The release of English singer-songwriter Paris Paloma’s single, “Labour” back in 2023, is the very definition of a viral sensation. It was no surprise then when she followed it with her debut studio album, “Cacophony,” in August 2024. While not revolutionary, “Cacophony” is an artful call to action that reminds feminists where our goals truly lie. 

Women’s Liberation is in extreme danger. It’s not difficult to point out that feminism has taken a few steps back over the past few years. The rise of Transgender Exclusionary Radical Feminists (TERFs) and a push to return women to homestead, labeled the “Traditional Wife” or “Trad Wife” aesthetic, has begun to pull back some of the tenements of the second wave of Feminism, threatening to endanger the movement of Women’s Liberation as a whole.

Earning 1 million streams on Spotify and nearly the same amount on YouTube, “Labour” criticizes the overbearing pressures on women in domestic household positions. On TikTok, the audio has about 82,000 videos under it, with her rerelease of the single, “LABOUR – the cacophony,” claiming about 124,000 videos. The single, in many ways, sums up the tone and message of “Cacophony” as a whole. Most of her songs focus on the social power imbalance between men and women in relationships. The rest of them can be classified as female empowerment in one way or another.

From a musical perspective, the album comes across as a common alternative indie album. Most songs are slow in tempo and acoustic guitar lead, the lyrics are written to be layered in meaning and none of the titles are capitalized. The first half of the album is composed more of Paloma’s feminist anthems, while the second half is more self-reflective. There’s also an abundance of references to nature and how that relates not only to Paloma but to womanhood in general. Overall, the album feels very cohesive, and each song flows nicely into the next one. 

Of the 15 songs on the album, a few stand out. My top picks are “knitting song” and “last woman on earth.” 

Sitting right in the middle of the album, “knitting song” is the first major shift in the album. It’s one of Paloma’s more unique feminist anthems, focusing more on a relationship between two women, as opposed to the imbalance between men and women. The song is soft and slow, with a gentle acoustic guitar making up most of the backing instrumentals. The lyrics reflect the singer learning how to knit from her grandmother, before switching in the middle of the song to her in her 20s helping a friend with her own knitting problem. 

 Knitting is often stereotyped as a feminine hobby for elderly women. But at the heart of it is the reality that someone took the time to make something for someone else. The song also explores a facet of feminism pushed to the wayside in the past few years: creating and strengthening relationships with other women. There’s been an abrupt recent push, through the “Trad Wife” and “Clean Girl” aesthetics, to focus on self-preservation and making “girlboss” moves that solely benefit one individual. “knitting song” gently reminds us there is strength in numbers, and that working towards creating a supportive community of women, for all women, is just as important in the movement for Women’s Liberation.

“last woman on earth” reads as Paloma’s response to the viral TikTok question: “Would women prefer to be stuck in the woods with a bear or a man?” Many male netizens at the time were shocked to learn most women preferred to spend that hypothetical evening with the bear. The song tackles Paloma’s reasoning for choosing the same response. The background instrumentals are mostly ghostly strings; Paloma’s voice pleads for her body to be left “to the beasts and bears” and finds tragic solace in the fact that, in death, she feels “for the first time since I drew breath/I’m undesirable again.”

The album is not one I dedicate time to listen to, but it’s always a joy to listen to Paloma’s soothing voice and justified anger. This is not an album to race through: Take your time. Process the lyrics. Absorb the music. Let Paloma’s feelings and call to action move you to build something better.

8/10