Recommended Tracks: “Skin Cleared,” “Chichinya,” “Sticky Fingers,” “Itty Bitty”
Artists you may like: Princess Nokia, COBRAH, MARINA
Unafraid to show off her true self, Ashnikko‘s sophomore album Smoochies explores her vulnerability when it comes to heartache and sexual desire, and the mayhem that ensues. Atop a Y2K, one-of-a-kind blend of electronic, alternative, and hip-hop tunes (with a couple of surprises up her sleeve to keep fans on their hairy toes), this album is not only a demonstration of Ashnikko growing as a musical artist, but it also provides insight into how the rockstar navigates growing up.
The demidevil shares,
“’Smoochies’ feels like Demidevil’s older sister. It’s sexy, playful, and feminine, while toeing the line of grotesque and absurd. I feel like purse sediment so much of the time – like a mess of crumbs and gum in receipts and lipgloss that I’ve forgotten about – so the album feels like that too. This is the first where I’ve written very autobiographically, but at the core of it all is personal autonomy and joyful whimsy.”
Smoochies emulates the sounds of legendary women in pop and rock, incorporating the likes of No Doubt, Lady Gaga, The Pussycat Dolls, and Britney Spears, all while presenting tunes that are undoubtedly Ashnikko’s true sound.
“Smoochie Girl” opens the door to the Smoochies tracks to follow. In this messy opening song, Ashnikko explores sexual freedom and questions emotions in the hopes of avoiding getting her heart broken, while ultimately admitting she is a lover girl at heart. After her recent breakup, she’s not quite ready to commit to something, but she still finds her heart racing and she’s picturing life with someone new: “But in the heat of the moment, I put my hand in fire / In the heat of the moment, I gave you ooh eyes / Is this too much? Keep a lock of your hair in a resin ring / Is this too much? I wanna take out my IUD / Is this too much? I wanna read your favorite book / Just wanna see your childhood bedsheets and be friends with your mom.”
“Trinkets” is a fun, whimsical track exploring “just girly things” such as collectible items. There’s a fascination with shiny souvenirs, and ironically (maybe… unironically) objectifying men: “Treat him like a trinket / Hang him off my keychain / I collect the kisses / You could be my keepsake.” Accompanied by Barbie doll parts, knick-knacks, and 2000s imagery while sporting a googly-eyed butt, Ash equates little trinkets and novelty objects to keeping a man by one’s side, like something fun to play with.
Standout breakup anthem “Skin Cleared” is the heart of Smoochies. Ash has reached post-breakup clarity, emerging on the other side happier, healthier, and sexier than ever before. Reaching a happy point in her grieving, the sky has opened up, her immune system improves, and her confidence exudes — no one can hold her back from being the badass person she is.
The track is sexy, it’s powerful, and it makes you go from feeling sad to feeling like you could dominate the world: “My skin cleared when we broke up / What does that mean? / Now I’m back seat of the taxi / Making someone’s son take a pic of my thong out my black jeans / Now I grieve you, but I’m happy / I’m no longer paranoid / I don’t even get the flu anymore / What does that mean?”
Provocative single “Itty Bitty” is on the other side of the same “Skin Cleared” coin, bringing her besties to the club to celebrate her freedom and wearing whatever the hell she wants. This catchy introduction to Smoochies had me instantly hooked, dropping anything and everything I’m doing to get up and dance.
Speaking of catchy songs, Smoochies is full of electronic tracks that will make you shake your behind and take on the world. Whether you want to play naked mermaids with “Liquid,” watch two men smooch it up with “I Want My Boyfriends To Kiss,” build up a sweat with COBRAH on “Wet Like,” or feel the beat pulsate through every inch of your body in “Full Frontal,” Ashnikko has you covered.
In that category, “Chichinya” is an earworm (and crusher of men’s private parts…). Turns out the title is a nickname for Ashnikko’s dog, Wednesday, used when she’s misbehaving. On this song, the canine is unleashed to cut through Ash’s ex-lover like butter. “Chichinya” is sure to be a new word in my vocabulary, and any man should be afraid when he hears it in the wild.
For the ultimate 2000s pop vibes amid double entendres and promiscuous imagery, “Sticky Fingers” is ultimately about a hot woman telling a gross boy to get his hands off of her. Ashnikko can handle herself, and to that, he is just a novelty item: “You see me and you see heaven / You’re my personal hell / Anticlimactic / Get your sticky fingers off me, boy.”
