Jo’burg based outfit Mean Girls define themselves as an “upbeat punk rock band” and so, naturally, for their first offering to the world they’ve chosen Ted Bundy as their subject.
The two-minute runtime of “Just a Dream” flies by in a torrent of power chords and lyrics comprised of Bundy quotes that get under the skin and ask us to see the world through a killer’s eyes.
As the lead singer Tim cruises around behind a retro home-video filter and in front of green-screen visuals that put him in the context of interspersed archival footage lines like, “Try touch the past/ it’s not real/ it’s just a dream” and, “What’s one less person on the face of the earth anyway?” force one into the uncomfortable mindset of a serial killer.
Their offhand, almost flippant delivery mixed with a ’90’s-punk soundtrack – which would be just as at home in a song about frat parties – creates a sense of the separation from the rest of humanity someone like Bundy might feel.
In a world forever fascinated by the serial killer’s mind, “Just a Dream” stands out. Without ceremony, without melodrama, it achieves a feeling of morality-blurring alienation that hangs around long after the final note.
Feature pic by Christelle Duvenage
