In under two minutes, Pom Pom Squad supplies a whiplash of a lesson on the patriarchy and the exploitation of feminine adolescence on their latest single “LUX.” The Brooklyn four-piece uses the iconic character Lux Lisbon—from Jeffrey Eugenides’ Virgin Suicides, who was then played by Kirsten Dunst in Sofia Coppola’s 1999 adaptation—as inspiration for how the male gaze turns fatal. “I’ve got a sinking suspicion / It may be something in your tone / That you would leave me here to find my own way home,” Mia Berrin shouts on the opening verse.
If you’re not familiar with the classic teenage story, I’d run to your local library or open the proper streaming service. Even then, if the squealing guitars didn’t present enough unease, or Berrin’s indignant tone didn’t supply a chill, “LUX” is a reminder of the devastating effects of patriarchal trauma. Although she draw’s from Virgin Suicides with great detail, Berrin’s songwriting isn’t only a summary of the unsettling tale. Rather, she subverts the male gaze by becoming the narrator and complicating where to place blame. “In the cloud of peach alcohol / I let myself get drunk on the idea that you loved me,” she sings at one point.
“How do you expect me to figure myself out when I cannot tell the difference between bad and good attention,” goes another searing verse. Barrin points the finger back at us, spectators of the violence inflicted on young people who don’t wield or pass as having masculine power. “LUX” is both an impactful tribute and thrashing nod that generations still carry this sexist bullshit.
Pom Pom Squad also paid tribute to Sofia Coppola’s dreamy adaptation of the Virgin Suicides with plenty of soft, plush lighting. Check it out below.
