Chloe Moriondo has slowly been straying from the “Kalmia Kid” she made her debut as. She grew closer to indie rock with her second album, Blood Bunny, but her newest album, SUCKERPUNCH, takes her fans in a vastly different direction while they reminisce about their childhood through a blend of hyperpop and early 2000s pop and connect the lyrics to their struggles of today.

“Plastic Purse,” the eighth track on SUCKERPUNCH, takes on the kid-core aesthetic Moriondo has sported for the past couple of years while also commenting on stereotypically toxic indie boys. She references plastic purses — either the squeaky shine of patent leather or a nod to Polly Pocket and Barbie accessories, which both link back to her nostalgic sense of style — as her bag of choice to hold her action-figure-esque boys further shown in the music video for this album. 

Moriondo’s lyrics are meant to shrink the boys her SUCKERPUNCH persona is intended to be experimenting on, making them the size of their now shrunken egos. The entire concept of the music video is her experimenting on boys and toying with them as they do with girls’ feelings.

“Look down, see you hanging where the weeds all grow /

So cute though, you never know though /

Might throw a low blow.”

These lyrics seem to encapsulate all the things I wish I could say to boys who are throwing out red flags but actively choosing to remain oblivious about their own wrongdoings. Some things are better left unsaid, but music like this helps me fantasize about finally knocking a few entitled people from my past down a peg.

I have been following Moriondo since her “La Vie en Rose” cover with the ukulele in her yellow bedroom, which showcased the big, round glasses and short curly hair fans associated with her. It has definitely been a ride since the “Silly Girl” days. I think that is exactly why I have stuck with Moriondo for so long. 

Her music evolves with her and it does not seem like she is forcing herself into an aesthetic which no longer suits her. Her music has evolved with me too. I feel like a lot of people shared their ukulele girl eras with Moriondo — myself included — but time, music, Chloe and her listeners have grown past that. 

Time to let the shiny, cold, hard, pink, plastic purses out of the closet with the new era of SUCKERPUNCH.