Indy Yelich Shares Cathartic New Song 'East Coast' and Opens Up About Whether She'd Collaborate with Lorde (Exclusive)

Indy Yelich was driving down the Pacific Coast Highway with her friends when she ironically found the inspiration for her new single "East Coast." The sunroof was down, the breeze was flowing through her hair — it was a rush. "It really reminded me of 'Teenage Dream' by Katy Perry," she tells PEOPLE over Zoom from her apartment in New York City.

But at that moment, she was also grappling with being in a toxic relationship — staring at big blocks of text messages back and forth from her then-significant other that made her "want to throw my phone out the window." "I was just like, I'm chained to my phone and I'm chained in a long distance relationship," Yelich says with frustration. "I just want to be free."

That exact sentiment is the backbone of her new single, "East Coast," a dizzying and liberating synth-pop number that reflects on the emotional push-and-pull of the aforementioned romance. "And the fights come again, speeding fast like a car / Yeah, we crash from the rage and it's breaking my heart / We tried and we fell like a glass from the shelf," Yelich sings breathlessly.

Crafted over the course of a month with songwriter Lizzy Land, the rising musician envisioned Gwen Stefani's '80s-tinged breakup hit "Cool" when crafting her latest single. "I wanted to flip it and reverse it and be like, 'We ain't cool," she quips.

As she tackled codependency, power dynamics and trying to reclaim her identity, the singer-songwriter found catharsis. "A first relationship in your early 20s is really defining, especially with someone whose voice in your head, and I wanted to combat that," Yelich declares.

Growing up with a mother who is a poet, the Auckland native has had a passion for the arts from a young age. Along the way, she also found she had a love for poetry and an eclectic taste in music. Throughout her childhood and teen years, she sang in choirs and in battle of the bands competitions. At 18, Yelich uprooted her life from her native New Zealand to Los Angeles, before relocating to N.Y.C. She published two poetry books 2018's Sticky Notes and 2022's Dudette.

Along the way she fell in love with musicians like Bon Iver, Holly Humberstone, Blue Nile, Rihanna and Perry, specifically songs like "Thinking of You" and "Waking Up in Vegas," which she listens to "every day." But she found herself wanting to pursue a different medium. "Lyrics aren't really that different to a certain type of prose," she states. "It just felt like the natural direction." Last year, she made her musical introduction with her debut EP, Threads, pairing her enchanting poetic lyricism with dark pop numbers and sweeping, soulful anthems.

For Yelich, "East Coast" is "literally" what happened right after Threads. "I don't know if people know that yet," she laughs. In some ways, she feels like she's evolved. Now, she's 25, her "brain's fully-formed," her voice is more specific and self-assured and her music palette has expanded. "I think I just had to grow up a little bit to really find my sound," she says.

When it came to working on "East Coast," there was someone whose opinion she supremely valued — her sister Lorde's. She sent her single — and other songs — to her, which, admittedly, make her "really nervous." "I always value her opinion," Yelich says. "She's my best mate [and], we're pretty similar." Still, she believes it's important for her to forge her own path. "But it's exciting to share a heartfelt piece of music like that with her because she always sends me like the loveliest messages about it," Yelich says.

Knowing that both sisters are paving their own way in pop, is it possible there could be a collaboration between the two of them down the line? "I wouldn't rule it out," Yelich says. "I don't know what the future would hold but for now, I think it's important that I carve out my own creative voice." At the moment, she has some other dream pairings in mind. Yelich would love to work with Chappell Roan. "I was living in that world of The Rise and Fall of a Midwestern Princess for a while [before people caught on], so it's crazy to see it go [viral]," she says. As a fan of The Japanese House, she'd love to work with George Daniel from The 1975, who produced the English indie artist.

While Yelich doesn't elaborate too much on what's next, she says that "East Coast" is a "part of a forthcoming project." For now, she's focused on creating her own "Indy world."