Following her excellent debut album ‘Failures’, alongside numerous tours in the UK, US and Europe, Katie Malco returns today with her haunting new single ‘Fatal Attraction’ – her first new music in four years. The track and official video features Malco’s touring companion, Laura Stevenson, watch it below, it’s the first of a series of singles for 2024, all of which feature guest female and non-binary artists.
Inspired in part by the 1987 movie of the same name, the single is both a study of a new relationship from a position of trepidation, and a comment on the male gaze and societal double standards through the lens of a “woman scorned”. The introspective and confessional lyrics peel away at low self-esteem above a simmering backdrop, with Malco questioning whether she placed that burden on herself, or whether male abuse of power may have had something to do with it. In the song, Malco chastises herself for ever seeing herself through the male gaze and abandoning herself along the way. Before it radiates into gorgeous entwined melodies that spiral into the air from Malco and Stevenson.
Talking about Fatal Attraction, Malco said: “I lived alone throughout lockdown and became quite obsessed with erotic thrillers. I have a monthly newsletter where I do a rambling deep dive on a classic / weird movie each month, so I guess I’m into leftfield / cult movies in general. However, the erotic thriller is such a strange genre of movie, and one that could only ever have existed in the era it did. I watched basically every movie starring Michael Douglas, including the most classic of all the erotic thrillers – Fatal Attraction.
“Strangely, I realised that Fatal Attraction might be one of the most relatable movies I’ve ever seen. The scariest and most gripping parts are in the intense rage felt at the hands of selfish and careless behaviour and the self-loathing that comes with it. It almost becomes an analogy of society at large, where the men always seem to get away with it, and nobody else does. Boiling bunnies and stalking aside, you could liken Glen Close’s character to the entire non-male population, fighting to be heard and to be equal.”
Malco recorded Fatal Attraction in between tours in the UK, US and Europe with Alvvays, Fenne Lily, Hurray for the Riff Raff, SOAK, Laura Stevenson, Peter Buck (REM), and Bob Mould (Hüsker Dü). Mixed by Calvin Lauber (boygenius, Julien Baker) and mastered by TW Walsh (Sufjan Stevens, The Shins, Death Cab for Cutie, Pedro the Lion), Laura Stevenson also contributed her vocals to the track whilst on tour with Malco in the states last year as well as appearing in the official video.
“A local BBC review once said that I was “a woman scorned” – for a song I wrote and released when I was a teenager” Malco continues. “I thought it was such an odd way to frame somebody’s pain, especially somebody so young, and it’s a phrase only ever applied to a woman. You’ve never heard of “a man scorned”.
Laura Stevenson said, “Katie and I toured together in the UK, and then I asked her to support on my 2023 US tour celebrating 10 years of my album Wheel. She was recording new music at the time, and we had been performing her song ‘Brooklyn’ together at the shows during her set, so we figured out some harmonies on her new song Fatal Attraction and recorded my vocals on the track whilst on the road. We first met when we played the same showcase at SXSW and struck up a conversation in the bathroom of all places. And here we are, two tours and a song later…”
Armed with only an old telecaster (played upside down) and her storied lyrics, Katie has also toured with Julien Baker, Jenny Lewis, Dawes, This is the Kit, BC Camplight, Laura Stevenson, The Joy Formidable, Peter Buck (REM) and more. She also opened for The Lumineers at their sold-out Crystal Palace Park show in summer 2023 and was invited by Julien Baker to open her extensive nationwide US tour in 2021.
Katie is supported by the PRS Foundation and Help For Musicians.
