Lenoy Barkai waxes eerily candid in her latest single, “Do I Really Wanna Know”, which wastes no time in getting right into the gritty thick of a toxic relationship. Lifted off her upcoming debut album, Paper Crown, it’s a fascinating combination of gritty rock tropes, classically influenced vocals and untraditional inflection.
At first glance it’s the epitome of a Halloween song. Everything from the eerily chiming piano line to the classical vocals screams spooky theme song. But beneath this haunting exterior is an even more haunting premise, as Barkai gradually unpacks a withering relationship dynamic which moves through all the motions of self-blame, commitment, numbed emotions to emerge scathingly triumphant – in a Taylor Swift “Vigilante Shit” sort of way.
“So take me down to the place where you met her/ Smile on your face says she’s younger/ Scars on my heart say I’m wiser,” Barkai lilts through rollicking, gritting rock instrumentation – which takes over from the spooky piano about halfway through.
The animated lyric video keeps things mystifying as it follows a midnight fury car drive–then there’s a cable car and some very mysterious buttons punched into some sort of mechanism. I think it’s got something to do with revenge but I can’t be sure. It might also have something to do with stepping into your own. Either way, Barkai delivers it all with a gut punch of innovative songwriting.
Feature pic supplied by artist
