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May 11, 2023 By Mark Redfern Photography by Harry Steel

Manchester, England four-piece Mandy, Indiana are releasing their debut album, i’ve seen a way, on May 19 via Fire Talk. Now they have shared its third single, “Drag [Crashed],” via a music video. Ella Margolin directed the video, which features some invasive tongue kissing, among other things. Watch it below, followed by the band’s upcoming tour dates.

Frontwoman Valentine Caulfield had this to say about the song in a press release: “‘Drag [Crashed]’ is a collection of things that were said to me or about me because I’m a woman. From middle-aged men saying I would ‘pop some fly buttons’ to my dad and that he would need a gun to fend off the boys when I was a literal toddler, to educators telling me my shoulders would ‘distract the boys’ and I therefore needed to cover myself, and romantic partners trying to control my body, ‘Drag’ is a personal exploration of what it means growing up a girl.”

Margolin (who is the sister of Porridge Radio singer Dana Margolin and has also worked with that band) had this to say about the directing the video: “I spent a long time thinking about misogyny as a feeling; the power dynamics that lie at its core and the ways they manifest in our lives. I was thinking about the rituals that we take part in collectively; how natural these power dynamics can feel and how blindly we play them out in our day-to-day. I really wanted to explore the violence implicit in these moments and the feeling of inevitability that underscores them. This inspired the idea of creating some form of ritualistic snog. I wanted to portray a degree of the complicity we all have in these rituals—the weight of their inevitability. I didn’t want it all to be about struggle. I wanted to represent a range of responses—apathy, fear, pride, shame, validation etc.—they all feel so present in our lives and in our engagement with these power dynamics.”

The song’s lyrics are in French, but the press release also provides an English translation for the lyrics:

She’s gonna pop some fly buttons
You going to need a gun to fend off the boys
She’s going to break hearts, this little one
You will be a young grandfather with this girl

Smile, smile, smile, smile
It’s prettier a girl who smiles

Cover your shoulders, you’ll distract the boys
Your skirt is too short, you’ll distract the boys
What is this vulgar makeup, you’ll distract the boys

Hey, your bra straps are showing, you’ll distract the boys
That’s too low-cut, you’ll distract the boys
Hide that shameful body, you’ll distract the boys
Smile, smile, smile, smile
It’s prettier a girl who smiles
Everyone knows that a woman smiles
Smile, smile, smile, smile

Men are going to look at you until you’re 23-24, so don’t miss your chance, and I prefer natural girls, but you look tired, and you should exercise your butt

Smile, smile, smile, smile
It’s prettier a girl who smiles
Everyone knows that a woman smiles
Smile, smile, smile, smile

Previously the band shared the album’s first single, “Pinking Shears,” via a music video. “Pinking Shears” was one of our Songs of the Week. Then they shared its second single, “Peach Fuzz,” which was also one of our Songs of the Week.

The band also features guitarist/producer Scott Fair, Simon Catling (synths), and Alex Macdougall (drums). The album follows 2021’s … EP.

Fair had this to say about the album in a previous press release: “We wanted to alter textures, create clashes, and craft those moments when what you’re expecting to happen never comes.”

Mandy, Indiana Tour Dates:

Sat. May 13 - Brighton, UK @ The Great Escape
Fri. June 16 - Mannheim, DE @ Maifeld Derby
Sat. July 8 - Trencin, SK @ Pohoda Festival
Thu. July 20 - Sun. July 23 - Suffolk, UK @ Latitude Festival
Sat. July 22 - Standon, UK @ Standon Calling
Sat. Aug. 5 - Katowice, PL @ OFF
Fri. Oct. 27 - Manchester, UK @ The White Hotel
Sat. Oct. 28 - Glasgow, UK @ Hug & Print
Sun. Oct. 29 - Newcastle, UK @ Zerox
Tue. Oct. 31 - Sheffield, UK @ Sidney & Matilda
Wed. Nov. 1 - Bristol, UK @ Dareshack
Thu. Nov. 2 - Brighton, UK @ Green Door Store
Fri. Nov. 3 - London, UK @ Corsica Studios
Sat. Nov. 4 - Nottingham, UK @ Bodega
Sun. Nov. 5 - Berlin, DE @ Pitchfork Music Festival Berlin

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