On May 10, 2024, Paris Paloma, the rising UK singer-songwriter, released her new single “boys, bugs and men.” With soothing and dreamlike vocals, contrasted by piercing lyrics, Paloma sheds light on how men, starting at a young age, discover their power to exert over the powerless.
Prior to the release of the single, Paloma provided insight into the tone and direction of her debut album Cacophony. The album is scheduled for release on August 30, 2024. Tracks such as “my mind (now),” “drywall” and “as good a reason” touch on subjects like trauma, suppression of emotions and injustice. Furthermore, Paloma had doubled down with the Billboard-charting feminist anthem “labour,” released last year. The single gave women suffering from the inequity of labor in relationships a primal voice of empowerment.
“It fills you with light
~ “boys, bugs and men”
To take away mine”
Alongside her single “boys, bugs and men,” Paloma released an expressive music video, illustrating the metamorphosis of boys discovering their power and their ability to abuse it for the first time. She mirrors this beautifully with caterpillars transforming into butterflies. However, it contrasts the boys’ perspectives on power at the same time. The caterpillars, destroying plants by eating them and “taking away their light,” grow up to become fragile and nurturing butterflies, pollinating flowers and spreading life, while the boys in the song grow up to be the opposite. Paloma’s portrayal of violence is further deepened by the destruction of forests, peaking in the eruption of volcanoes and the explosion of nuclear bombs.
See full music video below:
“Before me is a man who cares not for little things”
~ “boys, bugs and men”
Although deceptively sweet sounding and accompanied by dreamy instrumentals, the melancholic and devastating undertone of the single is omnipresent. Embedded into the lyrics, we encounter numerous metaphors referencing the killing of bugs and the disregard of little things. This isn’t just a song about little things though. It portrays the suffering of the powerless under the unjust exertion of power by men and the fight against violence as a whole.
Paris Paloma will perform “boys, bugs and men” along with other masterpieces such as “yeti” and “drywall” on her European tour later this year.
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