We have been talking for some time about the resurgence of indie sleaze, that indie phenomenon that captured a part of the musical hedonism of the 2000s and the era of blogs, in which we found both MGMT at the time of ‘Time to Pretend’ and MIA before turning to Christianity. There was also a lot of electropop (Annie, Ladyhawke) and electronica (LCD Soundsystem).
Slayyyter’s album, ‘WORST GIRL IN AMERICA’, present Record of the Week at JENESAISPOP, is the result of this nostalgic feeling cooked up for years, positioning itself as a kind of evolved ‘brat’: more industrial, dirty and, at times, extreme in its experimentation. Because in what was called indie sleaze we also included things like Death Grips, to which ‘CRANK’ refers, or Sleigh Bells, a group copied endlessly (by Madonna, for example).
‘WORST GIRL IN AMERICA’ is an album based on recreating that musical vibe of the bloghouse era, and cuts like ‘BRITTANY MURPHY’ explain its concept, serving as a personal tribute to the American actress, who died in 2009 at the age of 32, due to pneumonia. It’s the Song of the Day.
Slayyyter deeply admires Murphy and uses his figure to build a story inspired by his own career and his life as a person who grew up without a father figure. He says that last year he went through dark thoughts, and the lyrics of ‘BRITTANY MURPHY’ include an apparent allusion to suicide, when he describes a gun he keeps in a closet, apologizing for its possession.
Slayyyter reclaims her place in the music industry on ‘BRITTANY MURPHY’, crying out things like “do you have any idea how much I’ve done?”, and the chorus reinforces the sense that the lyrics are some kind of farewell letter: “Blonde curls, big eyes like Brittany Murphy / Superstar girl, ballerina twirling / Make them all know I was great / ‘Til I crashed out, out,” she sings. However, the music sounds festive because the song recreates the dance-rock style of the aforementioned era, resulting in a hit that Ladyhawke herself could have sung at the beginning of her career, or even Blondie decades ago, but with just the right amount of renewal to sound fully 21st century.
Slayyyter says about ‘BRITTANY MURPHY’: “It’s really sad, but you’d only know by really listening to the lyrics. The song is more about me and some dark feelings I had last year, about feeling stagnant in my career and questioning if I even want to be here and keep doing all this. I named it after her because I love her so much; I see similarities between her life and mine, like not really having had a father figure. Those kinds of things can get to you and hurt you.” forever. I think he was amazing, he inspires me in many ways throughout my entire project. I hope the song would have been something he liked. He also notes that he had an “incredible” voice, noting: “I wish I had made an album.”
