Olivia Rodrigo’s new song seems pretty catchy for a theme so dystopian.

Olivia Rodrigo has released her previously CD-exclusive new song “serena joy” to streaming. It was originally going to be on her fantastic you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, but she reasonably decided that her The Handmaid’s Tale-inspired banger didn’t exactly fit the album. The song is partially from the perspective of the character Serena Joy, a woman in Margaret Atwood’s novel and the later Hulu original series, who writes a book that is against women’s rights and says that women should stay in the home, only for those very ideals to oppress her, too. She is not even allowed to read her own book.

Olivia compares Serena Joy to modern-day anti-feminist women who suggest rolling back women’s rights, saying that those women will remain in their positions of relative power until they are no longer useful to the patriarchy. Sonically, it blends genres like pop rock, pop punk, and new wave.

I love this song. This whole era has been my favorite for Olivia’s music, and “serena joy” is no exception. I love that this song has brought back the pop rock sound that isn’t on much of the album. She also effectively delivers the political message without it feeling preachy or forced. Using a fictional character to do so helps, along with it feeling less “girlboss” and more “we need to stick together or we literally will not have rights anymore.”

“serena joy” definitely wouldn’t have fit on you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, but it was far too good to stay unreleased. I am very glad that she decided to put it on streaming. I hope that Olivia Rodrigo releases more overtly political music, because this is a very interesting way to explore political themes in pop.

Emma Platt