Speedy Ortiz has delivered a colorful punch of a music video for their latest single “Lean In When I Suffer.” The new track follows the release of “Lucky 88,” and is the second single from Speedy Ortiz’s forthcoming album, Twerp Verse.
The playful visuals for “Lean In When I Suffer” belie the song’s critical lyrical content, which calls out fake allies and unsolicited mental health advice, according to a statement from Sadie Dupuis (via The Fader.)
“Lean In When I Suffer” is about that fun breed of “ally” who wears out their already exhausted friends by relying on us for excessive emotional labor. They want props for their wokeness, but don’t want to put in any actual work or divest themselves of power. They just taaaake uuuup spaaaace, and shut down when you try to talk them through their problematic tendencies. Because #selfcare? So you’re stuck in a toxic vampiric loop trying to maintain a relationship–Lean In AND Suffer, why don’t you!
Director Ari Ratner took this concept a step further to address another annoyance we found relatable as hell, which is when “people give unsolicited advice about how to beat depression. [They] typically fail to acknowledge depression as a real illness and often minimize the experiences of the person they are trying to help.” So our OK-to-Cry-Corral band gets put through happiness bootcamp from a group of clowns who’ve “never been sad” (and some accompanying Crayola-bright illustrations from Julia Emiliani).
Ultimately, playing angry rock songs is our favorite form of therapy.
(And also, real therapy. That shit works)
Watch the music video below, and hear Twerp Verse in its entirety on April 27.
