Villain highlights the way we respond to the hapless, wretched conditions life throws at us. To what extent do tragic circumstances force us to respond in villainous ways? Are villains born bad, or do they become bad through pain and struggle?

 

Heavily grounded in cinema, the songs evoke a world of darkness, danger, and romance. Set within this landscape, the album constructs a fictional character with a deep, personal vendetta. Disappointment, heartache, betrayal, and anger run through songs like “Love Will Only Let You Down”, “Kindling Violence”, and the album’s title track. Growing up on gangster movies and learning speeches from plays as a young lady such as Arturo Ui by Bertolt Brecht or the works of Shakespeare has led Villain to be a project of timelessness, violence, love, and struggle.

 

To capture the personal nature of this cinematic experience, I’ve created a large set of homemade audiovisual vignettes. Entirely shot, acted, and edited by me and my friends they are being released alongside the album to build out the world where this “Villain” resides.