Sammi Lanzetta - “The Villain” Single Review

Released 5/13/2022

Links to Listen:

Spotify / Soundcloud / Youtube

(Picture of cover art taken from Spotify, illustrated by Lanzetta herself) May 13th, a Friday the 13th, was a spectacular day for various artist releases (most seeming to be singles) this year. Artists seem to quite seriously be going all in with their releases in 2022. That said, while I have a few others I still want to get around to writing about at some point before they get much older than 2 months…today I’m gonna hone in on one particular music marvel: Sammi Lanzetta.

Lanzetta’s lyrical prowess is a pulse felt round the world at this point, originally being based right here out of Richmond, VA, then relocating to New York, and eventually L.A. thereafter, where she currently still resides. Fans who have followed her work (much like myself) since the days of Venus Guytrap should find it no surprise that she’s gained considerable amounts of mass traction with her solo work, especially with visceral albums like Ceiling Mirror and For Avery in her catalogue. In her early eras, a sound similar to that of Regina Spektor, L7, and perhaps even a punkier, garage-rock form of The Dresden Dolls is present. Songs like ”The Anxiety Olympics” even give a sort of familiar, 90’s grungey aura to the listener, like something we’d hear from the likes of Garbage or maybe even Filter if we were to dig in the crates just a little. But with her newest single, “The Villain,” Sammi has entered a whole new sonic territory.

Where we used to get grungey, distorted, rock n’ roll guitar chord strums with dancey drum beats and walking bass lines to boot, topped off with raspy, yet melodic vocal wails paired with softer, creamier, angelic singing, we now get a whole soundscape of dreamy, in some spots somewhat autotune-sounding, almost choral-like vocal enchantments; A sound reminiscent of the way a cool, relieving summer breeze feels during a mildly hot day in the middle of July. This is topping off a colorful soundscape of electronic bliss, mapping a rainbow roadway to the cosmos, which in some ways may feel a bit easier on the ears than the grungier, rocky, rugged days of earlier material. Certainly, the instrumentation and general mood of the sound have altered just a tad, to say the least, with it all not being any less impactful. But even with this, dare I say, gentler approach stylistically, Lanzetta still brings the heat with fiery, emotional lyrical content.

(Photo of Lanzetta by Joey Wharton Photography)

Packing a gut punch full of stanzas and passages that express feelings of uncertainty with the self in what appears to be a fiery, passionate, but complicated relationship of sorts (this seems to be romantic in context, but could probably be left to interpretation), Lanzetta is “feeling like the villain,” with perhaps the way the partner or subject in question is treating the narrating voice or leaving them with feelings of guilt. The song’s lyrical theme seems to be that of introspection on one’s self, where toxic cycles or patterns or maybe even trauma response and unresolved conflicts in one’s life all leave them feeling bitter and like their own worst enemy:

“…Hard to break the patterns, I feel rotten at my core, and I don't recognize myself anymore…”

(Lyrics taken from Sammi Lanzetta‘s Twitter post promoting the song)

Probably one of my most favorite lyrical moments in the song, I feel like the above quote, alone, can at least somewhat summarize the general feel of the theme. While Sammi has more than definitely experienced her share of personal struggles and very specific conflicts, this theme still feels painted in a form that I’m sure many can relate to. The contrast of having this dreamy, ethereal track that feels a bit reminiscent of something I’d hear from the likes of Ethel Cain is a really catchy way of expressing these deep, dark feelings without running into your fans complaining about the song feeling ”too depressing.” Personally, even if Lanzetta gave us an 8-minute drone noise track painting the same theme while moving into a more morbid, dark-ambient, doomgaze direction musically, I’d probably still be just as thrilled, maybe even more so given my personal tastes. But I like what she’s done here. Like, A LOT, actually.

(Photo of Sammi Lanzetta & Band live taken from BrooklynVegan)

Everybody gets a little weird about artists rolling in a new direction. Well, at least more often than not, I think. Mostly, we see this happen with artists who start out primarily doing one genre or style and then change things up much like Sammi has with this and ”The Borderline.” Especially in this age of the internet, and given you can start blogs for free, everyone is a critic. (Wow, sounds a bit familiar, yeah?) But anyone who talks shit about this track or Sammi changing it up can happily come fight me. Even if one of us wins said fight, I don’t think it will actually change anything in your opinion or even make me anymore “correct,” but damnit I will defend Lanzetta!!!

Regardless, the merits of this song are plain to see. Great vocals, fun instrumentals, dancey vibe, and really easy to sing along to even if you’re crying while doing it. I think Sammi did something really great here. I love watching artists take chances and go in the directions they’re feeling is more them, especially when something as admirable as this is the result.

If you, too, are feeling inspired by Sammi’s work, be sure to give her a follow and keep up to date on everything she does on this new, mystical journey of dreampoppy dazzling (assuming she continues in this direction), all on her Instagram!

Feeling a pretty strong 8/10 on this one. I’ll be bumping it on my next road trip for sure. Well done, Lanzetta, very well done.