Los Angeles garage rockers Bleached are back with a brand new song called “Stupid Boys”. It’s their first bit of music since dropping Don’t You Think You’ve Had Enough?, their third full-length album, in 2019.
The sisterly duo, comprised of Jessica and Jennifer Clavin, tap into the country’s ongoing female empowerment movement on the single by calling out harmful behavior. While “Stupid Boys” was technically written a while ago, the song took on new meaning this summer following the recent wave of sexual allegations against Burger Records and a number of bands on the label.
“Making light of a dark situation has been a tool I’ve used to get through challenging times,” said Jennifer Clavin in a statement. “Specifically, a way I’ve often honored my recovery is to tell my story through my lyrics — this time the subject is crazy ex-boyfriends. This started out as a jokey song, something light-hearted, meant to be danced to… or so I thought. After the most recent flood or ‘me too’ call outs around men in the music scene, I returned to this song and felt somewhat surprised, because the lyrics actually aren’t so light-hearted, and they directly refer back to experiences related to the reckoning we just saw go down.”
Musically, it makes sense why Clavin thought the song was light-hearted; it rides on a power-pop guitar riff and chipper vocal cheers in each verse. But for every blast of radiant melodies, “Stupid Boys” packs an equal punch of realism courtesy of the lyrics. “Breaking into my sister’s house/ You’re so high you tried to take my couch,” sings Clavin. “Restraining order keeps you away/ Throw it over my fence, no way.” Stream it below.