I love a good villain song – they were the highlight of practically every Disney film as a kid. Villains in movies always seem to be having a blast; hogging the spotlight, chewing the scenery, performing ridiculously over-the-top acts of wickedness and skulduggery. The kind of villainy we encounter in real life however is nowhere near as charming. Everyday evil is something simple, banal and empty. We rationalise the actions of those that hurt us as something intentionally antagonistic and spiteful, because that makes sense, moreso than the reality that toxicity is often just their broken default setting. ‘Romanticise’, from progressive pop trio Exploring Birdsong, takes the everyday evil of a toxic relationship and dials it up to moustache twirling levels of villainy.

Written from the perspective of the perpetrator, it depicts someone with a well of malice within, who sees the world through red lenses. Someone eager to cause pain (“I opened up your chest, your heart is on a plate, So I filled the wound with salt, and put it on a flame“) and so cartoonishly wicked as to view positivity with derision and distain (“You could romanticise a car wreck at 80, the sky while it’s raining“). A great villain song delves into a darker place while still being a fun ride, and between the twisted lyricism, the gut-punch metal breakdown, and that addictive earworm chorus, Exploring Birdsong absolutely nailed it. ‘Romanticise’ is one of band’s best tracks to date, and I can’t get enough of it.