Mandy, Indiana have released “Drag [Crashed],” the final single/video ahead of the arrival of their debut album, i’ve seen a way, out May 19th via Fire Talk. Recorded in caves, crypts and shopping malls. As producer/guitarist Scott Fair explains, “We wanted to alter textures, create clashes, and craft those moments when what you’re expecting to happen never comes.” The band’s soundworld is completed by frontperson Valentine Caulfield’s lyrics of fury and fairytales, as she sings in her native French to express her frustration at the state of the world. On the propulsive “Drag [Crashed],” Caulfield directs her ire toward everyday acts of misogyny as a siren-like guitar sounds the alarm.

Caulfield explains: “‘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.” Pitchfork’s new “Rising” feature gives further insight into the origin of the song.

FRENCH LYRICS

Elle va en faire sauter des boutons de braguette
Tu vas devoir repousser les garçons au fusil
Elle va en briser des coeurs cette petite
Tu seras grand-père jeune avec cette fille

Souris, souris, souris, souris
C’est plus joli une fille qui sourit

Couvre-toi les épaules, tu vas distraire les garçons
Elle est trop courte ta jupe, tu vas distraire les garçons
C’est quoi ce maquillage vulgaire, tu vas distraire les garçons
Eh on voit tes bretelles, tu vas distraire les garçons

C’est trop décolleté ça, tu vas distraire les garçons
Cache ce corps honteux, tu vas distraire les garçons
Souris, souris, souris, souris
C’est plus joli une fille qui sourit
Tout le monde sait qu’une femme ça sourit
Souris, souris, souris, souris

Non mais on va te regarder jusqu’à tes 23-24 ans, alors laisse pas passer ta chance, et moi je préfère les filles naturelles, mais t’as l’air fatigué là, puis il va falloir muscler tes fesses hein

Souris, souris, souris, souris
C’est plus joli une fille qui sourit
Tout le monde sait qu’une femme ça sourit
Souris, souris, souris, souris

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

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

The accompanying “Drag [Crashed]” video, directed by Ella Margolin (Porridge Radio, Jessica Winter) and featuring movement direction by Jacquelyn Tepper, is a disquieting translation of its source material’s subject matter. Margolin comments “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.”

Mandy, Indiana draw on the broad sonic palette of experimental noise music, and their sound arrives fully formed. The group initially came to fruition after Caulfield and Fair met sharing a bill with their former projects in the fertile Manchester scene, and was later completed with the addition of Simon Catling (synth) and Alex Macdougall (drums). Their first recordings emerged in 2019, culminating in 2021’s “…” EP which saw the band draw early cosigns from Daniel Avery, Squid, and Gilla Band, whose own Daniel Fox mixed several of the tracks on i’ve seen a way, alongside Robin Stewart of Giant Swan. Produced by Fair, the album was mixed by Heba Kadry.

Mandy, Indiana 2023 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

Pre-order i’ve seen a way by Mandy, Indiana HERE