New single from Sasha Adrian spotlights the lingering effects of sexual assault, in a darkly humorous story following a new relationship.

Adrian’s striking opening line of her chorus voices both the ubiquitous fear of getting hurt by a new partner, and the biting reality of living with PTSD. Her lyrics balance the gravity which comes from a lack of safety with cinematic nuance. As a listener, it is hard not to feel bemused by the movie-narrative, which coasts above the potential energy of violence. Even as Adrian croons, “cold blooded killers,” she implicates our contemporary moment: violence targeting women is far from anomalous. We see it all the time. In movies, media, and in our own lives.

Humor was Sasha Adrian’s vehicle for channeling this deeply personal material: “It is not a song I’ve written for people to feel sorry for me. I’ve written IMDb because I know that I am not the only one who has experienced fear and violence. In a way it is not that different from fearing heartbreak, but contrary to the fear of heartbreak, it is not a fear that we should tolerate, accept, or expect.”