Photo by Louise Sullivan
Star Moles, the Philadelphia project of Emily Moales, has signed to Dead Oceans and released a new single, “Born Again,” alongside news that Highway to Hell will receive its first physical release on December 4.
The signing arrives after a year in which Star Moles has moved quickly from cult discovery toward something considerably bigger. Highway to Hell has appeared on midyear lists from Stereogum, Paste and Brooklyn Vegan, while Rolling Stone included “Real Magic” among its best songs of 2026 so far. The sudden attention is slightly misleading, though. Moales has been releasing music as Star Moles since 2017, building seven full-length albums alongside EPs and singles largely outside the wider spotlight.
Produced by longtime collaborator Kevin Basko of Rubber Band Gun, Highway to Hell feels like the clearest version yet of what makes Star Moles unusual. Moales writes about ordinary life without treating it as particularly ordinary. Frustration, boredom and relationships can quickly become surreal, spiritual or apocalyptic, while the record also reaches toward religious fanaticism, environmental collapse and the political anxiety surrounding contemporary America.
“Born Again” pushes further into that territory.
“The thing about writing something that’s true is that it basically can’t be narrative,” Moales says. “If you’re angry or sad or in love, the feeling itself is an exaggeration.”
She describes the song as “a painting of real frustration,” using heightened language and religious imagery rather than trying to explain exactly what happened.
“I wouldn’t say I’m religious,” she says, “but I think sometimes my emotions are.”
Recorded and mixed by Basko at Historic New Jersey, “Born Again” is accompanied by a video directed by Lucky Marvel and filmed around South Philadelphia.
Highway to hell album artwork
The Dead Oceans signing now gives Star Moles a much larger platform, but it feels less like a reinvention than the amplification of something already taking shape. A January headline tour will take Moales through Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Brooklyn and Washington, D.C., followed by dates with Way Dynamic and an appearance at Big Ears Festival.
After years spent developing quietly, Star Moles’ breakthrough looks less like a beginning than the rest of the world catching up.
