i feel like a lot of people-- and tumblr especially-- are seriously sleeping on Paris Paloma! even if you don't recognise her name, it's very likely you've heard her voice before: she's the artist behind the song labour.
what you may NOT have known is that she also has a whole bunch of other bangers about other current and social issues: primarily related to women and feminism, but also covering other topics.
i'd like to introduce just a few of my favourites that i feel are as good as "labour" (if not better), and should definitely be just as popular:
good girl - in her own words: "this year I reached my limit with diet culture, anti-ageing culture, cosmetic surgery culture, and overall culture of policing women’s bodies."
last woman on earth - a grim rumination on how women are sexualised, objectified, and often violated from the moment of birth to even beyond death
as good a reason - about subverting beauty standards for women, set by a male-led industry to make a profit off of our insecurities
good boy - turns the gendered idea of "submission" on its head by pointing out that nobody is more submissive than a man to the billionaires (other men) at the top of our capitalist and patriarchal society, in the hopes that they too will be rewarded (they won't)
pre-raphaelite - in her own words: "pre-raphaelite is a love letter to the female gaze. it speaks about being mesmerised by feminine beauty without sexual attraction. the way you look at a cool girl and appreciate her like a painting: alive, beautiful, and full of depth."
knitting song - about solidarity and kinship between women and girls, the passing down of traditions between generations of women, and sharing in and celebrating a valuable craft and custom often derided for being feminine/female-dominated
boys, bugs and men - how boys realise at a young age that they can use physical and emotional harm towards women as a form of domination and power
drywall - about the double standard regarding men's and women's emotions: how men as seen as "logical" and women as "emotional", despite the fact that men are allowed to throw tantrums at simple inconveniences
miyazaki - anti-AI banger of all time! about paris' (and humanity's) natural need and desire to create art, and how soulless AI will never replace that (she will never let it)
triassic love song - the most beautiful and sad song about the triassic cuddle ever created. in the top 3 paris songs for me personally
hunter - about someone fighting-- and learning to live peacefully-- with the spectre of the mental illness they suffer from. in paris' own words: "hunter is a reckoning and a reflection on all the times I decided to keep living instead of giving up."
stem the flow - how it feels to love someone and realise they have hurt you extensively, and being unable to forgive them while also hoping they will change so that someday you can. begging them to prove they love you while also being angry at the realisation that maybe they don't know how. aka: toxic family song that breaks me every time
notre dame - sung from the pov of the hunchback: a figure who is both exiled from society but still wants to bear witness to people's loneliness, and give them comfort by existing invisibly in the rafters of the cathedral and being "a higher power, in case there isn't one"
it's called: freefall - a cover of the Rainbow Kitten Surprise classic, given a new haunting vibe through paris' classic folk sound
yeti (feat. Old Sea Brigade) - a song about the aftermath of a relationship, where two parties who were once obsessed with each other now no longer are. described via a metaphor of yeti sightings, and an explorer who no longer cares about them
anyway... these are all amazing songs, and you should definitely check them out! she has a new album coming out on sep 4 that i am veeery excited for (and no, she did not pay me to write this and promote it lmao), so now's the perfect time to get into her music!
