Words by Jason Lee
If the recent spate of “folk horror” films like The Witch (2015), Curse of The Witching Tree (2015), The Wailing (2016), Hagazussa: A Heathen’s Curse (2017), The Ritual (2017), La Llorona (2019), Midsommar (2019), The Cursed (2021), Antlers (2021), Men (2022), and You Won’t Be Alone (2022) as well as the various films they owe a debt to such as Witchfinder’s General (1968), The Blood On Satan’s Claw (1971), and The Wicker Man (1973) have taught us anything…
…it’s that “the folk” are not to be messed with and doubly so for “womenfolk” since there’s a damn good chance they’re witches, mystics, or succubi of some sort and even the seemingly sweet ‘n’ innocent May Queen festooned with flowers dancing about the maypole as a living symbol of purity, femininity, fecundity, etc. is prone to falling prey to the pagan roots of ancient folk traditions—according to these biased accounts at least tho’ many of them are clearly critical of how “unruly” non-submissive women are treated and misrepresented in society—and if you don’t treat these witches (or should that be queens) with the proper respect and reverence you may find yourself getting roofied and sacrificially burned alive in a bear suit or served a slice of rat poison-infused cherry pie and flapjacks with a side of squirming worms…
…and when it comese to the latter that’s precisely the scenario of the new music video for MayQueen’s “Order Up” (directed by Kyle Sauer) which on its surface is a breezy little ditty sung from the perspective of a greasy spoon waitress pining away for one of the diner’s regulars (“all day long I’ll wait by the window”) with lovelorn sentiments bubbling over into sweet bubblegum melodies and nursery-rhyme-like rhymes like in the a cappella middle section which sees Natasha Recoder (guitar, vocals), Lucy Horgan (bass, vocals), and Maya Morrison (vocals)…
…harmonizing like a choir of heavenly hash slingers reminding you to “order up / get it while it’s hot / eat it up / cherry in your cup” (the other member of MayQueen is Laura Recoder on keys) which reminds me of how I used to always order cherry cokes at NYC diners but not the pre-fab shiz cuz they always use real cherry extract with by actual maraschino cherry thrown in for good measure so I just wanna thank MayQueen for reminding me that I need to revive this habit…
…ultimately ratcheting up the tension with a series of gearshift modulations and while the song gives off a super-catchy gum-smacking upbeat wall o’ sound Phil Spector girl-groups vibe, it also gives off a menacing gun-wielding Phil Spector vibe that is if you’re really paying attention as the music video makes extra clear even if you weren’t really paying attention with the song’s concluding lyric “watch you fry with a smile / your last words / scratched on the table / al night long I’m in love again” translated into visuals with Natasha and Lucy murdering the very diner customer they addressed so lovingly earlier—no doubt he had it coming!—as played by their very own drummer Sameh Hameedi which to be fair is the fantasy of pretty much every band ever (I keed, I keed!) said as a recovering drummer myself…
…cuz really if you think about it what’s the modern day equivalent to the May Queen and of course it’s the modern day diner waitress cuz just like the the May Queens of yore by they tend to get their start as beauty pageant winners but whereas May Queens are archetypically European figures representing the pinnacle of archetypical femininity, diner waitresses are essentially the American equivalent, equally idealized yet victimized (especially by poor tippers!) all in the name of a menial minimum wage job where they’re nonetheless entrusted with great power…
…cuz they could either favor you with an extra cherry in your cherry cola, or poison your cherry pie with strychnine, and as per usual David Lynch “got it” when it comes to how interconnected these creative/destructive impulses could be and if the waitresses in the “Order Up” video aren’t modeled after Norma and Shelly from Twin Peaks I’ll take a big ol’ swig of that coffee brewed with the fish in the percolator cuz these May Queens are equally adept at “playing the part” and satisfying your immediate needs for well-constructed songs and fun, energetic live performances (see above) while no doubt being about 20 steps ahead of you if you dare mess with them…
…and it’s only after we’d watched the music video for “Order Up” that we really started to attend to the darker undercurrents of the song itself with it’s lyrical mentions of “feed[ing] you lies and pancakes with maple” and “dig[ging] your heart out, served with my ladle” and that’s what David Lynch in his own heavily Americana–based takes on folk horror cuz just when you think “horror” is all about supernatural forces and backwards-speaking little people it turns out instead that true horror derives more often from more quotidian everyday environments and maybe from right under your own roof which is way more disconcerting than some rando in a jean jacket who’s likely hallucinated anyway…
…and what’s more MayQueen translate this candy-coated darkness successful into sound with songs that at first feel like they should be playing over a diner’s jukebox circa 1963 or 1993 but as soon becomes clear there’s a punk rock energy and a touch of gothic menace occasionally to their songs (e.g., that lingering dissonant note leading into the a cappella section) like Ramones meets the Ronettes or a cross between early Bangles and that scene in Part 4 of Twin Peaks: The Return where Au Revoir Simone play at the Roadhouse with no less than Sky Ferreira appearing in a brief but memorable cameo…
…so in summary The Deli recommends you check out MayQueen’s “Order Up” (right after you raid our deli meats ‘n’ cheeses counter that is!) and if you doubt the purity of their canned cherry pie filling well chances are you’re ok so long as you’re not a big soda jerk who brought retribution upon yourself but hey either way sometimes you gotta give yourself over to the divine feminine and all the various folk horrors that continue to permeate modernity cuz life ain’t never that black and white and you need the divine feminine on your side which MayQueen clearly “get” themselves as heard on their 2022 single “Oh Tell Me”…
I’ve been waking up blurred over
I’ve been waking up poured over
strung out on Sleeping Beauty’s novocaine
passed out in Lolita’s bedroom
having spilled her bottle of perfume
tell me what it takes to feel alive again
Oh tell me, oh tell me!
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“Order Up” music video credits:
Director: Kyle Sauer @kylesauer
Cinematographer: Sharif El Neklawy @sweetsharif
Producer: Sam Broscoe @mmvancouchsleep
Wardrobe: Leila @leilaplouffe
AC: @olecaseyregan
Gaffer: Christopher Burke @just_chr1s_topher
Makeup: @will.metivier
Hair: @jason_v_babes
Prop Assistant: Leila Francomb @thefemlin
Special thanks to @beelectricstudio