Following the release of her new single “POPSICLE,” hard rock artist Lilith Czar shares a haunting music video for the track, inspired by gothic tales and her signature dark artistry.
Marking her first independent release as Lilith Czar, “POPSICLE” directly follows Czar’s 2021 debut album Created From Filth And Dust. While that album marked a bold introduction for Czar, the artist formerly known as Juliet Simms, “POPSICLE” adds more to the story of how Czar rose from the ashes of her former self, boldly defying the limits and expectations of a patriarchal music industry. After a record label executive recommended that she pose in a bikini while riding a popsicle for an album cover, Czar decided this was the last straw, and decided to “kill off” Juliet Simms and reemerge as the fearless, unapologetic feminine figure that is Lilith Czar.
Around the release of “POPSICLE,” Czar released several video teasers of her taking on the form of the Banshee, a creaturing originating from Irish folklore that symbolizes the arrival of death. Now, in the song’s official music video, Czar pulls inspiration from Edgar Allen Poe’s story “The Oval Portrait” as well as the Bride of Frankenstein.
“‘The Portrait’ video for ‘POPSICLE’ was inspired by Poe’s ‘The Oval Portrait’ — a story about obsession and how it drains the life from everything it touches,” Czar explains. “In the video, I’m posing for a portrait, clearly the antithesis of what’s being painted, but it doesn’t matter. They only ever saw what they wanted to see.”
She adds, “The Bride of Frankenstein look is symbolic; she was created without consent, expected to submit, and chose defiance. Ultimately, the fundamental refusal to see the subject at all results in the slow suffocation of spirit, until nothing remains but a hollow echo of what was once alive. This is about creative control, autonomy and the fight to hold onto who you are.”
In Czar’s recent interview with Melodic Magazine, she explained that “POPSICLE” is the first in a trilogy of new singles, all of which tell the tale of why exactly Juliet Simms chose to became Lilith Czar in the first place. In the interview, Czar said she filmed five different visual treatments for “POPSICLE,” including the Banshee character and the full-length “Portrait” music video.
The epitome of the dark feminine archetype, Czar is a fiery beacon of catharsis and hope in the world of rock ‘n’ roll. Establishing for herself an artistry that is both sonically and visually visceral, it is clear that there is much more to be told within the haunting tale of Lilith Czar.
Stream “POPSICLE” here.
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