New German Cinema - Pain Will Polish Me (LP) (Coloured Vinyl)

Pain Will Polish Me is the debut solo album by Jessica Weiss, the vocalist and songwriter of indie band Fear of Men, released under the moniker New German Cinema in 2026 on the Felte label as a colored vinyl LP. Produced with Alex DeGroot over five years between London and Los Angeles, this dark-pop project represents a meditation on pop music and the cinematic language of European art-house auteur Rainer Werner Fassbinder. The album explores themes of intimacy, control, and the dissolution of self within romantic relationships, examining how love functions simultaneously as obsession, mirror, and undoing.

Weiss describes the record as examining the parts of yourself that dissolve in love and the small acts of violence inherent in being truly known by another person. The music moves through claustrophobic relationships and cycles of suffering that blur into devotion, employing a pop sensibility infused with something stranger, colder, and more interior. The album was built from long-distance transmissions between two dream states, feeling both forensic and devotional, the work of an artist who resists rushing toward catharsis. The project showcases the same lyrical precision and emotional intensity that defined her work with Fear of Men, while establishing New German Cinema as a distinct artistic voice that emphasizes vulnerability, psychological complexity, and a sophisticated engagement with both popular and avant-garde aesthetics.