
“Ride the Dragon” lands as a languid, choppy beastโguitars slice through a laid-back rhythm, carrying lyrics that drip with weariness and a sly, amused edge. Itโs a cynical fable, Ruggiero says, aimed squarely at men while doubling as a love letter to femininity. The dragon here isnโt some fantasy tropeโitโs a metaphor for women who refuse to bend, bold and unapologetic. The track sways between defiance and exhaustion, mirroring the push-pull of emancipation itโs chasing. This isnโt preachy; itโs too sharp for that, too aware of the absurdity in the fight.
The video, directed by Felicitas Jander and edited by Ruggiero herself, leans into that tension. Itโs a stark, direct jab at rock video clichรฉs, pulling instead from hip-hopโs playbookโfrontal framing, static-shot vignettes, and over-the-top styling. A fallen bride stalks through a dark, fractured world, caught between judgment and desire.
Jander calls it a break from convention, blending glam rockโs flash with campy excess. The bride, traditionally a symbol of docile femininity, flips into something transgressiveโa femme fatale wandering a landscape that canโt decide if it wants to worship or condemn her. Each shotโs composed like a painting, symmetrical and heavy, while the vignettes splinter off into their own aesthetics, reflecting femininityโs many masks: muse, threat, prize. The editingโs sharp and rhythmic, matching the songโs binary pulse with cuts that hit like a clenched fist.
This isnโt Purrsesโ first rodeo. Theyโve got a self-produced debut EP under their belt and a second, Wrong Tide, recorded fully analog and released through JauneOrange, Rockerill Records, and Belly Button Records. Reality Fantasy, though, feels like a step into stranger territory. With Luc Bersier of Reymour on production, it mixes analog grit with digital sheen, promising something experimental yet grounded.
The bandโs soundโuntamable, modern, a little unpredictableโfeels like rock mutating in real time.
