Bad Madonna Fight for Their Right to Party on “Vicious Party Girl”

Local indie-rock act Bad Madonna have shared their first new material as a four-piece, the spiky anti-judgment anthem “Vicious Party Girl,” ahead of a single release show on October 20, at The Block Skate Supply in Springfield, with an accompanying music video due out Friday, October 27.

On “Vicious Party Girl,” singer-songwriter Alexis Rhode, guitarist Dylan Young and bassist Storm Bauer, joined now by drummer Joey French, showcase what Rhode calls “a more polished, more fun, and more genuine Bad Madonna sound,” with an emphasis on coming together as individuals to make music that’s more than the sum of its parts. Written in May 2022, recorded this year at Pine Studios in Murray Hill and produced by Young, the song considers “how we judge others based on their dress or how comfortable they are in their skin,” Rhode says, using nimble, melodic rock as a vehicle for fun-loving independence.

Over Bauer’s sticky bassline, Rhode quickly establishes the gap between the titular girl (who just wants to have fun) and those who judge her harshly: “Watch me on your cell phone screen / Hear what I say but don’t know what I mean / And you tell your girl she better stay away from me / Why, why, why?” Rhode and Young’s fuzzed-out guitars shine brightly, yet always serve the song, not to mention bring it to a peak in the adventurously mixed solo, as French hammers away at high speed. But first, Rhode finally puts herself in the VPG’s shoes: “Am I just a vicious party girl? / Having too good a time? / Is that a crime?”

“For me, the song is all about perspective, and I hope that anyone can find comfort in it to be themselves and do whatever they feel like doing regardless of how they’ll be perceived,” Rhode explains, adding that “we might all question our current perceptions of people and become more compassionate towards one another and less judgmental.”

Bad Madonna will celebrate “Vicious Party Girl” with tonight’s show, featuring support from Seagate and DigDog, at The Block Skate Supply. Find ticket info here.

“Vicious Party Girl” is streaming now. Keep an eye out for the music video this time next week, and in the meantime, revisit Bad Madonna’s JME Soundstage set below.