PREMIERE: TROPHY WIFE’S EMOTIONAL PROWESS ON FULL DISPLAY IN “PARAGRAPH”
Photo Credit: Renee Newman
Breaking news: the ultimate crying song just dropped.
“Paragraph” by Brooklyn-based trio Trophy Wife will tap into your deepest emotions through deafening instrumentals and soul-crushing vocals. With the band’s LP, ‘Pathetic,’ dropping soon, they’re already turning heads release by release.
The song starts with brooding bass, light drum taps, and gentle strums. As the song gets deeper into its own melody, you’re sunken into the howling, melancholic vibe. The crashing drums represent that well-known feeling of inching closer and closer to breakdown, until the whole track explodes into an emotional release.
Photo Credit: Renee Newman
Filled with passion, power, and authenticity, the melancholic cries of McKenzie Iazzetta hypnotize you as the wailing guitars pull you in. Her unrestrained vocals echo throughout, sounding like a dark Faye Webster mixed with the quivering tones of Adrianne Lenker from Big Thief. Her delivery changes with each angsty word that falls from her lips, creating a rawness that is truly addictive.
Three minutes feels like hours in the best way. The intensity is clear throughout, and the band’s romantic, artistic vision is something that comes once in a generation.
“Paragraph” is one of their most heavy-hitting, soul-crushing tracks to date – a song that marks the blueprint for sad girls everywhere. If the striking talent of Trophy Wife is not yet on your radar, they absolutely should be. Look out for their album ‘Pathetic’ dropping on July 10 via AWAL.
EXCLUSIVE Q&A WITH TROPHY WIFE
"Paragraph" explores what you describe as "girlfailure" and the tendency to measure yourself against impossible standards. As a female-fronted band, how do you navigate the expectations often placed on women to be polished, likable, or put-together, and how does that show up in your music?
A lot of the writing I do is about pulling out the parts of myself that aren’t so likeable and put together so that I can create a full picture of myself that isn’t pre-censored. I think that it shows up everywhere and I know Christian, Michael, and Mena are pulling from themselves in the same way. I think building this caricature of myself has let me be a “girlfailure” with full confidence in this part of my life.
The singles released so far, "So Hard," "Kind of Girl I Am," and now "Paragraph," all feel connected by a sense of self-examination and emotional urgency. What threads tie these songs together, and how do they represent the larger story of Pathetic?
I think a big thread throughout the album is trying to figure out what you actually look like but you only have a fun house mirror. Get Ugly was less self-conscious and more of a cathartic expression of hurt. With Pathetic, there’s more examining our own agency in these bad situations. We aren’t so sure if others are to blame for our pain this time.
Trophy Wife has had a big year touring with SPRINTS, playing SXSW, and headlining Sounds That Move festival in Brooklyn. How have those experiences influenced Trophy Wife's confidence and perspective heading into the release of Pathetic?
