Trophy Wife is a Brooklyn-based rock band fronted by McKenzie Iazzetta, with Christian Pace on bass and Michael Martelli on drums. Today they’re releasing their latest single, “Spit” — an ode to the moment when “all the anger just turns into shame” — which you can check out below. To celebrate, they’ve put together a playlist of other songs that keep good company on any shame spiral. Try not to get into too much trouble this weekend — but if you do, check out their picks below.
— Annie Fell, Editor-in-chief, Talkhouse Music
Trophy Wife — “Spit”
McKenzie: “Spit” is sort of my ode to distraction and avoiding connection. It’s pushing everything down until you have no choice but to feel it. In the end all the anger just turns into shame.
Charli XCX — “Sympathy is a Knife”
McKenzie: I have had many a drunk walk home to this song thinking about everything I could’ve possibly done wrong. A perfect pop song is something you should be able to dance, cry, laugh, and spiral to.
Wednesday — “Billboard”
Michael: There’s something soooo eerie and dark and cozy all at once about this song, like the grass pulling me into the dirt. It’s not a good feeling but I can’t stop it from happening.
Porches — “Rag”
McKenzie: I heard this recently and restarted my high school obsession with Porches. I love how gross the lyrics are. Feels like wanting to hit your head against a wall when you *remember*.
Alex G — “Skipper”
Christian: Alex G is my Bruce Springsteen. A lot of his songs remind me of moments from childhood or adolescence and his softest songs bring out distilled emotions that I haven’t remembered in a long time. This song is the car ride home with your mom after getting into a fight at school that you didn’t even win. Empty, defeated, guilty: shame.
Ten in the Swear Jar — “Sad Girl”
McKenzie: I mean… it’s just so good. Fucking around with someone you shouldn’t and keeping it a secret can drive anyone truly insane. This is Xiu Xiu’s project from before Xiu Xiu and I’m obsessed with how aggressive it is.
Jerome’s Dream — “It’s More Like a Message to You”
Christian: This is kind of embarrassing, but shame wasn’t something I was able to put into words until I was given the prompt to make this playlist. I used to have intense reactions to being misunderstood that would leave me bedridden for hours or days. This entire song is how that feels.
Fiona Apple — “I Want You to Love Me”
Michael: Her voice grows in intensity ‘til she’s almost yelling about how beyond death, beyond the passage of time, she wants this person to be a part of her. I sometimes scream this song daily.
Arthur Russell — “Not Checking Up”
McKenzie: This song hurts to listen to. There was a time last summer (when we were writing a lot) where I listened to it from the moment I woke up ‘til the moment I went to sleep. It feels like crawling on a dirt floor.
Leviathan — “Fucking Your Ghost In Chains Of Ice”
Christian: Black metal is a new obsession of mine, and out of all the stuff I’ve discovered so far this is the album I’ve been coming back to the most. I was at a party recently having a good time and someone made me feel really upset and offended from something they said to me. I left feeling awful and kicked trash on the sidewalk on my way home while listening to this.
