DELILAH BON
Evil, Hate Filled Female (Trash Queen)
The Bon Bons – that’s the core fanbase of Barnsley’s own Delilah Bon – have been waiting patiently for the release of Evil, Hate Filled Female, her second album. Its title stems from comments made underneath Delilah’s own music videos, and the lyrics to these songs carry the sort of truth that needs to be screamed from the rooftops.
Also vocalist of alt-rockers Hands Off Gretel, Lauren Tate aka Delilah Bon’s solo releases have been streamed over seven million times on Spotify, and one of her songs recently featured in new Netflix series The Gentlemen. Her new album starts strong with Hey World, Delilah introducing herself through the lyrics as on 2023 single Brat. A more recent single, March’s Maverick, is reprised here – and from the introductory bassline, if you need a song to get you prepared for a Monday morning, this song is it.
Evil…’s title track is a shout to the haters who are just encouraging Delilah’s productive streak – it’s also one of her first attempts at low throat screaming, which she nails – and The Internet, which opens with a litany of online comments read out in the trolls’ assumed voices, speaks on the LGBTQ+ community and transphobia. Finally See Me, initially more chill-sounding, builds and builds as Delilah addresses invisibility and how the school system fails students affected by bullying.
I Am The Best (Just Ask Your Momma) has an early-2000s Nokia ringtone backbeat and is about how women love Delilah more than they love men. On Villian, a spoken segment discusses the album itself: “It’s about turning the tables on hate and reclaiming our power. We are truly in our villain era, and this album is our soundtrack.”
You already know that men aren’t going to like My Girlz OR Grown Ass Men, and that’s before we get to Freak Alert – definitely the most violent song on this album – or Epstein, whose title should speak for itself. Volatile is the album’s most direct discussion of misogyny, on a release where it’s a constant looming presence, and gatekeeping in the music industry. Drop Dead Delilah doesn’t hold back, jumping straight into its haunted-circus vibes, and last but not least we have Committed A Crime, on which Delilah is here to confess to the judge and wrap up the 14-track album.
With Evil, Hate Filled Female, Delilah Bon comes off as the voice of a generation for all girls, female-identifying or those non-gender-specific. If you can relate to her words, and the anger she puts into each one, get on this train.
words CHLOE JACKSON-NOTT