Rico Nasty joins genre-bending rock band Love Ghost to indulge her own hard-rock tendencies on the band’s new song “Wolfsbane.” Grinding guitars that shift from punk to metal to trap back a track that dips into folklore and horror iconography to compare being a werewolf to living with a mental health condition. That sounds heady, but between Rico’s devil-may-care demeanor and frontman Finnegan Bell’s deft songwriting, the concept holds up pretty well.
Bell explained as much to Rolling Stone, saying, “I wanted to write a song about werewolves but from a mental health perspective. I wanted to write about something that you wish you could change and you have to fight every day. But unfortunately, it’s what you become — whether that’s mental illness, demons, addiction, etc. It’s for the listener to decide.”
For her part, Rico gave an enthusiastic co-sign. “‘Wolfsbane’ wanted to get me in my rock bag,” she said. “I love when bands want to bring me into their world and let me rock out. The production behind this song is fire. It gives two different vibes when the beat switches, bringing a hard-rock element.” Longtime Rico fans will certainly enjoy her indulging her punk-rock proclivities as she does on “OHFR?” from her own debut album Nightmare Vacation, but more recently she’s been going pop with songs like “Magic.”
Listen to Love Ghost’s “Wolfsbane” featuring Rico Nasty above.
Rico Nasty is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.