Making a triumphant return to the music world, Cruel Youth has come out with a new song: “Devil in Paradise.” It has been two years since the release of their debut EP, +30mg, and fans have been craving new music ever since. Along with “Devil in Paradise,” Teddy Sinclair, the lead singer of Cruel Youth, has revealed that a string of new music is coming in the upcoming year.
“Devil in Paradise” takes audiences on a twisted journey, inspired by Sinclair’s horrific experiences with fame in Hollywood. The track starts with its chorus, which paints a picture of an inverted world. Sinclair sings about a place where “the sun don’t shine” and “the kids don’t smile.” This world she builds is a personalized hell that only brings joy to the devil that Sinclair has made. While the description seems negative, the song fits with Cruel Youth’s aesthetic because it seems to naturally blend the lines between beauty and terror.
We enter the first verse, which clarifies that the location of this messed up world is Hollywood. One of the most interesting comparisons that Cruel Youth make in this section of the song is describing the sun as this cold-hearted figure that laughs at the stars that cannot shine around it. After the verse finishes, we resort back to the chorus, where new details are revealed of this distorted hell.
But what makes this song unique is its sudden change. Towards the middle of the song, there is a complete shift of focus. Its transition is a higher pitched version of Sinclair singing “after all that I did for you?” We then enter to a rap-like portion of the song, where Sinclair reveals all the corrupt things that the devil has screwed her over with. It then cuts to someone confessing that the only way for Sinclair to stay in the business is if she gets naked. The song then trickles away with the “after all that I did for you?” line.