Dutch witch rock artist Annicke Shireen has released “Loud Hag“, the second single from her forthcoming debut solo album, “DELIRIUM“, due on 13 November 2026.
Built around heavy, metal influenced guitar riffs and layered vocals, “Loud Hag” turns an insult traditionally used to diminish women into a declaration of independence. Rather than apologising for being too loud, too old, too opinionated or simply too difficult to fit neatly into expectations, Shireen embraces all of it.
The track also gives a strong indication of the darker, heavier side of “DELIRIUM“, an album that moves between alternative rock, metal, synthpop, folk and dreamy grunge, with electronic textures and densely layered vocals adding to its atmosphere.
Annicke Shireen is perhaps best known as the frontwoman of SHIREEN, as well as through her work with Heilung and Pure Reason Revolution. Her solo project brings together music, performance and visual art, with Shireen writing and producing her own material and creating much of the visual world surrounding it.
Annicke Shireen about her debut solo album:
“DELIRIUM” is about the moment when the framework you have been living inside no longer fits. It’s the magic of the moment where we stop being acceptable and start becoming ourselves. I wanted to explore that uncomfortable space between losing control and finally taking the power back.
I wanted to give words to the beauty of a mind that does not always move according to the expected rules. Rather than presenting fragmentation as something that needs to be fixed, I wanted to shed light on the wisdom, knowledge and power inside it. The songs of my debut album give shape to feelings of rage, grief, fear, euphoria and love, and I believe music is the best medium to speak from heart to heart.
“Loud Hag” arrives ahead of “DELIRIUM“, an album centred around questions of identity, femininity, belonging, emotional behaviour and the expectations imposed on us by society. For Shireen, the record is about what happens when the framework we have been living inside no longer fits.
As she puts it, “Loud Hag” is about refusing the idea that women’s anger needs to be softened or made more acceptable, turning rage instead into a creative force and a source of power.
The album will be released on 13 November, with an early digital release on Bandcamp scheduled for 23 October. Annicke Shireen will also present “DELIRIUM” live, including a record release show at Grey Space in The Hague on 12 November.
“Come To Light” was the first single released from “DELIRIUM” a few weeks ago, giving us the first taste of what Annicke Shireen has been preparing for her debut solo album. Now, with “Loud Hag” following it, we have two very different tracks showing different sides of the record. And if these first two releases are anything to go by, “DELIRIUM” could be a very good album indeed. I’m certainly looking forward to hearing the whole thing.
