The Sexy Accident - 'You're Setting Us All On Fire'

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Kansas City's The Sexy Accident shares technicolour pop with a political punch on current single, ‘You’re Setting Us All On Fire’.

That ‘You’re Setting Us All on Fire’ is only the second political song from Kansas City’s The Sexy Accident is neither surprising nor unsurprising. It is fitting however, when you realise that the first was released just before the second Gulf War, a contentious point in American history, while its more recent counterpart takes aim at Trump’s response to the Coronavirus pandemic, and dropped just prior to the US election.

With this in mind, it’s clear that The Sexy Accident aren’t an inherently political band, relishing instead in their own brand of technicolour pop. As such, this could easily leave their politicised offerings feeling forced or trite, yet that isn’t the case with ‘You’re Setting Us All on Fire’. 

What does instead, is highlight the importance of its narrative, while retaining a deliciously accessible pop aesthetic that will appeal to the apolitical, without watering down its overarching ideals. Three minutes of irresistible indie pop, there’s as much in the way of kitschy camp theatrics as there is throwbacks to the mid ‘00s – a sugary dichotomy that merges elements of Panic at The Disco’s melodrama with the approachability of The Hoosiers middle class indie rock. 

As such, ‘You’re Setting Us All on Fire’ is something of a trojan horse. An upbeat and aesthetically pleasing exterior that harbours a fire in its belly that runs the risk of spreading. Though it goes without saying that we’d prefer bands such as The Sexy Accident not to have the material needed to write such a song, when politics manifests into something as poppy, frothy and sugary as this, it’s difficult not to crave more.  

Words of Dave Beech

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