Mar 11, 20222 min read

Single review - Harry and The Chicks 'Snakes in the Streets'

Dreaminisfree's fourth female I'm celebrating this week in honour of International Woman's Day 2022 is the East London based pop artist Harry and The Chicks.

Admittedtly I only discovered her music six days ago, but trust me when I say this if you're a fan of pop-synth with licks that will stick in your head all day then you need to get this artist in your ears!

'Snakes in The Streets' first and foremost is a fun pop song, but its message is as bold and powerful.

The song was written at a time when Harry was struggling with her anxiety and sleep paralysis, she put pen to paper and opened up honestly about her emotional turmoil, singing, “I’m anxious, I feel depressed, I’m embarrassed to get this off my chest”.

Speaking about the track Harry said, “The song is about putting trust in people too soon. I can be so open with people that I leave myself vulnerable to others, and I’ve had this trait since I was a teenager. When you’re a teenager, it can feel like you have an audience around you that are eagerly awaiting your downfall at all times. I felt eyes on me, and my friends thought I was paranoid. At the same time though, I’d been added to harassing group chats made by some of my peers, and I’d even have people following me home.”

The video shows Harry and her friends being followed and harassed by people on the streets. “I was followed and catcalled fourteen times on my walk from the studio to my home. Strangers were wolf whistling and cornering me from their bikes, vans and even from their flats. It’s a scary experience being a young woman walking the streets of London alone, but positively, this experience gave me the narrative for the music video and a chance to highlight the major issue London has with street harassment from my lived experience.”

Harry is starting to build quite the following across socials and has also had the supprt of BBC Essex and BBC Introducing.

Harry is currently working with the app ‘SafeUp’ to raise awareness of street harassment. The app helps women stay safe on the streets by having an online community of women that can be alerted when you are in an uncomfortable situation.

Whilst the song is fun it's message and Harry's work is vital in highlighting the issues of harassment women encounter on a daily basis.

Summing this song up in one word - Needed