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Speedy Ortiz will release their third full-length album Twerp Verse later this month, and today they share the record’s third single. Following the 2016 election, Speedy Ortiz decided to scrap the initial version of their forthcoming record to make way for an album that felt more appropriate given the political and cultural climate. The new single “Villain,” written by front person Sadie Dupuis in 2014, is one of the few tracks that carried over from that original record and is about the “mental gymnastics survivors have to do” after experiencing trauma.

Today Sadie Dupuis also announces Gonna Be An Engineer: Breaking Barriers In Music Production & Technology – a panel discussion and workshop hosted and curated by Sadie at the Sonos Store in NYC. The evening will include conversation and hands-on breakout groups with guest experts in audio engineering, live sound, effects pedals, and production. Hosted in partnership with Sonos and SheShreds, you can RSVP to the event HERE.

Speedy Ortiz front person Sadie Dupuis on the song and video:

“‘Villain’ is about the mental gymnastics survivors have to do, and the relief that comes when you talk through trauma with your friends, family, therapist, or whoever helps you let go of the shame you don’t
deserve to feel. I wrote this song in 2014, and writing it served that kind of function for me. We were lucky to have one of our favorite musicians, Danny Seim of Menomena, add additional synths and percussion to this track.

“In talking through the video concept with director Elle Schneider, who’s been a friend and collaborator for over a decade and also directed the ‘My Dead Girl’ video, we decided to address the pervasiveness of harassment. Using color-blocking and contrasting backgrounds, Elle shows how sometimes these transgressions are obvious, but sometimes they camouflage into the background and go unnoticed--at home, at work, and in public spaces. Because she’s a genius genre nerd (and she knew we couldn't help ourselves from making another monster-themed Speedy Ortiz videos) Elle chose, in her words, a ‘Beyond the Valley of the Dolls/Warhol/Roger Corman B-Movie style of 60's look,’ and personified harassment into an insidious fish monster. Someone on set during the shooting described it succinctly: ‘It’s like The Shape of Water, but not at all romantic.’”