Ashnikko takes an interesting left turn through the country with both “She’s So Pretty” and “Baby Teeth.” “She’s So Pretty” is a playful track that accurately explains the feeling of falling in love with another woman. Half of it is sweet, and the other half is begging to be stepped on. With consent, any woman-loving woman would want to eat, sleep, breathe her partner in both the most respectful and disrespectful of ways.
Just when you think perhaps Ashnikko poured out all she had to offer in the first 14 tracks, she leaves us with chills on the closing song. “It Girl” is a heart-wrenching commentary on breaking societal beauty norms and a desire to take back all those years dedicated to wearing makeup and buying designer things.
Referencing the “27 club,” a list that includes legendary artists who pass away at that fateful age, she sings: “All the pretty girls die at 27 / Die at 27, a smooth-faced legend / Isn’t that heaven?” “It Girl” puts life into perspective: what good is spending all your time and energy on being the version of yourself you think society demands? Embracing her smile lines, this album closer is a bittersweet and reflective coming-of-age track, taking a deep breath before leaving that version of that younger self in the past.
To be a smoochie girl is to be unapologetically yourself, as messy and chaotic as it may be at times. Ashnikko shares that it’s important to explore the unknown, embrace your feelings, and admit that you’re maybe even a bit scared of them at times. Break up with that girl! Find a new one in the club! Smooch that guy! Make that guy smooch another guy! Surround yourself with your hot, sexy friends and have a good time! Live your best life — you only have one.
Ashnikko will embark on the global SMOOCHIES Tour spanning North America, Europe, and Australia, in addition to her previously announced dates in the UK and Ireland. The shows will kick off on Jan. 26, 2026, in Warsaw, Poland, and stop in major cities, including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Paris, and London, before concluding in Perth, Australia, on Sept. 29, 2026.
ASHNIKKO 2026 Smoochies Tour Dates:
Europe (Tickets here):
01/26 – Warsaw, Poland – Stodola*
01/27 – Berlin, Germany – Columbiahalle*
01/29 – Hamburg, Germany – Inselpark Arena*
01/30 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Poolen*
01/31 – Tilburg, Netherlands – 013*
02/03 – Cologne, Germany – Palladium*
02/04 – Paris, France – Olympia*
02/06 – Wiesbaden, Germany – Schlachthof*
02/07 – Brussels, Belgium – La Madeleine*
UK & Ireland (Tickets here):
02/11 – Glasgow, United Kingdom – O2 Academy
02/14 – Manchester, United Kingdom – Manchester Academy (SOLD OUT)
02/17 – Dublin, Ireland – 3Olympia
02/20 – London, United Kingdom – O2 Academy Brixton
North America (Tickets here):
03/18 – Phoenix, AZ, USA – The Van Buren
03/20 – Los Angeles, CA, USA – Shrine Exposition Hall
03/21 – San Francisco, CA, USA – The Warfield
03/23 – Seattle, WA, USA – Showbox SoDo
03/24 – Vancouver, BC, Canada – Orpheum
03/26 – Salt Lake City, UT, USA – The Union Event Center
03/28 – Denver, CO, USA – The Mission Ballroom
03/30 – Kansas City, MO, USA – Uptown Theater
03/31 – Saint Paul, MN, USA – Palace Theatre
04/02 – St. Louis, MO, USA – The Pageant
04/03 – Chicago, IL, USA – Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
04/04 – Detroit, MI, USA – The Fillmore
04/28 – Austin, TX, USA – Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater
04/29 – Dallas, TX, USA – The Bomb Factory
05/01 – Nashville, TN, USA – Marathon Music Works
05/02 – Atlanta, GA, USA – Coca–Cola Roxy
05/05 – Orlando, FL, USA – Hard Rock Live
05/06 – Miami Beach, FL, USA – The Fillmore
05/08 – Charlotte, NC, USA – The Fillmore
05/09 – Washington, DC, USA – The Anthem
05/12 – Pittsburgh, PA, USA – Stage AE
05/13 – Philadelphia, PA, USA – The Fillmore
05/15 – New York, NY, USA – Hammerstein Ballroom
05/16 – Boston, MA, USA – Roadrunner
05/18 – Montreal, QC, Canada – MTELUS
05/19 – Toronto, ON, Canada – HISTORY
Australia & New Zealand (Tickets here)
09/16 – Auckland, New Zealand – Town Hall
09/19 – Sydney, Australia – Enmore Theatre
09/23 – Melbourne, Australia – Forum
09/25 – Brisbane, Australia – Fortitude Music Hall
09/27 – Adelaide, Australia – Hindley Street Music Hall
09/29 – Perth, Australia – Metro City
*With support from Amelia Moore
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