At first listen, the confrontation of misogyny in Lois Righteous’ new single and video encapsulates a visceral rage, but the trio aren’t content to stew in their own indignation. Instead, they transform their anger into activism and speak as a unified voice exposing the true nature of a threat buried by patriarchal deceit.

Though the concept of the song was borne from a lifetime of collective experiences, its catalyst was an unambiguous example of such encounters: the assault of band member outside an Atlanta venue while waiting for the ATM. While such an attack is hardly something that can be reduced to an impetus for songwriting, it lends additional urgency to a track already steeped in the critical mission of exposing the violence that threatens women in their everyday lives.

Lois Righteous’ music has always been immediate and cathartic, but more so than their previous work, the energy of “Suntrust Me” serves as an essential and skeletal conduit for the message of the song—one that’s deftly outlined in the video from director Haley Wetherington. The pummeling lo-fi track may be brief, but Wetherington takes a sickeningly common situation and evokes an eternity of misogyny. It’s a conscious effort to draw a line between the creepier aspects of toxic masculinity and the end result of violence against women lurking beneath the surface of what some simply deride as “boys being boys.”

“People try to pretend that catcalling and rape do not belong in the same sentence, but we know better,” the band said in a statement. “Creating this song was a way for us to claim back some of the agency that we have had stolen from us over the years.”

Although the video closes with a small victory, buried in that triumph is the hollow realization that true justice remains nebulous and distant. When women stand up for themselves they so often only expose themselves to more violence, while the men just drive away, uncowed and unchanged. It’s that grim and sobering reality that Wetherington sought to capture within the closing frames.

“I wanted the ending to feel like a victory while also having that moment of fear like, ‘fuck I just did that, what if they kill me!’ Because that’s honestly the feeling in the pit of a woman’s stomach when she stands up for herself in a situation like that.”

More Info
Bandcamp: loisrighteous.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @loisrighteous
Instagram: @loisrrrighteous